Nerd Material

[tfcrew]

Regarding these maps...
1 The USA uses metric. I use many of these tools.
2 I noticed that Peru has street view.
3 The British did not invade Afghanistan. They tried and got their ass kicked.
4 A map devised under the  influence  of possibly peyote.
5 A Mc Donalds #2 meal cost about $7.50 in north Texas.
6 Some of these far left countries pay the fathers maternal leave.
7 The most common name on Gilligan's Island....Howell
8 Driving an American car in England must be really tricky.
9 Peyote again....trippy.
10 ?

I like the 50 amazing pictures...
http://twistedsifter.com/2013/03/most-perfectly-timed-photos-ever/

[SANDRO43]

Regarding these maps...
1 The USA uses metric.

Since when and for what ? Last I was there (2010) you still had miles, gallons, ounces, Fahrenheit, etc.

What do you call a 2x4 now ?

[Anotherkiwi]

Since when and for what ? Last I was there (2010) you still had miles, gallons, ounces, Fahrenheit, etc.

Agreed - we're talking general usage, not just engineering and scientific equipment.

What do you call a 2x4 now ?

Painful, as one of my staff will testify after wearing one in the mouth a couple of weeks ago (caught by a gust of wind and flicked up off a tarpaulin he was trying to secure).  Even though we've been metric for over 40 years, term such as "4x2" (not 2x4, Sandro!) are still well-enough known not to invoke a comment.

[SANDRO43]

3 The British did not invade Afghanistan. They tried and got their ass kicked.

Yes, 'invasion' is not defined properly defined. Just entering a foreign country with military forces? Yes, they did. Also occupying the invaded territory? For how long?

First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-1843): eventual Brit retreat/rout.

Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-1879): The British army occupied Kabul, as it had in the first war. It ended with treaty signed at Gandamak (Gandomak) acknowledging Brit influence. This British triumph was short-lived, however. On September 3, 1879, the British envoy, Sir Louis Cavagnari, and his escort were murdered in Kabul. British forces were again dispatched, and before the end of October they occupied Kabul. Yaʿqūb abdicated the throne, which remained vacant until July 1880, when ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, nephew of Shīr ʿAlī, became emir. During the reign of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, the boundaries of modern Afghanistan were drawn by the British and the Russians.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/24956/Anglo-Afghan-Wars

[SANDRO43]

term such as "4x2" (not 2x4, Sandro!)

That's because you're under the Equator and see things the other way round .

[ML]

In USA, the standard building stud is called a 2 X 4.

Have never, ever heard it called a 4 X 2.

My walls are built from 2 X 6.  Not because any extra strength is needed, but rather to have more insulation in the walls to help minimize heating and cooling costs.

However, as anyone who has done any construction work knows, a 'modern' 2 X 4 is  actually one and a half by three and a half.

So why the 2 X 4 designation?  Back 'in the day' actual 2 inches by 4 inches were used, but they were the rough first cut.  Later, it was decided to run this lumber through a finishing process to help minimize splinters, make lumber fit tighter, etc.  This took a half inch off all the way around.

Not so funny story:  When installing a hand railing to go to the lower level, I wanted a piece of flaw free red oak that would actually be 2 by 10 inches; not one and a half by nine and a half.

The order taker at a small custom mill wrote down 2" X 10"

He said by putting the inch signs, the worker would know to mill a piece that was full size rather than the standard size.  I was dubious and asked if he would talk to the worker directly.  No, No . . . he  knows what to do.

As you can guess . . . it came out one and a half by nine and a  half, and  I rejected it.  Beautiful piece of wood costing somewhere north of $300 as I recall.

They had to mill a second piece.  I'll bet someone got raked over that day by the owner.

[Anotherkiwi]

That's because you're under the Equator and see things the other way round .

True - much clearer from this side! 

[Anotherkiwi]

In USA, the standard building stud is called a 2 X 4.

Have never, ever heard it called a 4 X 2.

You haven't travelled enough! 

However, as anyone who has done any construction work knows, a 'modern' 2 X 4 is  actually one and a half by three and a half.

So why the 2 X 4 designation?  Back 'in the day' actual 2 inches by 4 inches were used, but they were the rough first cut.  Later, it was decided to run this lumber through a finishing process to help minimize splinters, make lumber fit tighter, etc.  This took a half inch off all the way around.

Interesting - with metrics, our "real" 4 x 2 would be fractionally smaller anyway - 100 mm x 50 mm, rather than 102 x 51.  The grades available here are:
 
 Visually graded timber

Grade

100 x 50

150 x 50

200 x 50

250 x 50

300 x 50

Visual stress-graded (VSG) timber

Grade

90 x 45

140 x 45

190 x 45

240 x 45

290 x 45

Machine stress-graded (MSG) timber

Grade

90 x 45

140 x 45

190 x 45

240 x 45

290 x 45

[tfcrew]

Since when and for what

1 The USA uses metric. I use many of these tools.
 

Uhhhh for vehicles...bicycles...etc
Liters of stuff [water..soda etc] are sold all the time in American stores.
Come on over and see     

[tfcrew]

In USA, the standard building stud is called a 2 X 4.

 

Even though the actual physical measurement is 1 1/2" x 3 1/2"
  go figure on the cm

[SANDRO43]

Uhhhh for vehicles...bicycles...etc
Liters of stuff [water..soda etc] are sold all the time

Ah, the progress of US technology: when your cars/trucks stop at a filling station, you fuel up at water and soda pumps there and pay by the litre ? How advanced .

[tfcrew]

I pay by the tankful

[Anotherkiwi]

I pay by the tankful

Yup - $130 a time for me.