US dollar and its strangeness

[retina]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

Thus, a "foolish consistency" indicates an unwillingness or inability to learn, or to disregard new information for the sake of ideological purity.

Having consistency in things means we can learn about more different things. Rather than spending all of our mental bandwidth to learn about only one thing.

Idiot savant: "I know all about the all of distance measurements from all over the world."
Non-idiot non-savant: "Yes, but you know about nothing else. All your mental effort is used for only that one thing."

[rogue]

If anyone is interested in the origin of many English measurements, I suggest listening to episode 115 of History of English Podcast. It is titled "The Measure of a Person".

[rogue]

Originally Posted by rogue

If anyone is interested in the origin of many English measurements, I suggest listening to episode 115 of History of English Podcast. It is titled "The Measure of a Person".

Episode 114 of that same podcast would also be of interest to many here. It is titled "The Craft of Numbering".

[kladner]

Originally Posted by ewmayer

the US system is mostly based on powers of 2 (e.g. for liquids: tablespoon = 1/2 fluid oz, cup = 8oz = 16 tbsp, pint = 2 cups, quart = 2 pints, gallon = 4 quarts, hogshead = 64gal, tun = 4 hogsheads and weighing 2^11 = 2048 lbs if filled with water at sea level), which should make it quite appealing to the computer science types.

Of course I'm glossing over various subtleties with regard to the different kinds of gallon... ;)

Well don't forget that there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon. A perverse 3, thrown in with all those powers of 2.

[Uncwilly]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

1 (U.S.) fluid ounce (fl oz) = 1.8046875 cubic inches (in^3)
1 (U.S.) fluid (liquid) pint (fl pt)= 16 fl oz = 28.875 in^3
1 (U.S.) fluid (liquid) quart (fl qt) = 2 fl pt = 57.75 in^3
1 (U.S.) gallon (gal) = 4 fl qt = 8 fl pt = 128 fl oz = 231 in^3

You missed the pottle.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

You missed the pottle.

I did what?

Oh, wait. Apparently I missed this unit (two quarts of liquid) by a bit over 190 years; it was dropped when the "English units" were replaced by "Imperial units" by the Weights and Measures Act. The term is still occasionally used to mean this unit, but in references is labeled "archaic."

One of my great-grandfathers referred to what we now know as a bar or tavern, as a "dram shop." The term "dram" was used generically to mean a small amount of liquid, as well as the specific unit 1/8 fluid ounce. I remember a scene in the old PBS series "Upstairs, Downstairs" in which Hudson (portrayed by Gordon Jackson) had struck a deal with one of the hosts during a visit, and suggested "a wee dram" to seal the bargain. He opened a bottle of whisky, and then tossed the cork over his shoulder.

[LaurV]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

The term "dram" ...

We still have that in our language, as noun, and verb too, which google translates it into English "to skimp" (this is how I learned a new word ) (more or less accurate).

[kladner]

https://www.thesaurus.net/jot#anchor...all%20quantity
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tittle
To stray into less exact quantities, I present "jot" and "tittle."


In terms of currency, I am rather fond of the expression, "Queer as a three dollar bill," though I am using "queer" in a specific sense related to my sexual orientation. I have long said that I was being called queer before I knew what it meant. As have others, I have claimed this derogatory expression to disarm the bigoted. These days, the "Q" in "LGBTQI" is more often taken to mean "queer" rather than "questioning" as in the past. As an example, there is a group which meets weekly at the Center on Halsted, where I work, which calls itself "Genderqueer."

[xilman]

Originally Posted by kladner

https://www.thesaurus.net/jot#anchor...all%20quantity
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tittle
To stray into less exact quantities, I present "jot" and "tittle."


In terms of currency, I am rather fond of the expression, "Queer as a three dollar bill," though I am using "queer" in a specific sense related to my sexual orientation. I have long said that I was being called queer before I knew what it meant. As have others, I have claimed this derogatory expression to disarm the bigoted. These days, the "Q" in "LGBTQI" is more often taken to mean "queer" rather than "questioning" as in the past. As an example, there is a group which meets weekly at the Center on Halsted, where I work, which calls itself "Genderqueer."

"Queer as a nine bob note" in English.

(For those not from the UK and/or under the age of 60 or so, back in the good old days a bob was one shilling, twenty of which made one pound sterling. The smallest banknote in circulation had a face value of ten shillings.)

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by kladner

https://www.thesaurus.net/jot#anchor...all%20quantity
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tittle
To stray into less exact quantities, I present "jot" and "tittle."


In terms of currency, I am rather fond of the expression, "Queer as a three dollar bill," though I am using "queer" in a specific sense related to my sexual orientation.
<snip>

I recently posted regarding religious and official attitudes (and actions) toward sexual orientation, over in blogorrhea.

The term "queer" or "the queer" has long been used to mean counterfeit money. In US currency, there is no such thing as a genuine 3-dollar bill, so a 3-dollar bill could not be the counterfeit of a genuine bill. Thus, the description "queer as a 3-dollar bill" is itself a bit queer. However, "queer" also means strange or anomalous, and that description certainly fits a 3-dollar bill.

It is conceivable that someone could try to pass a 3-dollar bill (they are printed as novelty items) as payment for goods or services, which would at least be fraudulent. After all, in 2004 and 2012, people tried to pass million dollar bills at Wal*Mart stores.

I do, however, have a vague recollection that when Nixon was president, people who were printing novelty three-dollar bills with Nixon's face on them were harassed by Secret Service agents, who threatened to shut them down on counterfeiting charges(*). Obviously, those charges would have been as queer as a 3-dollar bill.

(*) When the Secret Service was created in 1865, its only job was to catch counterfeiters. They had plenty to do, a third to half of currency in circulation at the time being counterfeit. It was part of the US Treasury, and Secret Service agents came to be known as Treasury agents or T-men. They were given more duties starting in 1867, and were formally tasked with protecting presidents in 1902. In 2003, the Secret Service was moved to DHS.

[kladner]

Originally Posted by xilman

"Queer as a nine bob note" in English.

(For those not from the UK and/or under the age of 60 or so, back in the good old days a bob was one shilling, twenty of which made one pound sterling. The smallest banknote in circulation had a face value of ten shillings.)

LOL!