good story Cameron, thanks for sharing......now being from the old school where things were measured in lbs. etc. I wouldn't have had a clue if it was the correct amount or not. The only thing I know in metric is kilometers per hour....and I still try and figure it out in miles.....urgghh....some of us are just hopeless......haha Marina
> Cameron MacLean wrote: > > Let me relay to you one of the weirder arguments I just encountered.. > > On my way through Acton this afternoon, I stopped by the grocery store > to pick up some lunch stuff. Normally, the deli staff is fine, but > the short bus must have dropped off one of the employees today. > > Deli worker: Hi, can I help you? > Me: Yes please, can I have half a kilo of black forest ham? > (note, I weigh 225 lbs, I have no idea how many kilos that is. I > order my meat in kilos or grams, I have no idea what a pound of meat > looks like. Chalk this up to the education system of the 70's). > DW: Sliced or shaved? > Me: Shaved please. > (she cuts the meat, hands me the package. I have Sabrina on my > shoulders, who insists on holding the package. I finally look at it, > because it doesn't look like half a kilo to me, and return to the deli > counter). > Me: 'Scuse me, I ordered a half kilo of ham, shaved, and this is a > quarter kilo (278g, to be precise), sliced. > DW: Oops, sorry. > (she takes the package, and starts to cut some more ham, shaved. > Finishes, hands it back to me). > Me: Sorry, that's still only 275g of ham. Could you add some more? > I'd like half a kilo please. > (she looks at me like I"m from outer space) > DW: That IS half a kilo. > Me: (......pause....). How do you figure? > DW: Well, a kilo is 454. > Me: 454 what? > DW: You know, 454, uh...., so half that is about 275 (actually, 227, > but what's 1/20 kg among friends) > Me: 454 grams? (not quite sure I heard her right. Now I've realized > that I'm dealing with a deli store worker, in Acton, who is struggling > with grade 2 math concepts. How do I handle this gently, without > insulting her, or making her feel stupid.) > Me: Um, sorry, my mistake. I thought a pound is 454 grams. A kilo is > 1000 grams. > DW: No no, it's OK. 1000 grams? That'd be like, a LOT of meat! > (holding her hands wide for effect) > Me: Ri-i-i-ght. Well, typically, a kilo refers to 1000. Like a > kilometer is 1000 meters. So half a kilometer is 500 meters. So, > half a kilogram is 500 grams. > DW: (pauses...I can see the wheels clunking. Think they need some > grease). Sorry, we don't measure product in kilograms. Only pounds > and grams. > Me: (..one eyebrow raised...). Okay then. May I have 500 grams of > blackforest ham, shaved, then? > DW: 500 grams? Sure thing. (and she gets it right) > > Not quite sure what happened there, but it certainly serves to > reinforce my long-held notion that the Acton gene pool needs some > chlorine... > > ..Cameron
