--- Paul Root <ptroot@iaces.com> wrote:
> Well, I don't know. Back when I was in 9th grade, my
> Science teacher was of the opinion that we should take all
> non metric things and throw them in an ocean and make a new
> reaf. Back then, let's see, was that '78/79 or so? There was
> political talk and maybe even a pseudo plan to convert to
> metric. Everything made in the US was with Standard English
> sizes.
The only time I remember seeing metric road signs in the US
was driving to Expo 74 in Spokane (I'd just got my lerner's
permit and my dad actually let me drive about 20 miles
each way, admonishing me to stay under the fuel-crisis
speed limit of 50 MPH). The state had paid to put up distance
signs to Spokane on I-90 in kilometers. I think they eventually
went away through attrition. Expo 74 was such a depressingly
70s style World's Fair. The US pavilion had a big pile of
garbage in the middle with a sign saying "Re-Useful!" I got
to sit in a cutaway Chevrolet Caprice in the GM pavilion
while they demonstrated airbags. And the big attention getter
in the AT&T pavilion was "designer" telephones. Look! A
phone in a fake wooden box! A phone with Mickey Mouse! A phone
shaped like a loop! How depressing...
=====
David Breneman david_breneman@yahoo.com
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