# We need better anti-retard filters for reporters **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 23, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659 "2009-01-23T16:45:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Claptree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Claptree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claptree)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/21 "2009-01-24T00:16:18Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Here in this Minnesota winter, we know how to convert -40ºF to Celsius (or Centigrade, for really old terms). That’s the only temp I know exactly in Fahrenheit. Weird, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/22 "2009-01-24T00:30:45Z")
Ok, here’s what I think happened. Imagine a bustling, noisy, news room. Reporter: “Hey Joe, I’m doing this story about a cow, but it’s weight is in kilos, do you know how to convert metric to US.” Joe: “Na, hang on I’ll find out… Bob! How do you convert from metric?” Bob: “From meters? Ah it’s 3.2 something, I think it’s 3.29!” Joe: “It’s 3.29!” Reporter: “Ok, cool” Reporter then divides 871.2 by 3.29 to get 265 pounds and thinks, that can’t be right, that’s a small cow (he’s not a complete idiot.) He then multiplies 871.2 by 3.29 and gets 2866 pounds. Finally, when reading his report for recording he misreads 871.2 either on the film or from his own writing and says 8712 kilos. That, my friends, is how you get a conversion of 8712 kilos to 2866 pounds. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/23 "2009-01-24T00:55:18Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > But even if you don’t know the answer, it’s really easy to look up, right? > > I mean, just put **871.2kg in pounds** into Google and you get the answer. They don’t even have to be precise. How hard is it to remember “2” as the rough conversion factor from kilos to pounds? “This cow weighs 870 kilos, that’s over 1700 pounds!” And “3” for meters to feet. “That oil tanker is 500 meters long, that’s over 1500 feet!” [QUOTE=Shagnasty] [http://www.ruralheritage.com/ox\_paddock/chianinab.jpg](http://www.ruralheritage.com/ox_paddock/chianinab.jpg) [/QUOTE] That last one is so damn big it’s got six legs 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/24 "2009-01-24T01:07:27Z")
Obviously, I hadn’t seen the clip, replace “he” with “she” as appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/25 "2009-01-24T01:19:59Z")
[quote=“1920s Style “Death Ray”, post:22, topic:482659”] Ok, here’s what I think happened. Imagine a bustling, noisy, news room. Reporter: “Hey Joe, I’m doing this story about a cow, but it’s weight is in kilos, do you know how to convert metric to US.” Joe: “Na, hang on I’ll find out… Bob! How do you convert from metric?” Bob: “From meters? Ah it’s 3.2 something, I think it’s 3.29!” Joe: “It’s 3.29!” Reporter: “Ok, cool” Reporter then divides 871.2 by 3.29 to get 265 pounds and thinks, that can’t be right, that’s a small cow (he’s not a complete idiot.) He then multiplies 871.2 by 3.29 and gets 2866 pounds. Finally, when reading his report for recording he misreads 871.2 either on the film or from his own writing and says 8712 kilos. That, my friends, is how you get a conversion of 8712 kilos to 2866 pounds. [/QUOTE] So…in your scenario the entire news team is full of retards? I was trying to lay the blame on just the reporter. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/26 "2009-01-24T01:54:33Z")
Kilo = 2.2 pounds. Yes, if it wasn’t for drug references I wouldn’t know that. Anyway… Even if you only do a rough estimate using kilo = 2 pounds, you’ll be in the ballpark. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/27 "2009-01-24T02:56:46Z")
If reporters were good at math, they wouldn’t have gone to journalism school. Just sayin’. Robin ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/28 "2009-01-24T04:23:19Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > Kilo = 2.2 pounds. Yes, if it wasn’t for drug references I wouldn’t know that. Anyway… Somehow marijuana is still measured in the British system, while all others are in metric. How very strange. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/29 "2009-01-24T05:03:52Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Here in this Minnesota winter, we know how to convert -40ºF to Celsius (or Centigrade, for really old terms). “It was so cold up north that the outside thermometer read Minus Forty.” “Oh? Izzat Fahrenheit or Centigrade?” :rolleyes: “Neither – Kelvin!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/30 "2009-01-24T05:55:39Z")
[This is an excellent example of another really clueless reporter (well, anchor).](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHxDr0xdpU4&feature=related) Good job for the co-anchor holding himself together - I would have lost it. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/31 "2009-01-24T06:04:42Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Here in this Minnesota winter, we know how to convert -40ºF to Celsius (or Centigrade, for really old terms). Here in Ontario I know how to convert Hwy 61’s number. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/32 "2009-01-24T06:52:21Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > I tremble in awe and fear of the ton-and-a-half cow. :eek: That’s a whole lotta hamburger. If anyone says, “Where’s the beef?” they need their eyes checked. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/33 "2009-01-24T07:10:56Z")
