*WHY* "metricicate" speed limis?

Tivoli

nah fook imperial, metric is much easier to understand

off topic ...ish

spanners in metric range from 7 mm to 32 mm in steps of 1 mm so 7,8,9,10,11...
so if a 8 is too small try a 9

spanners in imperial ranges from 1/4AF to 15/16AF in steps of god know what so 1/4af,5/16af,11/32af,wtf/42,ffs/omg..... idiots
so if a 5/16af is too small, try to find the next bigger one

imperial is a mess

people have 10 fingers and hence our numbers work in steps of 10, and so do meters.

Tommy Vercetti

Oh man this whole changing buzz will never work

Look at the smoking ban! There's anarchy on the streets! Old people still can't figure out the pound and pence thing, nevermind the euro!

I am going to phone Joe Duffy about this!


nah really, get over it, it's just a few numbers

unkel

Originally posted by mukki
1/4af,5/16af,11/32af,wtf/42,ffs/omg.....

ROFL

sceptre

Originally posted by PBC_1966
I haven't been to Ireland since 1998, but I remember at that time it being a guessing game as to whether the next distance sign would be miles or kilometers. Have all (or the majority) of distance signs now been converted?

You can pretty much assume they've all been converted. There are a few of the old ones still left but I'll go out on a limb and say they're probably all in the real ass end of nowhere and usually Ballywhoknowswhere - 1.

unkel

Originally posted by sceptre
Ballywhoknowswhere - 1.

Ballygobackwards 1 3/4

smoke.me.a.kipper

the sign in the Kerrygold ad hasnt been changed.

Inch - 1m

PBC_1966

Next thing the EU will wants us to drive on the wrong side of the road!

EU Directive 999/EC/213546-B/501-C/234745/EEC specifies that the UK and RoI can implement a phased changeover plan, in which large vehicles such as trucks and buses will switch to driving on the right in 2005, while cars will make the change in 2006. Bicycles and motorcycles will not be required to change until 2009.

Those of us who grew up using Imperial measures have no trouble with them. Those socket-set sizes may look odd to someone who's never used them, but when you use them regularly you automatically know that 5/16 is larger than 1/4 and that 11/16 is larger than 5/8 etc. And the metric sizes don't always run so smoothly anyway. What's the next size up from 5mm?

There is a group here in Britain known as ARM -- Active Resistance to Metrication. They keep a look out for metric road signs (which are illegal under our Road Traffic Acts) and report them to councils when found. Although km hasn't replaced miles, some councils have taken it upon themselves to start using meters instead of yards on some signs, and in some cases posting height limits in meters instead of feet and inches.

ARM requests that the council comply with the law and replace the signs with correct English versions. If the council doesn't do so, they go out armed with the appropriate tools and modify the signs themselves.

seamus

Originally posted by PBC_1966
EU Directive 999/EC/213546-B/501-C/234745/EEC specifies that the UK and RoI can implement a phased changeover plan, in which large vehicles such as trucks and buses will switch to driving on the right in 2005, while cars will make the change in 2006. Bicycles and motorcycles will not be required to change until 2009.

Heh, yeah, lots of luck with that one.

Those of us who grew up using Imperial measures have no trouble with them. Those socket-set sizes may look odd to someone who's never used them, but when you use them regularly you automatically know that 5/16 is larger than 1/4 and that 11/16 is larger than 5/8 etc. And the metric sizes don't always run so smoothly anyway. What's the next size up from 5mm?

And those of us who didn't grow up with Imperial haven't a clue. I'm 22, and metric measurements are way over my head. I can measure in metres and centimetres from eye, but not in inches and feet, and certainly not yards. so it's about time to change. Within 10 years, you'll have a majority not familiar with Imperial. For the record, the next size up from 5mm is 5.5mm, but it's the only anomaly. And everyone knows that 5.5 > 5. It's not so clear with Imperial measurements.

Imperial measurements are a throwback to the middle ages, when the gentry devised complex ways of calculating the grades in all aspects of everyday things that needs counting - speed, distance, money. This was a form of control to help keep the peasants ignorant, and ensure that the gentry stayed at the top of the chain. As someone has said - we have ten fingers. If they had devised a decimal system, it would have been too accessible to the peasants.

Imperial is old and obsolete.

unkel

Originally posted by seamus
Imperial is old and obsolete.

Hear, hear

seamus

Actually, I had an afterthough of why we're switching which I thought I should share with you:

In less than 10 seconds each, and without the aid of a calculator or pen and paper, solve the following two questions:

1. How many inches in 1 and 3/8 miles?

2. How many centimetres in 1.375 kilometres?

I think you will now see why it's blatantly obvious that metric is the way forward.

sceptre

Originally posted by seamus
1. How many inches in 1 and 3/8 miles?

87120

Took me rather longer than ten seconds without a calculator or pencil though, especially given that I can only multiply or divide with small numbers or multiples of 10 in me noggin as I find it faster.

20 second method:
1 mile = 1760 yards
1760/8 = 125 + (100 - (40/8)) = 220
1&3/8 miles = 11/8 miles = ((10+1)8) miles.
1 yard = 36 inches

Hence,
((((220 * 3)*10) + ((220 * 3)*2))*1) + ((((220 * 3)*10) + ((220*3)*2))*10)
= 6600+1320+((6600+1320)*10)
= 7920+79200
= 8000+79200-80
= 87200-80
= 87120


Took almost as long to check it with a calculator (1760*3*12*1.375). And of course you have to remember how many yards or feet are in a mile or else you're sunk.


Under-two-seconds method of converting 1.375km into cm:
137,500

Stupid-proof.

I thought it was worth taking the time to illustrate exactly how much more complicated the process is (obviously we all know it's more complicated). I'd regard Seamus's illustrated point as completely true. The imperial system is truly the work of the devil. If we'd gone metric first, we'd look on anyone suggesting the imperial system as a crazy weirdo.