TABLE OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
Weight |
Avoirdupois |
Troy
(Apothecaries') |
| Long
Ton* |
2240
pounds |
|
| Short Ton |
2000 pounds |
|
| Long
hundredweight |
112
lbs., ½ long tons |
|
| Short
hundredweight |
100
lbs., ½ short tons |
|
| Pound |
16
oz., 7000 grains |
12
oz., 5760 grains |
| Ounce |
16
drams |
8
drams, 480 grains |
| Dram |
27.343
grains |
3
scruples, 60 grains |
| Scruple |
|
20
grains |
| Grain |
.036
drams |
.05
scruples |
* The avoirdupois system was originally divided as so:
16
drams |
= |
1
ounce |
16
ounces |
= |
1
livre/pound |
25
livres |
= |
1
quarter |
4
quarters |
= |
1
quintal/hundredweight |
20
quintaux |
= |
1
tonne/ton |
The
Irish and British added another unit of measurement, the stone,
and set it equal to 14 pounds. The British colonies in North
America chose not to adopt the stone, thus giving rise to
“long” and “short” measurements. To
make conversions between the stone and the quarter, hundredweight,
and ton easier, the latter were altered to 28, 112, and 2,240
pounds, respectively. Thus, a British “long” ton
has 2,240 pounds (160 stone), while an American “short”
ton has 2,000 pounds, and so forth.
(continued from page 2, column 2)
Nazi war posters and vintage beer steins. One source claims
the script was outlawed by Hitler in 1941, but not because
it was difficult to read. In any case, Fraktur fell from grace
in the post World War II era since it reminded too many people
of German militarism and its associated horrors.
A pangram displaying all 26 letters
of the Fraktur script
Sources: The Straight
Dope, www.6nc.org/about6nc/copperplate.html,
www.beerstein.net
/articles/alpha.htm, Wikipedia.
|
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Why
are there 13 items in a baker’s dozen? |
A baker’s dozen, also known as a long dozen, is composed
of 13 bagels, cookies, donuts, or other baked items rather
than the standard twelve. The most probable reason for this
is because an old English statute, the Assize of Bread and
Ale, provided fines and other punishments to bakers who swindled
their customers. To prevent being seen as a cheat, and to
ensure that no customer was shortchanged, a baker included
an extra item at no charge. Fear of punishment aside, this
was a sensible business practice, since one of the 13 items
could easily be lost, eaten, or ruined.
Today, the practice
continues for slightly different reasons, tradition not the
least of them. Some bakers see it as a way to thank customers
for their continued patronage (and indeed many customers expect
that extra bagel). On a practical level, it is very easy to
pack 13 disc-shaped objects into a standard baking tray, which
has a 3:2 aspect ratio. It is also best to cook 13 items on
a cookie sheet by placing them as shown below, since it avoids
the corners (which are notorious for heating up and cooling
off quickly).
Source: Wikipedia.
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