I was driving by the bank last week on my way to work, and a question struck me: Why does my bank continue to show Celsius degrees on their marquee? Does anyone in this country actually care what the Celsius temperature is (BTW, it was 21. 70 degrees Farenheit).
And what's up with the formula to convert the two? Tell me if this sound like it was made up by scientists spending too much time in the lab.
Nerd: Take the "normal Fahrenheit" temperature and subtract 32
Geek: Why 32?
Nerd: Um... Not sure. Just trust me.
Geek: OK
Nerd: Now take that number and multiply it by 5.
Geek: OK
Nerd: Now divide that number by 9.
Geek: What?
Nerd: Divide it by 9.
Geek: Seriously? I just multiplied it by 5?
Nerd: Just do it.
Eureka! We've discovered the conversion: Celsius = (5/9)*(Fahrenheit-32)
I'm sure there are good scientific reasons for the formula (reasons I likely learned in 8th grade but have since purged from memory), but it always seemed terribly random to me. And because of how it's set up, check this out. At -40 degrees Farenheit, it's -40 degrees Celsius. Wait...what? In Antarctica they don't even use Celsius and Fahrenheit. It's just -40.
Ridiculous.
But wait. Celsius is a much cleaner measurement of temperature. Zero = Freezing Water. 100 = Boiling Water. Why would we not use this?
This blog post could quickly fall into my "English systems of measurement are crazy" soap box (and who isn't waiting for that?). More kids would pass Jr. High math and science if they didn't have to deal with feet, miles, pounds, ounces, and kips. Kips? Really? A unit of force is called a kip?
And what's up with the formula to convert the two? Tell me if this sound like it was made up by scientists spending too much time in the lab.
Nerd: Take the "normal Fahrenheit" temperature and subtract 32
Geek: Why 32?
Nerd: Um... Not sure. Just trust me.
Geek: OK
Nerd: Now take that number and multiply it by 5.
Geek: OK
Nerd: Now divide that number by 9.
Geek: What?
Nerd: Divide it by 9.
Geek: Seriously? I just multiplied it by 5?
Nerd: Just do it.
Eureka! We've discovered the conversion: Celsius = (5/9)*(Fahrenheit-32)
I'm sure there are good scientific reasons for the formula (reasons I likely learned in 8th grade but have since purged from memory), but it always seemed terribly random to me. And because of how it's set up, check this out. At -40 degrees Farenheit, it's -40 degrees Celsius. Wait...what? In Antarctica they don't even use Celsius and Fahrenheit. It's just -40.
Ridiculous.
But wait. Celsius is a much cleaner measurement of temperature. Zero = Freezing Water. 100 = Boiling Water. Why would we not use this?
This blog post could quickly fall into my "English systems of measurement are crazy" soap box (and who isn't waiting for that?). More kids would pass Jr. High math and science if they didn't have to deal with feet, miles, pounds, ounces, and kips. Kips? Really? A unit of force is called a kip?
I'll save the remainder of my metric measurement rant for another day.
So I'm thinking of learning the Celsius system (it's not that hard - 0 to 100) and using it in everyday speech.
"Hey Joe, it's gonna be a scorcher today. Might reach 35... Celsius"
3 comments:
I'm all for the Metric System. I'm afraid we'll make the change when I'm 70, I won't want to learn, and I'll be the out-of-touch, grumpy old guy.
I've chosen to buck both systems. Who really need to measure stuff with numbers anyway? I stick to "It's hot" , "It's cold", "I am short" and "you are tall". Works for me.
I like to combine the systems in conversations.
For instance: I can't believe I hit that golf ball 200 meters in one shot and then it took 4 shots to get it 36 inches.
or
My car gets 25 mpg when I go down the highway at 100 km/h.
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