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Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

bennettfeely.com

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Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#71
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would aliens work in base10?

Looks like they had 3 fingers per hand, so base 6 seems a likely choice. 6 works great as its divisible by 2 and 3. I wonder what base we would use if we (somehow) had a prime number of fingers. 2, 6, 30, 60?

Opinion: Highly composite numbers make good bases.

2, 6, 12, 60, etc

Number of fingers doesn't matter, although you can shoehorn almost any base into them. For example, base 6 lets you count to 5 on one hand and use your other to coujt multiples of 6. This lets you count to 35 on two hands.

More info here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superior_highly_composite_nu...

Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#72
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would aliens work in base10?

Looks like they had 3 fingers per hand, so base 6 seems a likely choice. 6 works great as its divisible by 2 and 3. I wonder what base we would use if we (somehow) had a prime number of fingers. 2, 6, 30, 60?

They may have 10 of something else...

Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#74

As an European this is really cool and unlike others self-loathing Americans here in the comments I understand the idea, humor and originality. Happy 4th USA, you are great today due to the greatness of your forefathers and the men that built this nation.

No women were involved?

Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#75
post #28
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1852. "It was a great thing to achieve American Independence when we numbered three millions, but it was a greater thing to save this country from dismemberment and ruin when it numbered thirty millions." ~ Frederick Douglass, 1881. May the United States of America acknowledge what is bad, celebrate what is good, and go on to do greater things in the future.

Amen, he writes well: "As I have said, this southern threat lost many votes, but it gained more than would cover the lost. It frightened the timid, but stimulated the brave; and the result was—the triumphant election of Abraham Lincoln." [1] https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Life_and_Times_of_Frederick_D...

Marx wrote a letter of congratulations to Lincoln when he was elected as well, as a referendum on slavery. It would be silly to think that is uncritical support of the country tho.

Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#77
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh, I didn't know about this, that feet and inches used to differ across the world. If only they'd done pints, fluid ounces, and cups, etc. too! (Cups are particularly annoying: there's British, US, US Legal, and metric. The best recipe-following advice is that it's never going to matter. But it's annoying.)

I thought the whole point of cups was that the actual quantity didn't matter, so long as your ratios were consistent.

Measuring by volume was from a time period before we had reliable digital scales. These days all baking measuring should be done by weight since it is far more accurate. I won’t even consider a recipe that goes by volume. Fortunately those are all written by amateurs.

Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean… the only thing still measured in stone is babies, and even that's falling out of favour.

Most adults in the UK still measure their weight in stones and pounds, at least in my personal experience, and I have never come across anyone (except those raised in other countries) using either plain pounds or metric units for this purpose.

Adults in the UK who take sport in any way seriously are more likely to quote their weight in kg, in my experience.

Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#79

As an European this is really cool and unlike others self-loathing Americans here in the comments I understand the idea, humor and originality. Happy 4th USA, you are great today due to the greatness of your forefathers and the men that built this nation.

No women were involved?

You're just trying to hop on the train, ain't you?

Re: Show HN: USA.css – units set in inches, 1776 bytes

#80

Only a true American patriot who is deeply devoted to the nation's ideals would zealously protect a system of units that has been thrown in the dustbin of history by the rest of humanity.

Drinking from an obsolete CE pint glass here. Brexit!!! (?)
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