On 2019-08-09 2:44 p.m., Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> On Friday, August 9, 2019 at 1:05:02 PM UTC-4, Sheldon wrote:
>> On Fri, 9 Aug 2019 00:40:07 -0500, Sqwertz >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On Thu, 8 Aug 2019 22:54:44 -0400, Dave Smith wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 2019-08-08 8:44 p.m., Sqwertz wrote:
>>>>> On Thu, 8 Aug 2019 15:08:52 -0400, Dave Smith wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>> More likely per pound. While we are officially metric, meat prices are
>>>>>> usually advertised in pounds.
>>>>>
>>>>> I wondered about that, and I searched for every measurement of meat
>>>>> and poultry prices in CA, and they're all calculated per KG. I
>>>>> didn't search individual retail grocery stores, though.
>>>>>
>>>>> That seems kinda silly that wholesale prices are calculated per KG,
>>>>> but retail per LB <shrug>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> There are a couple issues. First of all, most older adults/shoppers grew
>>>> up with Imperial measures so they calculate their meat quantities in
>>>> pounds. That is what they are familiar with. Secondly there is the
>>>> matter of a kilo being 2.2 pounds, so something that is $5/lb translates
>>>> to $11 per kg, Even though a piece of meat will cost the same whether
>>>> is sold by the pound or the kilo, there is the perception of the much
>>>> higher cost.
>>>>
>>>> The way they get around it with cold cuts and deli stuff is to price it
>>>> per 100 kg..... about 1/4 lb. Slap a $5 /lb price on a cold cut and it
>>>> translates to $11 per kg, but a 100 gram servicing is only $1.10. It
>>>> looks like a bargain,
>>>
>>> Kinda like how they tried selling gas here 'Per Liter' in the
>>> mid-late 70's. Nobody really did the math so the price per liter
>>> was actually much more than it was per gallon ($.35/L vs $1.25/Gal).
>>> They also did it with milk and soda.
>>>
>>> That's why the metric system never really caught on here back then
>>> during "The Big Push". A few people did the math and realized the
>>> boondoggle and told everyone else, "Metric is Evil!". Too many
>>> companies tried to unjustly profit from the transition and it died
>>> quickly.
>>>
>>> Except for soda - that's still sold in 1, 2 and 3 liter bottles. Go
>>> figure, eh?
>>>
>>> -sw
>>
>> For beverages the liter caught on because it's a bit more than a quart
>> but sells at the same price that a quart did, people think it's a
>> bargain. However people forget that the beverage is the least costly
>> part of the product; the container, advertising, transportation, and
>> profit is a larger share.
>> I can deal with weights and volumes in metric but not sizes... I can
>> easily visualize inches, feet, yards, even miles but not silly
>> millimeters,. Metric wrenches give me a fit, especially allen
>> wrenches. And don't dare tell me "spanners".
> A centimeter is about half an inch. A millimeter is about the thickness
> of a dime. A meter is a tad more than a yard. A kilometer is a little
> over half a mile.
>
> At this stage of your life, how much precision do you really need?
>

Most people are pretty bad at estimating any dimension, especially in
some of the most common usage, like weather. We measure snowfall in cm
and rain in mm. The only way you can really measure rainfall is to
capture it and measure it. The rest of it falls on the ground where
some if it is absorbed into the soil and the rest runs down hill and
accumulates so the rise in the water level in rivers and streams is
often much greater than the measured rainfall.

Estimating highway driving time and distance is another matter. If you
are driving. If you on a trip and travelling 250 miles at 60 mph you are
doing a mile a minute. That means 250 miles, so then you have to divide
by 60 and it is 4 hours and 10 minutes. When you use metric the
highway speed is rounded up to 100 kph. That same distance is 400 km, so
it will take you 4 hours. Make it 600 km and it will take you 6 hours.