# Hey, world, can't we all standardize? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 30, 2017, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-world-cant-we-all-standardize/800205 "2017-10-30T03:03:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-world-cant-we-all-standardize/800205/41 "2017-11-02T17:16:23Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > So how many BTUs per ton of air conditioning? Damn if I know. The conversion probably involves furlongs. šŸ˜ƒ If it doesnā€™t, it should. 12,000 Iā€™m sure you were joking but that is the answer. 3,412 BTU/HR is 1 kW is 0.2843 Tons. I just spent 8 hours taking a test that was mostly converting between those three. ---
**Author:** ![AI\_Proofreader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@AI\_Proofreader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AI_Proofreader)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-world-cant-we-all-standardize/800205/42 "2017-11-03T05:33:15Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Programm_ing_ is not full of tiddling details because programmers are tedious Asbergery wankers. Itā€™s full of tedious details because the physical world is large and complex, human society & conventions are a jillion times moreso, and computers are very, very literal. > > Which of course is why tedious Asbergery wankers tend to be drawn to that work. Quoted for truth. I couldnā€™t stick with programming because while Iā€™ve got a pretty got eye for bit crunching and my code came out pretty clean, after a while of trying to concoct every rare, possibly never-to-be-encountered in the real world case and entering another sub or ā€œORā€ into the code to cover it, my mind began to melt. I couldnā€™t imagine doing it for 8 hours a day. If Iā€™d been the one to come up with WYSIWYG it would have ended up as WYSIWYG-ish. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-world-cant-we-all-standardize/800205/43 "2017-11-03T16:18:56Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > 12,000 > > Iā€™m sure you were joking but that is the answer. 3,412 BTU/HR is 1 kW is 0.2843 Tons. > > I just spent 8 hours taking a test that was mostly converting between those three. Yes, I was joking. But you teach an interesting point. A BTU is a unit of (heat) energy. Apparently a ton (like a kW) is a unit of power since you equate BTU/hr to tons via a constant. Who knew? Units analysis is much easier when we call things what they are, not some dead guyā€™s name. Although a lot of info can get hidden in units cancellation. meters/meter-second says more than does seconds[sup]-1[/sup]. So thereā€™s 200 BTU/minutes per ton Thatā€™s nice and round, sorta. But itā€™s 3.3333ā€¦ BTU/seconds per ton. Thatā€™s ā€¦ less round. The mind boggles. Better you than me Kemosabe! šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-world-cant-we-all-standardize/800205/44 "2017-11-03T16:59:16Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > So how many BTUs per ton of air conditioning? Damn if I know. The conversion probably involves furlongs. šŸ˜ƒ If it doesnā€™t, it should. Nobody uses furlongs, we use chains. Itā€™s just as easy to say 10 chains as it is to say 1 furlong and 10 square chains per acre is a lot more useful than 1 square furlong per 10 acres. Iā€™ll admit 64 square furlongs in a section is nice. Iā€™d rather deal with 640 acres. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-world-cant-we-all-standardize/800205/45 "2017-11-03T17:30:03Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > I see it once in a while. Oddly, only by real estate lawyers. I work in survey, and a lot of documentation for courthouse recordation used to be required on legal-sized paper. We still use it often, but it has slowly started winding down, replaced by letter- or ledger-sized. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-world-cant-we-all-standardize/800205/46 "2017-11-05T03:31:02Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > I work in survey, and a lot of documentation for courthouse recordation used to be required on legal-sized paper. We still use it often, but it has slowly started winding down, replaced by letter- or ledger-sized. Wait, Iā€™ve been in printing for decades, but Iā€™ve gotta look up ā€œledger-sizedā€ now. So thereā€™s Letter, Legal, Tabloid, AND Ledger? (Nope, Ledger = Tabloid. Why? Oh, and thereā€™s a 7x10 inch ā€œExecutiveā€ size, tooā€¦ again, why?) Not to mention the British books I read that mention Foolscap, Quarto and Folio sizes. And apparently a 4.5 x 7 inch sheet is a Small Post Octavoā€¦ Standards are simpler, people! Can you see why a sheet of A4 (half the size of A3, twice the size of A5) makes more sense? ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-world-cant-we-all-standardize/800205/47 "2017-11-05T14:15:55Z")
When is the length of a football field going to get its own symbol? Thatā€™s a unit of measure thatā€™s constantly being used, much to my chagrin because, not being a fan, I really canā€™t visualize it all that well. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-world-cant-we-all-standardize/800205/48 "2017-11-05T14:22:31Z")
It also depends on which sized TV youā€™re watching the game on. And how much zoom the camera operator is using. šŸ˜ƒ Besides, ref **digs** ā€™ lament just above, would that be a US football field, a rest-of-world football field, or an Aussie rules football field? Not to mention CFL, XFL, and arena football league fields. The nice part about standards is thereā€™s so many to pick from. Oh, and **digs** ,: FYI quarto & folio _are_ standard sizes. Just from very old standards. Which were also based on doubling and halving as you go larger or smaller. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-world-cant-we-all-standardize/800205/49 "2017-11-05T18:02:35Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > It also depends on which sized TV youā€™re watching the game on. And how much zoom the camera operator is using. šŸ˜ƒ > > Besides, ref **digs** ā€™ lament just above, would that be a US football field, a rest-of-world football field, or an Aussie rules football field? Not to mention CFL, XFL, and arena football league fields. > > The nice part about standards is thereā€™s so many to pick from. > > Oh, and **digs** ,: FYI quarto & folio _are_ standard sizes. Just from very old standards. Which were also based on doubling and halving as you go larger or smaller. Oh! Then Iā€™ll stop making fun of the Britsā€¦ for the rest of the day. Btw, I play non-American football (We say _FUUUTā€™-bol_ with a terrible Caribbean accent to distinguish between the two), and the ā€œstandardā€ size pitch is: ā€œThe entire playing field should be within the following dimensions: Standardā€“\> Touch line (length): 90 m (100 yd) to 120 m (130 yd); Goal line (width) : 45 m (50 yd) to 90 m (100 yd) International matches ā€“\> Touch line (length): 100 m (110 yd) to 110 m (120 yd); Goal line (width) : 64 m (70 yd) to 75 m (80 yd)ā€ ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-world-cant-we-all-standardize/800205/50 "2017-11-11T17:05:32Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > Nobody uses furlongs, we use chains. Itā€™s just as easy to say 10 chains as it is to say 1 furlong and 10 square chains per acre is a lot more useful than 1 square furlong per 10 acres. Iā€™ll admit 64 square furlongs in a section is nice. Iā€™d rather deal with 640 acres. Oh just great, now I have to stop using furlongs. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-world-cant-we-all-standardize/800205/51 "2017-11-11T19:13:10Z")
You could always switch to rods. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-world-cant-we-all-standardize/800205/52 "2017-11-11T22:46:35Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Oh, and **digs** ,: FYI quarto & folio _are_ standard sizes. Just from very old standards. Which were also based on doubling and halving as you go larger or smaller. So is octavo. Quarto and octavo just mean 1/4 and 1/8 of the size on which the standard was based. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2017, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-world-cant-we-all-standardize/800205/53 "2017-11-13T22:54:59Z")
The reason most people of my age used ā€œlegal padsā€ was because one handwritten legal pad page was close to enough writing to equal one typewritten page. Lots of folks had no typewriter back and had to hire typing out for term papers and so on. I havenā€™t used a legal pad ever since I acquired a computer and printer. Even though my typing still sucks, itā€™s a heck of a lot easier to create a good page with a computer than with a typewriter since a mistake can be corrected before it hits the paper! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-world-cant-we-all-standardize/800205.md?page=2)