Martin, Sometimes simplifying things is necessary to create an effective message.
Helen Bushnell On Fri, Oct 5, 2012, at 13:09, Martin Vlietstra wrote: I think that Parker Willey over-simplified things. When you guys rebelled ( J ) the system of currency was simple (or not so simple): Gold and silver coins did not bear a fixed relationship to each other. Gold coins came in five, two, one, half, third and quarter guineas. (In 1816, one guinea was set equal to 21 shillings). Theoretically there were 20 shillings in the pound and 12 pennies in the shilling, but hardly any silver had been struck since the 1750’s. Spanish pieces of eight were counter-stamped as being worth 4/9 (four shillings and nine pence). I believe that the piece of eight was denoted by a “8” with a vertical line through it, which was subsequently written as “$”. There had been a few experiments with copper coins, but the Crown washed its hands of the task of looking after the little man, so left the production of “small change” in the hands of tradesmen who struck thousands of tokens. In contrast, the system of measure was in good condition, even if it was cumbersome. When Jefferson proposed adopting a decimal system both currency and units of measure, the currency proposal was well received because of the awful state of the coinage at the time that the US constitution was adopted, but the adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t mend it” was adopted for units of measure. From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Parker Willey Jr. Sent: 05 October 2012 17:45 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:51939] My version of an argument for going metric Hi: Here is my version of an argument for going metric. You can use if it you want. I sent it to my friends and some others. I included the link to the petition at the bottom that was sent out earlier for going metric. ..Parker Willey Jr. Hi: When our country was founded, we were using pounds, shillings, Pence, and inches, feet, and miles. There are 12 pennies in a shilling and 20 shillings in a pound. Complicated? There are 12 inches in a foot, 3 feet in a yard, 2 yards in a fathom, and 880 fathoms in a mile, or 63,360 inches in a mile. Complicated? Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and George Washington got us on the decimal currency system. There are 100 cents in a dollar. Simple? In the metric system: There are 100 centimeters in a meter. and 1000 meters in a kilometer. Isn't this simple? Why are we still using 12 inches in a foot? ..3 feet etc. Contact your Senators and Representatives. There is a petition to try to get a message to the President on the subject of upgrading our measurement system in the United States. Here is the link: [1]http://wh.gov/BKAN You need to log in or create an account. You can investigate other petitions as well. Please sign it and send this to others, especially to persons in education. References 1. http://wh.gov/BKAN
