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polyphenol

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Sep 9, 2020
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While not a weight or measure the thing that I can't understand is that there are STILL (a small number of) backward places in the world where people drive on the LEFT side of the road.
Like the US Virgin Islands? And the odd insignificant country like Japan, Indonesia, Pakistan and India.

There is also the situation so common round where I live, single track lanes.
 

rpmurray

macrumors 68020
Feb 21, 2017
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Back End of Beyond
Like the US Virgin Islands? And the odd insignificant country like Japan, Indonesia, Pakistan and India.
Yes.
There is also the situation so common round where I live, single track lanes.
I don't consider the one lane unpaved "roads" in the impoverished places of the world to be left lanes.

Come to think of impoverished places, I remember reading about some obscure place where people measure their weight in stones.
 
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Mousse

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Apr 7, 2008
3,648
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Flea Bottom, King's Landing
To be fair, the spoons are common "recipe units" in metric countries as well. Always leaves me scratching my head when I have such a recipe and look at the variety of spoon dimensions in our kitchen.
Yep, I never knew how much they meant when a recipe calls for a "dash of cinnamon" or a "pinch of salt" or a "tad" of cocoa powder. I always thought it meant just an arbitrary wee bit, since cooking isn't exacting. My sister-in-law, an avid cook👩‍🍳, had these tiny spoons that told you exactly how much a dash, a tad, a pinch was. I just order a set for myself so I cooking will be more hit😋 than miss🤮.
Pinch-Dash-Smidgen-Measuring-Spoons-2.jpg
 

polyphenol

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Sep 9, 2020
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I don't consider the one lane unpaved "roads" in the impoverished places of the world to be left lanes.
The one lane roads are real roads, often much better surfaced than many of the two (or more) lane roads. And, judging by the Aston Martins, Hummers, Jaguars, BMWs, etc., far from impoverished.
 

rpmurray

macrumors 68020
Feb 21, 2017
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Back End of Beyond
The one lane roads are real roads, often much better surfaced than many of the two (or more) lane roads. And, judging by the Aston Martins, Hummers, Jaguars, BMWs, etc., far from impoverished.
Sounds like an accident waiting to happen. Or are all these roads one-way?

I'm curious about the Jaguars; have you actually seen this mythical beastie on the road? I thought they spent all their time in the shop being repaired.
 
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Mousse

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Apr 7, 2008
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Sounds like an accident waiting to happen. Or are all these roads one-way?

I'm curious about the Jaguars; have you actually seen this mythical beastie on the road? I thought they spent all their time in the shop being repaired.
The average Europeans and Japanese driver are much, much better drivers than the average 'Merican driver. The licensing requirements are much, much stricter. I'd say maybe 10% of 'Merican drivers could pass the test.
And those one lane roads, one side pulls over to the side to allow the other driver to pass in the opposite direction. This would never work in 'Merica because the typical 'Merican driver is a jerk. Gawd, the only time I've driven stress free (outside of a race track) has been in Europe where drivers are polite for the most part.
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
May 5, 2008
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The Misty Mountains
Yep, I never knew how much they meant when a recipe calls for a "dash of cinnamon" or a "pinch of salt" or a "tad" of cocoa powder. I always thought it meant just an arbitrary wee bit, since cooking isn't exacting. My sister-in-law, an avid cook👩‍🍳, had these tiny spoons that told you exactly how much a dash, a tad, a pinch was. I just order a set for myself so I cooking will be more hit😋 than miss🤮.
Pinch-Dash-Smidgen-Measuring-Spoons-2.jpg
I like your novelty measuring device. :) However the pinch seems a bit much and I’m not sure a tad is greater than a dash. 🤔 ;) I’d also equate a dash to a shake.
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
May 5, 2008
23,972
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The Misty Mountains
The average Europeans and Japanese driver are much, much better drivers than the average 'Merican driver. The licensing requirements are much, much stricter. I'd say maybe 10% of 'Merican drivers could pass the test.
And those one lane roads, one side pulls over to the side to allow the other driver to pass in the opposite direction. This would never work in 'Merica because the typical 'Merican driver is a jerk. Gawd, the only time I've driven stress free (outside of a race track) has been in Europe where drivers are polite for the most part.
Just be careful on the Autobahn checking for dots in your rear view before moving to the left lane. :)
 

PinkyMacGodess

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Mar 7, 2007
10,271
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Midwest America.
Happened when we bought our current home. Previous owner installed carpet in the bathroom. With (at the time) two very young boys, it didn't took us a long time to realize that re-flooring the bathroom was a priority.

I was amazed at how many times my brother missed the toilet. 'It's RIGHT THERE! It's BIGGER THAN OUR HEAD! HOW CAN YOU MISS IT?!?!:mad:'
 
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PinkyMacGodess

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Mar 7, 2007
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I haven't given anyone grief over their use of the metric system. :D

I did wish for instant death for someone who used the SAE system. It was, believe it or not, a 'Made In China' bike, and none of my wrenches fit it. It had 'US Standard' bolts! I am not delusional, and everyone was totally blown away. It used SAE bolts! (At least the heads were SAE) I had to bring my SAE wrenches back to work on it. Good grief... And it was from China!
 
