originally, the base unit of mass was the Grave.
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Is the goal in that case to drill it into people’s heads the completely absurdity of 1760 yards per mile?
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We’re 22 replies in, and no-one has posted XKCD links?
What’s wrong, BB?
Also: that a republic uses imperial measures always amused me.
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I would certainly like to learn the Celsius automatic conversion trick.
Got it in one. Or how about the absurdity of 5280 feet per mile?
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Yes, that and the goofiness of running a 1500 or 3000 m race on a 400 m track. The math of split times becomes very important at those distances, and creating irregular splits makes for messy mental math.
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Remembering the key points of intersection is a good middle step:
Freezing point of water = 0 C = 32 F
Room Temperature = 25 C = 75 F
Normal human body temp = 37 C = 98.6 F
Boiling point of water = 100 c = 212 F
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I’ve been getting back into crochet lately, and I see more and more patterns that suggest hook size in millimeters rather than the traditional letter/number designations.
Of course, different brands and older hooks may vary from those standards. I’ve got an older G hook that says it’s 4.25 mm instead of 4.0, a set of steel hooks with some non-standard measurements (like the 1.2 mm I’m using on the current project), and several hooks with letters only.
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Negative forty is also a good one.
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Other common conversions in baking:
180º C = 356º F
200º C = 392º F
220º C = 428º F
So if the recipe calls for 400º, most likely you can get away with 200ºC on your European oven. 350º-360º then becomes 175º-180º, and if the recipe says 425º I turn the oven to just under 225º (let’s be honest, baking temperatures are not so fine tuned on most ovens).
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When I was a kid Jimmy Carter started an effort to get Americans familiar with metric. My first impression of the metric system was “OK, this makes a lot of sense”, but then Reagan came in and squashed the whole program, because, you know, “USA USA USA!!!”
So today the only metric conversion I am familiar with is 750ml = 1/5 gallon (more or less.)
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It was useful for me when I lived in a place where the temperature occasionally got that low. Now, I can’t even find a freezer that cold…
Thanks, I’m trying to quit. 
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That’s because kilometers are kliks…in Canada anyway. 
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I thought kliks was military slang?
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Double it and add 30 is a good guesstimation tool… (C to F)
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I’m not familiar enough with military slang and\or jargon to say. It seems to be used often enough in civilian conversation in my experience.
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It was military slang, it’s moved into civilian use in recent decades.
Yet another symptom of pervasive militarism.
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Same as it ever was.
“(Lord, It’s Hard To Be Happy When You’re Not) Using The Metric System”
Come, drink a dekalitre with me.
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