They are very common in the UK. Never had a problem with them. As long as you’re not driving a fancy Tesla with indicators on the steering wheel!
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Why the heck does America still use outdated measurement and date units?
- Thread starter garirry
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Sort of. Having a construction background, 9 sq/ft in a sq yard and 27 ft in a cu/yd are quite common. And using 43,000 as a rough measurement for an acre works as well.
I love them. Well most of them. There are 7 on 260 from I-17 into Cottonwood. I would be pissed if these were stop signs or traffic lights.
Now the 2 in Sedona at the 89A/179 intersection are a PITA. They will back up traffic in no time. Those need to be lights.
Maybe it is red brake lights AND indicators that cause problems there but not here?
Most people don't, and the average Joe doesn't do a lot of conversions (or metric would be more compelling).
For volume, we tend to use quite the mix - cc or ml or teaspoons or tablespoons for medications, and pint/quart/gallon for moderate fluid volumes (except we've gotten used to 2-L size bottled sodas). The main place I see cubic feet is buying topsoil type products by the bag, and I know a mulch and soil place that sells by the cubic yard.
For area, we tend to think in terms of square feet, acres or square miles, and again, the average Joe doesn't do much converting. A person estimating the cost of shingles for the roof gets it in square feet; it never occurs to him to ask what fraction of an acre his roof's surface area is.
I think this is a big part of why the average U.S. citizen can't be bothered to switch to metric, because it's a hassle and most people the overwhelming majority of the time don't do conversions enough for metric's advantage to mean much.
That said, it does bring confusion at times. I can't remember how many teaspoons in a tablespoon.
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You mean like “normal body temperature” [although I just read that these traditional values are potentially being revised] of 98.6 degrees F or 37 degrees C.
Oops I guess this proves the opposite of your statement.
Better not visit this one then.
Swindon's 'iconic' Magic Roundabout turns 40
A roundabout enthusiast describes a well-known Swindon landmark, which opened 40 years ago, as "iconic".
www.bbc.com
The very simple reason for using a roundabout/traffic circle is that they reduce the seriousness of accidents. Vehicles that hit each other tend to be travelling somewhat in the same direction, so damage to the cars and occupants is generally reduced.
Why does freezing at 0 make sense? The temps below zero are just as valid and useful as those above zero. It seems "clean" at first glance, but to base the entire scale on that is weird.Having freezing at 0 degrees seems pretty logical to me. Perfect scientific reference point as well
Same as the measurements. The meter is old, the exact measurement is stored. And for people like you who don’t like decimal point you can use the metric system to easily and logically change the scale. By using Kilo, centi, mili, nano etc versions.
No where did I say you can't use fractions or decimals. Of course you have to. The point though, was that the most common and basic measurements should not start out as a fractions or decimals. Whole numbers should be usable wherever possible, and the measurement system should be designed that way. If you find yourself having to use fractions or decimals all the time, then your scale is too small, and not adequate for measuring what you're measuring.
There is another great irony: the U.S. military uses day/month/year format. Those deployed abroad need to change their thinking to go outside a base, as the country is not going to change for Americans.
In programming for databases, I would rather use year/month/day, as it makes comparisons easier, and there is no guesswork as to which alternative format it is.
Imagine a country bigger than the USA and Europe put together!
India (DMY, YMD)? China (YMD)?
Probably got quite a number of teachers in each of them.
Have you seen Phoenix, AZ drivers?! 🤯
No, but they probably have cousins around where I live...
I'd love to see them try the one that is not too far away from me; may I present to you the Hemel Hempstead magic roundabout. One traffic circle, with six embedded smaller traffic circles.
It's a fun dance around it…
?? Nobody says temps below zero aren't valid? Heck you seem to have a great talent in disproving your statements as if anything there is some nice equality in using Celsius going in either direction of defined points.
And again, they don't. Using metric when required, you can just adjust the scale. Still the same system, and avoids having to do what you don't like doing. Thus, you can have the appropriate scale for what you require, whilst not having to change systems. Yet again, you are arguing against your point.
That's an interesting point. In order to achieve it in use, we often report a person's height in feet and inches, such as 6 feet, 1 inch tall. We pretty much never say someone is 6 1/12th feet tall, or around 6.1 feet tall, etc...
But if I understand correctly, a European would probably give his height in meters with a decimal, or in centimeters, but not likely 1-meter + x-centimeters.
Richard.
Refering to someone's height as one eighty (for example) is quite common. At least in my language. Saying 1.8 is common, 1 80 is common (you don't need to say extensively one meter 80 centimetres, the other person will know) but saying 180 is not that common.
Everyone system evolves to be quick in use.
The metric system, the 24 hour system may sound weird or even alien or pretentious but from it's users pov which use it exclusively it's just the measuring system and it's second nature.
Everyone system evolves to be quick in use.
The metric system, the 24 hour system may sound weird or even alien or pretentious but from it's users pov which use it exclusively it's just the measuring system and it's second nature.
Military members do in fact adapt to the date formats used in other countries, and some even learn some of the spoken languages. While a certain date format is used at the military base, military members have to use whichever date format is used in the local communities. In some places in Asia, it would be quite difficult to ask for the right food to eat at restaurants near the military bases, unless you learn the language. The most delicious foods are found in the local communities, and even street vendors.
The same is done by students from overseas attending US universities. In addition to the metric measuring system they use at the lab or classroom, they adapt to the US Customary Units used in the nearby communities.
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I did that once, and I never returned to see them again. It's no wonder Arizona has a state highway, so I-10 drivers can avoid Phoenix.
In the Fahrenheit world, the expression "degrees of frost" is widely used and effectively shifts freezing point to zero (arithmetically).
It is so much easier to start off with freezing point at zero.
And: Why does freezing at 32 make sense?
In London, there is a specific scheme called Hangar Lane gyratory. Possibly in part because it isn't circular but square with rounded corners.
Hanger Lane gyratory - Wikipedia
I know it well!In London, there is a specific scheme called Hangar Lane gyratory. Possibly in part because it isn't circular but square with rounded corners.
Hanger Lane gyratory - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
I was actively braking for a yellow light the other day, with a car to my right also braking for the yellow. There was no way I would have made it through before it turned red. I'm on a three lane street with the far right lane being a right hand turn lane. Some guy that is about four car lengths behind me floors it and goes into the right hand turn lane, pulls around the guy to my right and blows through the light a full second after it turned red.
It's just nuts around here. People treat the traffic laws and traffic lights/stop signs as if they are suggestions and don't apply to them.