dollars cents pound and quarters

 Sometimes I have to laugh when I see financial reports on American tv
shows.  Why do they speak in tenths instead of just moving into the
21st century, like they say the market moved 2 tenths...

Why have a quarter of a dollar, or why don't we have a fifth of a
dollar coin instead of a 20c piece.

And what are these Lbs, I don't seem to have a symbol to represent
that on my key pad.

And how come there are dollars per pound, isn't it meant to be dollars
per kilo or pounds per pound or pence per pound...

I was born in 69 so things had already changed by then here, 65 I
think it was when they said goodbye to the pounds and pence and hello
to the dollars and cents.

Still waiting for the 10 month year, the 10 hour day/night and the 10
day week, 10 week month etc...

Anyhow I should go and put a couple of gallons of water on my
tomatoes...

Have a nice day, happy gardening...

In humor...Warren

 Warren wrote:

Hm. I was born in 1955 and, believe it or not, still think in the
imperial measures I learned at school. In fact, I still use 'two bob'
instead of '20c'!

You can have no conception of what it was like, trying to do sums in
imperial weights and measures *and worse*, doing sums in £, s and d! Not
only that, but we also had guineas and sovereigns to deal with!
Urrrggghhh! Betty and Jim (the proprietors of my primary school maths
book) taught me how many rods, poles or perches there were in a mile.
How many yards in a furlong. How many chains in a cricket pitch (ie
one). How many pennyweight in an ounce. I could go on.

So please don't tell us elder persons to forget or change that which was
learned at *great cost* in our childhoods! Mumblemumble... one thousand
seven hundred and sixty yards, one mile... grumble... sixteen fluid
ounces, one pint... crumble... twenty one shillings in a guinea... and
that bloody-well baker and his dozen!!! Aaaarrrggghhh!!!!

Oh, and FYI, the change to dismal guernsey (decimal currency) occurred
on the 14th of February, 1966.

I was eleven and all I cared about was that a whole new way of doing
sums was about to be inflicted upon me. There was a cutesy little jingle
and a character called 'Dollar Bill' who sang to the tune of 'Click Go
the Shears'. Serious discussions were held all over the country about
whether one should put one stroke or two through an 'S' to make the
dollar symbol. Another huge discussion went on about whether to call
'the new money' 'dollars' or something else. The word 'Austral' was
touted, but dismissed after a cartoon appeared in the paper showing Mark
Antony in the Forum with a wheelbarrow full of noses and a sandwich
board saying 'Donate to Caesar's funeral fund'. Out of his mouth came a
speech balloon saying 'Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me an austral!'

Finally, I happen to do quilting as my other hobby. I have to inform you
that the whole, entire quilting world thinks in yards and inches. The
effort required to convert between metric and imperial measures when
cutting out tiny strips of fabric is enough to send you *mad*!

Go figger.

--
Trish Newcastle, NSW, Australia

 
There are 16 fluid ounces in an American pint. Ours had 20 hence their short
gall 3.6 litres as our gallon is 4.5 litres.

 SG1 wrote:

See what I mean? All that angst over conversions and calculations and
you *still* couldn't get 'em all right! Hnnnnh! ;->

--
Trish Newcastle, NSW, Australia

 On Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:22:48 +1000, Trish Brown


Ha I had to laugh, as one born in the first half of the last century I
hated the idea of going metric. I mean 12 is such a handy number
divides by 2, 3, 4, 6 etc etc and if you know the cost of a dozen eggs
then the cost of one is easy in LSD money (?). There is a measurement
for everything, all different units and all incompatable!

BUT Australia went metric and did it brilliantly, I am so glad that
they did. and while I still totally confuse my kids by saying things
like, "Push it toward me a couple of inches" Metric is such a grand
system.

On the other hand the British have spent nearly 50 years totally
stuffing up their conversion to metric (as an example look at their
Met site it is still in an absurd mixture of imperial and metric). My
last year at school in the UK was spent trying to cope with CGS then
MKS units as they dithered and changed their mind, Finally, I presume,
settling on SI units. And who in their right mind would not have
wanted to be part of a common European currency?

But it does piss me off that when I ask for a dozen rolls at the local
baker I only get 12! But the Vietnamese couple behind the counter are
always so nice to me I forgive them instantly ;)

All of which has nothing to do with gardening other than my block of
dirt is 186 feet long by 40 feet wide.


Regards
Dinsy

Tantum religio potuit suadere malorum - Lucretius