Had a chat with my son today

[JPSmit]

Hey grew up in a metric world, moved to the USA as a sophmore and returned to Canada for university and now, among other things works for a landscaping company and does light contracting.

I recall him coming out of school (in the USA) and saying to me (of inches/ feet/ yards) it just doesn't make sense! (to which I agreed) he was so relieved - he said I thought so but have been racking my brain trying to see a pattern.

(Likewise my daughter - when we moved to Florida - had the FQAO's her very forst week (standardized tests) come to the math part and she raises her hand - teacher comes over and daughter asks, 'what's a foot?' - of course teacher couldn't help but fortunately there was allowance made for immigrant children ( suspect actually designed for children from points south rather than north - but I digress)

Chatting with my son and he produced this - remarkably accurate TBH

 

[AngliaGT]

In 1977 I drove from Vancouver,BC to Kalispell,Montana.
I saw a mileage sign that said something like "Creston 28".A
few miles up the road,I saw another that said "Creston 32".It
took me a little while to realize that they were switching over
to the metric system,& hadn't yet removed the old signs.
I got to the US Border at Eureka,MT,at 12:15 AM.I found out
that they closed the border 12-8AM,so I ended up sleeping in my truck.

 

[NutmegCT]

inches/ feet/ yards

Doesn't make sense?

Of course not - it's English. Same as our language!

OK - time to go ghoting.
T.

(Ni devus paroli Esperanton)

 

[Bayless]

Wow, that Canadian system is even worse than your southern brothers.

 

[mikephillips]

That's why those of us who grew up in the countryside use phrases like, "down the road a-ways". Then you can pick your own measurement....

 

[Bayless]

That's why those of us who grew up in the countryside use phrases like, "down the road a-ways". Then you can pick your own measurement....

I stand corrected once again. Ours can be pretty obscure and colorful too I guess.

 

[JPSmit]

I stand corrected once again. Ours can be pretty obscure and colorful too I guess.

I think everyone's is. The advantage to ours is that at least from a tool point of view I have both (actually will need to get Whitworth before too long as well)

In our house Mrs JP & I finesse it even further - doing low temperatures in celcius and higher temps in fahrenheit.

One of the great things in a pre GPS world, having a driver whose world was left/right or this way/ that way and a navigator that was north/south and variations thereof. (and of course using 'right' and 'correct' interchangeably.)

Of course there is also the 'country' "turn right at the red barn" - that burned down years ago. Once upon a time we were leaving the Toronto airport and got lost - stopped at the Pizza Pizza store - and got all our directions in Pizza language - drive till you come to this Pizza Pizza and turn right until you come to the next Pizza Pizza, go one block further and so on.... Context is everything!!

 

[AngliaGT]

In Eureka,you could always tell when the Old Guys gave directions -
"Go down to what used to be Penny's,then make a right until you come to
what used to be Radio Shack,then turn left until you pass what used to be
K Mart.....

 

[John Turney]

Someone once told me that in Maine or Vermont they measure driving distances in "sees", as in "It's three sees down the road."
You drive as far as you can see, then drive further as far as you can see, then drive further as far as you can see and there it is.

Out here, See's is candy.

 

[NutmegCT]

Directions in Maine?

Which way to Millinocket?

 

[pdplot]

Friend of mine was driving in Maine using GPS. He wound up on a dead end dirt road in a dense forest. True story.

 

[waltesefalcon]

Friend of mine was driving in Maine using GPS. He wound up on a dead end dirt road in a dense forest. True story.

I'll never trust GPS, my trusty road atlases have never steered me wrong.

 

[JPSmit]

There is a place north of here - Walter's Falls - when we lived in the area, the joke even among the locals was 'you can't get there from here.' Basically the only way to get to Walter's Falls was by accident. (Now that I think of it - kind of like Three Pines if you recognize that reference)

 

[Gliderman8]

Someone once told me that in Maine or Vermont they measure driving distances in "sees", as in "It's three sees down the road."
You drive as far as you can see, then drive further as far as you can see, then drive further as far as you can see and there it is.

Out here, See's is candy.

I had a roommate in college that was from a town in Tennessee. He once told me that he lived in a “Pick and Plum town”.
When I asked what that was he replied
“by the the time you Pick your nose, you’re Plum outta town”

 

[mikephillips]

Several years ago was in Maine for a club get together and they did a driving challenge that was to end at this guy's garage on a mountain. Well, I was with a couple other guys and we got lost since the road signs we were looking for didn't seem to exist. Pulled into a gas station and asked for directions. The girl behind the counter looked at me like I had rocks in my head and said, "You just keep going till you get there".

 

[DrEntropy]

"You just keep going till you get there".

Ayuh.

 

[waltesefalcon]

"You just keep going till you get there".

This will be my new life mantra.

 

[JPSmit]

This will be my new life mantra.

Sadly it is intimately related to mine - 'when my ship comes in I'll probably be at the airport.'

 

[NutmegCT]

The light has come on at last! I'm at the top of the world!