> [@Agent Foxtrot](#): > > I tremble in awe and fear of the ton-and-a-half cow. Actually, we’re talking about a 9.5+ ton cow, going with the 8,712 kg story. > [@Dr. Woo](#): > > It’s hard for me to imagine an adult who does not know the conversion for kilos to pounds. I’m an adult–one who used to be a chemistry major, no less–and I don’t know the conversion for kilos to pounds. It’s one of those things you learn to forget after grade school, like the more irritating cursive letters. > [@kidchameleon](#): > > Somehow marijuana is still measured in the British system, while all others are in metric. How very strange. It’s not that strange. Marijuana is the only drug commonly sold (in the US) in plant form, meaning that its mass is much higher for the same price/value, making small measures like grams pretty useless. ETA: It probably helps that the better weed is domestic. If your dealer buys coke from Mexicans in metric, and they bought it from Venezuelans in metric, and they bought it from Colombians in metric… ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@Clark\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_K)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/34 "2009-01-24T18:36:37Z")
Speaking as a reporter, I agree that better anti-retard filters are needed. But seeing as no such thing exists and that reporters, anchors, producers, editors and other staff handle incredible amounts of information in very little time and that staffs are being cut back and that everyone in every profession makes mistakes, I’m inclined to just chuckle at this and move one. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/35 "2009-01-24T23:21:12Z")
This is not nearly as bad as the reporter/commentator/blithering Nightline dude that claimed Obama is the son of a black man from Kenya and a white man from Kansas. “Whatever your politics, that’s one for the history books” indeed. > **[Barack Makes His-tory With His Two Dads](https://www.tmz.com/2008/09/02/barack-makes-his-tory-with-his-two-dads/)** > > Terry Moran from "Nightline" -- Funniest goof ever! ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/36 "2009-01-24T23:24:54Z")
I remember a news report screen caption declaring that _Columbia_ was moving at “18 times the speed of light” when it broke up. ---
**Author:** ![AllWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@AllWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllWalker)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/37 "2009-01-24T23:36:05Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > I remember a news report screen caption declaring that _Columbia_ was moving at “18 times the speed of light” when it broke up. That’s one for the conspiracy thread. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/38 "2009-01-25T00:15:48Z")
> [@Bobotheoptimist](#): > > This is not nearly as bad as the reporter/commentator/blithering Nightline dude that claimed Obama is the son of a black man from Kenya and a white man from Kansas. > > “Whatever your politics, that’s one for the history books” indeed. > > [Barack Makes His-tory With His Two Dads](http://www.tmz.com/2008/09/02/barack-makes-his-tory-with-his-two-dads/) That’s priceless. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/39 "2009-01-25T06:35:53Z")
> [@Clark\_K](#): > > Speaking as a reporter, I agree that better anti-retard filters are needed. But seeing as no such thing exists and that reporters, anchors, producers, editors and other staff handle incredible amounts of information in very little time and that staffs are being cut back and that everyone in every profession makes mistakes, I’m inclined to just chuckle at this and move one. Unfortunately for reporters, their work is on display for all the public to see so any mistake is ripe for attack. For most of us, when we make a mistake at work, no one but us and our close colleagues know about it. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659/40 "2009-01-25T13:24:53Z")
> [@Steve MB](#): > > I remember a news report screen caption declaring that Columbia was moving at “18 times the speed of light” when it broke up. That was actually a nod to their affiliate in Alternate Universes 23X and 23Y, where Kurt Vonnegut had already discovered faster-than-light travel using an ingenious method involving massive quantities of soap. 23X and 23Y were essentially the same, except that _Columbia_ only broke up in 23X. Needless to say, 23Y is totally different now. For one thing, Barack Obama actually _is_ the son of two men over there. And I do mean biologically. Don’t ask. Trust me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-better-anti-retard-filters-for-reporters/482659.md?page=3)