Re: pounds

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From: ROY MAYEDA (roymayeda@yahoo.com)
Date: Thu Nov 20 2003 - 21:13:47 PST 

Message-ID: <20031121051347.60349.qmail@web20422.mail.yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 21:13:47 -0800 (PST)
From: ROY MAYEDA <roymayeda@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: pounds

And it gets worse... Actually, a pound is not necessarily a pound. The old trick question, "Which weighs more: a pound of feathers or a pound of gold?" is sort of a "double trick question." Inexperienced answer -- "gold" (thinking of the material's density rather than weight). Somewhat more sophisticated answer -- "both are the same" (nice thought, but incorrect). Correct answer -- "feathers". Gold is properly weighed in troy ounces & pounds, while feathers are measured in avoirdupois ounces & pounds. Troy ounces are heavier than avoirdupois ounces, but there are only 12 troy ounces in a troy pound. I bring this up when discussing measurement systems. Lots of other examples of units which have the same or similar names but different values.
 
Roy Mayeda
"After you play with their minds, remember to put them back where you found them."
:-)

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