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The fact that americans need YouTube videos to explain this to them is just... sad, painful, demoralizing, pathetic, and cringe.
@cassidyclown
>sounds less like bullshit when guessing distances
Only if you're measuring things in feet. And it sounds as useful as measuring in banana length, cause I don't know about you, but my feet aren't exactly 1 foot long.
Also, if you want to guesstimate a meter, you usually measure by making a big step.
I can appreciate the "poetic" part, if you're nostalgic about the British Empire.
@alyx @cassidyclown i did always dislike how there's not really anything in between cm and meters. it's either a measurement smaller than an inch or one 3x a foot. sure there is decimeter but nobody fucking uses it.
for measuring height, even though it isn't as precise, i still think feet+inches is better than just centimeters.
when you get into longer distances or very precise measurements though, it's probably better to use metric. we already do the latter, because there isn't an imperial unit smaller than an inch. bullets, cables, things like that are measured in mm.
@Corfiot @cassidyclown @beardalaxy
It's funny that deci doesn't get used, but deca does. Or at least in my country. We usually use decaliters to measure larger quantities of alcoholic drinks, such as wine, or our version of moonshine.
@Corfiot @cassidyclown @beardalaxy
I wouldn't dislike imperial as much as I do if the conversions between imperial units actually made sense. All I know is that 1 foot=12 inches. 1 yard=3 feet. But I'm completely clueless how many feet or yards you need for a mile. And don't get me started on subdivisions to an inch.
Everything being 10x the smaller unit is the single most powerful feature of the metric system.
@Corfiot @cassidyclown @beardalaxy
Nautical everything is an entirely different can of worms.
@alyx @Corfiot @cassidyclown one mile is 5280 feet, and the only reason why i know that off the top of my head is because i've had to look it up so many god damn times xD if i asked any of my friends i don't think they would know the answer.
i definitely agree, that's what i like about the metric system, it's all in factors of ten so it makes it super easy.
the reason i've looked up how many feet are in a mile so many times i can't remember, but it's probably because of d&d and trying to figure out the distance of things in regards to rules for spells, travel, etcetera so i can hone in on making things work correctly for the rest of the world to make it seem more realistic (d&d is almost solely measured in feet otherwise i'd be doing something else). i feel like most people probably don't need to know how many feet are in a mile, and if they do need to know, then they can easily find out or they'll already know because they work in a field where that knowledge is common.
i feel like for the most part though, people won't need it, because if you're measuring something in miles or kilometers it's a long distance and it's going to be pretty ballpark-y either way. if you're measuring, like, a race track in kilometers you wouldn't really need to know how many meters it is, and likewise for miles. a 3.3 mile race track is just that, we don't really need to know how many feet or yards it is.
a yard is roughly the size of a meter btw, just a tiny bit shorter, just in case you didn't know! it can help me visualize how long a meter is when i just think of it being about 3 feet.
@Corfiot @cassidyclown @alyx i am one of those fucking weird people that just have a lot of random knowledge about weird shit. like, now i know how toothpaste made for sensitive teeth works xD or i know the numbers of all of my teeth because it's the easiest way to tell the dentist what tooth you're having problems with.
tbh the only way i know anything at all is just weird situations that arise and i either have to learn about something to overcome an issue or i just get curious and go on a knowledge adventure xD
@Corfiot @cassidyclown @alyx which is probably why the stuff that stuck with me in school is the stuff i was actually interested in and looked into more on my own time, or weird little things that popped up along the way that were the direct result of me asking questions or doing something weird on an assignment.
the only reason i know any specifics about wars or just a lot of history stuff in general is because of sabaton lmao. i now know all about the swiss guard and the sack of rome because of this one song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaTn3oRPtzg
@beardalaxy @cassidyclown
>there's not really anything in between cm and meters
>sure there is decimeter
... you answered your own problem, so not sure what to say. Just because most people don't use it, doesn't mean you can't. That's the beauty of metric, and why it's used in science and engineering, it's flexible enough to use whatever fits you best, and transformations are easy to do if they are needed at any time.
Meanwhile, how does 12 inches=1 foot make sense? How exactly is it easy to convert inches in feet when you're dealing with random numbers. Can you convert 587 inches in feet in a split second, without using a calculator, or pen & paper?
>for measuring height, even though it isn't as precise, i still think feet+inches is better
For a person's height? Maybe... but it still sucks balls. My precise measurement would be 6 feet, 3 and a half inches. Which sucks to say or type. So I actually round up my height when talking to Burgerland people to make it easier on myself.
And if you're thinking about measuring tall buildings instead, you come back to meters being a better unit. 500 meters is more manageable than ~1600 feet. I guess you can use yards, but I never heard anyone use yards for height. Even airplanes measure in feet above ground.
P.S. Also, how many feet are there in a mile?
