Admit your ignorance - things you've only just realised/learned

[Andy in Germany]

In Germany and the Netherlands there is/was a "Morgen" which was the amount that can be ploughed with an ox in a morning. Set to about 60% of a tagwerk (day's work) which unsurprisingly comes out at about an acre. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgen

According to that article, the size of a Morgen varied widely with place. It seems that in Mecklenberg they were particularly industrious and managed well over an acre just in the morning. And in Land of Hadeln they were pretty much superhuman, managing the best part of 3 acres in the morning. So provided that they didn't take the afternoon off they'd be going at coming on for 5 acres a day. Whereas in lazy Franconia their Morgen gave them only about three quarters of an acre per day.

Of course those of us without direct experience of ox ploughing speeds are left pretty much none the wiser.

It would also depend on factors like soil type: one ox can probably plough quicker through sandy and sedimentary soils than stony or heavy clay soils. Also the flatlands of Mecklenburg are probably easier that the hills of Franconia.

Mind you that doesn't explain the amount of different inches and feet the old states had. Overall, it was probably a relief to go over to a metric system.

 

[Dogtrousers]

It would also depend on factory like soil type: one ox can probably plough quicker through sandy and sedimentary soils than stony or heavy clay soils. Also the flatlands of Mecklenburg are probably easier that the hills of Franconia.

Mind you that doesn't explain the amount of different inches and feet the old states had. Overall, it was probably a relief to go over to a metric system.

I didn't think of that and I apologise to the people of Franconia for calling them lazy.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

It would also depend on factors like soil type: one ox can probably plough quicker through sandy and sedimentary soils than stony or heavy clay soils. Also the flatlands of Mecklenburg are probably easier that the hills of Franconia.

Mind you that doesn't explain the amount of different inches and feet the old states had. Overall, it was probably a relief to go over to a metric system.

Slopes probably also have an impact

I bet many many hours have been spent discussing this topic in local tap rooms

 

[cougie uk]

You can park 470 London double-decker buses on the flight deck of the carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Wouldn't the captain be very angry with you though?

 

[Andy in Germany]

Wouldn't the captain be very angry with you though?

I don't see why; it's not like they had any planes to keep on it.

 

[figbat]

The phrase "Hands down" refers to a jockey being so far ahead that they let the reins go completely slack and rest their hands on the horses back/neck, releasing control of the horse completely because they cannot lose.

It wasn't that long ago that I discovered the origin of "balls-out" - the mechanical governors of machinery often used centrifugal weights to govern speed; as the speed rose the steel balls of the governor would swing out and actuate the speed control mechanism. Thus any machine going at full speed would have the governor's balls fully extended.

When this was explained to me I responded that I have been doing it wrong for some time.

 

[Beebo]

The easiest thing is to remember that an acre is the amount of land an Ox can plough in a day

hope this helps

Is that an African or European Ox?

 

[matticus]

Of course those of us without direct experience of ox ploughing speeds are left pretty much none the wiser.

A more practical unit that everyone can appreciate is the Jiffy.

It's about the time it takes light to cross a proton nucleus*, so there are about three hundred thousand billion billion jiffys in a second.

*actually the distance is a femtometre, but I rounded up a little to something most people can visualise. x

EDIT: hideous typo/brain-fart removed, thankyou DogTroos

 

[Dogtrousers]

A more practical unit that everyone can appreciate is the Jiffy.

It's about the time it takes light to cross a proton nucleus*, so there are about three hundred thousand billion billion jiffys in a second.

*actually the distance is a femtometre, but I rounded up a little to something most people can visualise. x

If they are so small, why do people keep them in big padded bags?

And to be picky, I think you meant "hydrogen nucleus" or maybe just "proton", not "proton nucleus". I can visualise a proton, but I struggle to visualise its nucleus which would presumably be a bit quarky.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I found this out recently - the mathematical root sign √ is a stylised letter "r", for radix, which is Latin for "root"

 

[matticus]

And to be picky, I think you meant "hydrogen nucleus" or maybe just "proton", not "proton nucleus". I can visualise a proton, but I struggle to visualise its nucleus which would presumably be a bit quarky.

Not picky at all - it was a horrendous error. My only excuse is trying to feed the oxen while typing. I thought it would only take a jiffy ...

 

[presta]

The logical metric units:

• I are = 100 square metres
• 1 hectare = 100 ares = 10,000 square metres

It seems illogical to me that an are isn't one square metre (I think it would also be more consistent if the base unit for mass didn't contain a multiplier too). It also seems illogical to me that people read 10km^2 as 10,000,000 sqm rather than applying bodmas, in which case it would be 10,000 sqm {ie: 10k(m^2), and not 10((km)^2)}.

In Germany and the Netherlands there is/was a "Morgen"

There's a comprehensive list of obsolete units here.

I found this out recently - the mathematical root sign √ is a stylised letter "r", for radix, which is Latin for "root"

I knew that the √ symbol is an r, but I didn't know that radix is Latin for root (even though I did Latin at school). It seems odd that radix became a term for the base of a number, not the power.

 

[MontyVeda]

Listening to Radio4 last night, i discovered that the dude from Wu-Tang Clan is called Rizza and not R-Z-A

 

[Jameshow]

Soil weighs 1.3-1.7t per m3

I didn't know that till this morning. The planters we recently made hold 1600l of soil = 800kg + 200kg planter

 

[Alex321]

Soil weighs 1.3-1.7t per m3

I didn't know that till this morning. The planters we recently made hold 1600l of soil = 800kg + 200kg planter

Think you'll need both hands to pick that up