Measurements should be relevant to daily life, and come in increments that are useful to daily tasks. Metric was primarily designed to look good on paper, which isn’t surprising when you consider that it was dreamed up by a bunch of fancy lads who never made things with their hands. We’re all kind of stuck with it now for a lot of reasons, but I believe that it is suboptimal.
The imperial system isn’t based on day to day use either though. A yard is the length of some kings arm, not some universal signifyer. The foot is the length of Henry I’s foot. An inch is three grains of barley laid end-to-end.
First time I remember my dad using yards was when I asked how far my family’s dog could see. She was going blind. He replied ‘about five yards’ and I thought it meant back yards, and then thought she could see further than she could.
Measurements should be relevant to daily life, and come in increments that are useful to daily tasks. Metric was primarily designed to look good on paper, which isn’t surprising when you consider that it was dreamed up by a bunch of fancy lads who never made things with their hands. We’re all kind of stuck with it now for a lot of reasons, but I believe that it is suboptimal.
The imperial system isn’t based on day to day use either though. A yard is the length of some kings arm, not some universal signifyer. The foot is the length of Henry I’s foot. An inch is three grains of barley laid end-to-end.
First time I remember my dad using yards was when I asked how far my family’s dog could see. She was going blind. He replied ‘about five yards’ and I thought it meant back yards, and then thought she could see further than she could.