Proof America Is Dumbing Down

[brushmore]

BTW...as long as we have mentioned measurements, has anyone wondered why there are 5280 feet in a mile?  Why is it such an odd ball number?  Same for 36 inches in a yard.  

I did wonder about both of those, butt here is a very good and valid reason for those numbers.

 

Very interesting at what Solus point out.  That both 36 and 5280 are divisible by 3 and 4 which means many common fractions will result in whole numbers.  So a 1/3 of mile is 1760 feet where as a 1/3 of kilometer is 333.3333333333333333333333333(etc.) meters.  Wow, I actually learned something today! 

[crusader rabbit]

just think of how much has changed in math and sci.   then there writing/spelling/punc/ etc.   things have changed so much.  I would be a good chunk of the test would not even be correct today. 

FWIW, I took a careful look at the test, and contrary to TAB's assertion, everything on the test is as accurately true today as it was then.  Facts are not altered by time--only our perception of those facts change.

For example, my Grandad was a proud Democrat.

If he were alive today, he would not be associated with that political party. 

He would, instead, be considered a fairly conservative Republican.

And, just as a special note to TAB, punctuation, while becoming rare, still has a great value.  More so, correct spelling has even greater worth.

You might give each concept a closer look and at least make an attempt to apply them to your posts.

Crusader Rabbit

[Solus]

Hi;

     The reason we have 36" in a yard goes back to a English King who settled a dispute on a measurement argurment amogst "scholars" of the day....36" was the distance from the tip of his nose to the tip of his index finger.

     A  Pope of way back when settled the arguement on South America and who would speak Spanish and Portugese = Line of demarcation...

Then he made a lucky choice.  

I worked a summer job where they made Pipe Wrap. ...Fiber reinforced asbestos paper saturated with tar or asphalt...used to wrap pipe as it was being laid underground.

They produced "jumbos" that were big rolls, 36 inches wide and 5000' long.

This was then cut to the width and length the customer required.

It was there I realized the beauty of the number 36.  

We could make 18 2" rolls, 12 3" rolls, 9 4" rolls, 6 6" rolls and the reverse in width and count, all without any scrap.

The trick is 12 inches...so fractions of 12 work all the way up...6 is similar as is 18, 24 and 30.

What surprises me is that humans don't have 6 digits on each  hand...

[lhprop1]

And, just as a special note to TAB, punctuation, while becoming rare, still has a great value. 

I agree with this wholeheartedly.  Proper punctuation is the difference between

"He helped his uncle, Jack, off his horse." and "He helped his uncle jack off his horse."

[MikeBjerum]

That's just it.  Cords, rods, hands, etc are measurements rarely used today,except in a few specialized fields.  100 years ago, those were things a lot more people needed to know for daily transactions. 

For someone today to know that 1 rod = 16.5 feet or 1/320th of a mile would be nothing more than trivia for a vast majority of the population because it will never be needed in practical life. 

Knowledge changes.  As we gain more knowledge and technology, certain things become less important or even obsolete. 

Unless of course you live in a rural area or choose a career in engineering or property transfer.  Engineers don't use it as much any more, but it really screws with the newbies when they come across it in descriptions.

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

Unless of course you live in a rural area or choose a career in engineering or property transfer.  Engineers don't use it as much any more, but it really screws with the newbies when they come across it in descriptions.

This is actually pretty common back here where most of the original deeds were written using rods.
Just past the old T/C Arms factory is Ten Rod Road which runs toward Two Rod Road .
The only things on that test that have actually "changed" are the names of countries and cities in the Geography section.

[Solus]

This is actually pretty common back here where most of the original deeds were written using rods.
Just past the old T/C Arms factory is Ten Rod Road which runs toward Two Rod Road .
The only things on that test that have actually "changed" are the names of countries and cities in the Geography section.

The test asks for the 3 largest states.

Alaska wasn't a state until 1959. 

The answer in 1912 would  have been TX, CA, MT...  of course the 2 letter Postal abbreviation wasn't used until 1963 when ZIP Codes were introduced.

[billt]

of course the 2 letter Postal abbreviation wasn't used until 1963 when ZIP Codes were introduced.

Hell, I remember postal zones.

[Solus]

Hell, I remember postal zones.

.
The first phone number I remember was Grovehill 61520  ...or GR6-1520.  It was my grandparents number in Chicago

[crusader rabbit]

This is actually pretty common back here where most of the original deeds were written using rods.
Just past the old T/C Arms factory is Ten Rod Road which runs toward Two Rod Road .
The only things on that test that have actually "changed" are the names of countries and cities in the Geography section.

Take a trip outside the US and you may find land measured in hectares. 

Of course, I can still remember my first 4 cubit boat.

Crusader Rabbit