The Elf Herself writes:
We have so-called "English" (now apparently only "U.S.") measure: feet, miles, Fahrenheit degrees, quarts, etc. vs. metric: meters, kilometers, Celsius degrees, etc. This has caused much grief, worldwide fear of arithmetic re: conversion tables, etc. Metric is easier: everything based on volume of water at specified degrees weighing such and such, which relates to length somehow. But darn it all, English is divisible by 2, 4, 3, 6, and 12, while metric is only divisible by 2 and 5. Thirds create an infinite decimal figure. Of course, the real problem is that we've only got 5 digits per extremity (except for people like her very late majesty, Anne Boleyn, rumored to have had six.) If we'd just had that extra digit, our numbering system would have been duodecimal, not decimal. As any data coder will tell you, a 12-based system is much more efficient than a decimal system. So I hope that whoever wins any election decrees a change to duodecimal numbering: then we can simplify the measuring system to a much friendlier one--surely it wouldn't be any more difficult to learn a better type than it was to learn metric? Just think: duodecimally, Elf is only 72!
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