For those of you who think metric/base 10is not based on anything human, have you counted you fingers lately? Those who like me would only get to base 9 1/2 counting this way are excused. Cheers
I'll never forget when they tried to start switching to metric in the USA. (early 80's I think?)
They decided to start making signs and product labels with BOTH measurements, so folks would start getting some reference points into their heads. Well, that made sense, except the idiot in charge of the whole program had them put the imperial measurements FIRST instead of second. Therefore, everyone simply ignored the second number.
What a waste of tax dollars.
For NASA's Apollo mission, controls / instrumentations were in the then-standard / familiar imperial units:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped.../e/e2/Dsky.jpg
Note degrees Fahrenheit and PSIA (Pounds per Square Inch Absolute).
I can easily flip between metric and standard, as well as driving on the left or the right of the road. It just takes practice. Here is a nice map. The green is metric. Enough said.
image.jpg
I'm having a horible time with TF and FC just running 1,000 ft instead of a quarter mile. I just can't relate.
Maybe if they went to metric.
Still, 100mph in the first 60 feet......
The obvious (to a Canadian) solution for my US cousins is to do what we did in Canada - the typical Canadian compromise.
We buy gas and milk in litres, but 2 x 4 studs. Plywood is still called 4 x 8, not its metric equivalent. Meat is more often than not labelled in both grams/kilograms and pounds/ounces. I can still buy stone by the ton = 2000 lbs. Our ceilings are 8 or 9 feet high in our houses, and fluorescent tubes are 4 or 8 feet long.
In short, Canada chose to do whatever was the most inconvenient and confusing method of measurement possible.
Finally, our pressure is measured in kilopascals. That is neither imperial - psi or metric - millibars. I believe, but may be mistaken, that only Canada and France use kilopascals.
Great fun, eh?
Grant
Ottawa ON
I just had to speak to the driving on the left side of the road. I took my family to the Bahamas for vacation in June for 2 weeks. It was recommended to me to NOT rent a car because local transportation was readily available and driving on the left side may not fly for some. Also, it was nice to avoid the expense because EVERYTHING over there is quite expensive! As I was driven around on various shuttles, buses, and cabs, I convinced myself that driving on the left would be quite challenging and not at all comfortable for me so I'm glad to have avoided it. Many times I felt the driver was doing some VERY wrong and dangerous but, of course, it was just me. Add to the mix that I'm in an unfamiliar place and I think I made a smart choice.
Chris, in our travels overseas, I elected the same as you plus..... some years ago when I began using local tours when visiting Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park and other tourist spots. Take "Going To The Sun Highway" in Glacier. Keep in mind my wife of 47 years is a dedicated "flat lander". If I was driving up Going To the Sun Highway to Logan Pass, I would not see anything except the road. My wife wouldn't see anything because she'd be eyeing me to insure my eyes were on the road. For the two of us the trip would not be as enjoyable. By using local travel companies, I can view the scenery and visit with others.
Our last trip to New Zealand, we flew into Christchurch from Melbourne, Australia. For the next two weeks, we used regularly scheduled trains, buses and a ferry to travel from the South Island to the North Island. There public transportation works well. We did use limo drivers to get to and from the airports. Some times we walked, dragging our bags to get from bus stations to our hotels. It's a neat, less stressful way to see a foreign country.
Ken
So much to learn, so little time.....
I frequently do business in Nassau and Freeport. Their roads are good! They just redid the airport road. You should have seen it when people were trying to pass on a 2-lane.
The one thing that I do still struggle with is right hand drive cars. We drive on the left, but all I ur cars are US imports, so they are left hand steering. I often get right hand drive rentals in other islands and it feels weird. I have adapted to it.
My favorite story is once in Aruba I rented a car and drove away. My employee called me to see if I was ok driving. I said, "Yes- no problem- we also drive on the left " He said, "Malcolm, we drive on the RIGHT in Aruba." He is always joking around so I thought he was kidding. Just then I met a truck head-on. Yikes!
The key is to follow the rest of the traffic. Once you do it for a few days you fall right into it.
Malcolm,
Perhaps actually forcing myself to do it might have made a big difference and maybe one day, I'll get to England and actually have to do it but as a passenger, "Yikes!"
Ken,
Yep, I hear you. Most of the time, I do rent a car because I like the freedom that comes with it. However, in the Bahamas, it really wasn't necessary at all although I will admit to feeling somewhat trapped on Paradise Island where we stayed 99% of the time.