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Apple_Robert

Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
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In a van down by the river
I did wish for instant death for someone who used the SAE system. It was, believe it or not, a 'Made In China' bike, and none of my wrenches fit it. It had 'US Standard' bolts! I am not delusional, and everyone was totally blown away. It used SAE bolts! (At least the heads were SAE) I had to bring my SAE wrenches back to work on it. Good grief... And it was from China!
That story is pure Twilight Zone material. I would have been mad as well.
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
May 5, 2008
23,972
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The Misty Mountains
2021- My impression is that metrics has found it’s way into US manufacturing and can be found in the grocery store packaging, and I would not be upset, if we converted to metric distances, but my impression is no one wants to spend the money and I’ll always prefer miles to clicks. And I’ll always much prefer my teaspoons, tablespoons, and cups while cooking. Milliliters sounds too sterile, non-memorable, and laboratory like.

308BBF96-FBEF-43ED-9453-49C2ECEE1051.gif
Would you rather drink a cup of tea or a 237ml of tea?
Would you rather add a teaspoon or 5ml of salt?
The English system is much friendlier and memorable for recipes you can remember.
 

polyphenol

macrumors 68020
Sep 9, 2020
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Sounds like an accident waiting to happen. Or are all these roads one-way?

I'm curious about the Jaguars; have you actually seen this mythical beastie on the road? I thought they spent all their time in the shop being repaired.
Hardly any one-way roads at all. Even in places where you might think they would make sense.

Drivers are, by and large, fully aware of the nature of the roads and readily back into a suitable passing place, if needed. Motor insurance costs don't suggest a particularly high rate of collisions.

I see a surprising number of Jaguars going back through many years - at least to the XJ models. Not my choice but not for reasons of reliability (about which I have little awareness).
 

PinkyMacGodess

Suspended
Mar 7, 2007
10,271
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Midwest America.
That story is pure Twilight Zone material. I would have been mad as well.

I was frustrated at first, and then just stood there starting at it. It was like being presented with a puzzle, and you have no idea what the solution is, until it comes to you like a bolt of lightning from the great beyond. AH HAH!!! And then I stood their dumbfounded at how China could poop out such a hot mess of WTH. There were a few metric head cap screws on it, but the fairy sprinklings of SAE was just too much for that time of day. We scrapped it just because it was such a purple giraffe. Replacing the SAE bolts, etc, would have been too time consuming, and at what benefit. Especially if they were SAE threaded too, the game is lost.

It just amazed me, even to this day, that I ran into an SAE equipped bike! Now I wish I had kept it. No one believes me now. DOH!!!

EDIT: Oh, there is a bike trainer made by Saris that uses SAE cap screws and bolts. An oddity, but a damn good trainer too. American made in Wisconsin I believe...
 

PinkyMacGodess

Suspended
Mar 7, 2007
10,271
6,227
Midwest America.
Yep, I never knew how much they meant when a recipe calls for a "dash of cinnamon" or a "pinch of salt" or a "tad" of cocoa powder. I always thought it meant just an arbitrary wee bit, since cooking isn't exacting. My sister-in-law, an avid cook👩‍🍳, had these tiny spoons that told you exactly how much a dash, a tad, a pinch was. I just order a set for myself so I cooking will be more hit😋 than miss🤮.
Pinch-Dash-Smidgen-Measuring-Spoons-2.jpg

Like the McDonald's coc-spoons... Anyone remember those? I was so naive that I had no clue at the time...:D:cool:
 

Mousse

macrumors 68040
Apr 7, 2008
3,648
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Flea Bottom, King's Landing
Just be careful on the Autobahn checking for dots in your rear view before moving to the left lane. :)
Oh no. I leave the Autobahn and one lane roads to my European buddy when I visit. There are lots of unwritten rules of driving I'm not familiar with among European drivers. I didn't know about pulling to the side and allowing the traffic to pass on the otherside of a one lane road until I ask my buddy. Just being able to operate a vehicle doesn't make one a safe driver. Gotta know the writen laws and unwriten etiquette.
 

MBAir2010

macrumors 604
May 30, 2018
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there
Karen Carpenter died of Anorexia. Last I knew it wasn't caused by stubbornly denying the metric system
If Karen's weight was measured in metric, she, her agent and ed sullivan would feel better abut her and herself
same as Momma Cass.
heck today they would be still singing as a duet!
which is what i suggested to Hollywood in 1972, but no one read or cared for my emails or tweets back then!
 

polyphenol

macrumors 68020
Sep 9, 2020
2,111
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Wales
What irks me about measuring systems is when they get perverted to exploit.

Most EU coffee is in packs of 250 grams. And much coffee from EU companies sold in the UK is in that size pack. But UK coffee companies use 8 ounces - 227 grams. So they put about 10% less in their packs.

On the shelf, it is not easy to tell the difference without checking the numbers. That means two packs, one 227 the other 250, sit next to each other. If you go by price alone, you might choose one of the 227 gram packs - but would likely end up paying more per gram/per ounce.

It was an eternity ago that things like flour had to be sold in specific measures. Part of the reason being to avoid a progressive shaving of measures down, down, down. Would be very happy to see that applied to many grocery products.

No idea if the same issues happen in the USA?
 
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PinkyMacGodess

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Midwest America.
If Karen's weight was measured in metric, she, her agent and ed sullivan would feel better abut her and herself
same as Momma Cass.
heck today they would be still singing as a duet!
which is what i suggested to Hollywood in 1972, but no one read or cared for my emails or tweets back then!

You really have no clue about what Anorexia Nervosa is, do you. To callously suggest that if she was weighing herself in the metric system she would be alive today is heinous, and dispicable...
 
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MBAir2010

macrumors 604
May 30, 2018
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You really have no clue about what Anorexia Nervosa is, do you. To callously suggest that if she was weighing herself in the metric system she would be alive today is heinous, and dispicable...
you could be taking my comment a little too seriously....
they are both great singers and fun humans
who suffered with a complex MAYBE the metric system might have solved.
 
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