[USMA:30729] Re: Weigh up the pros of metric

[Euric]

Your statement that Viermorgen means 4 acres is wrong.

 

From Rowlett:

 

morgen

a traditional unit of land area in Northern Europe. "Morgen" means "morning," and most likely the unit arose as the area a yoke of oxen could plow in one morning. The Dutch morgen, also used in Dutch colonies including old New York, equals about 2.10 acres or 0.850 hectare. In South Africa, this unit was defined to equal 10 246 square yards, which is 2.1169 acres or 0.8567 hectare. In Scandinavia and northern Germany, the morgen is a smaller unit equal to about 0.63 acre or 0.25 hectare (2500 square meters). The Prussian morgen, standardized at 2553.22 square meters, was in common use during the nineteenth century. In Austria and southern Germany, the morgen was often the same as a joch, typically defined to be 0.5755 hectare or about 1.422 acres.

 

 

The Dutch Morgen is equal to about 8500 m^2, whereas the acre is about 4000 m^2 or about twice as much as the acre.  You would be closer if you said the name means 4 hectares.  The real way to explain the meaning is that the name refers to an old unit of land area that is no longer used and has no sensible equivalent in English units.

 

The ell had various lengths but was set equal to the metre at the time of metrication.  Thus if someone asks what an elle is, you can honestly tell them it is the same as the metre.

 

Euric

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: "Han Maenen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

Sent: Thursday, 2004-08-12 13:58

Subject: [USMA:30725] Re: Weigh up the pros of metric

> If you want to read articles form the Archive from this newspaper you have
> to subscribe, but it is free.
>
> http://news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=804942004
>
>
> Down is the entire nonsencical article: Gag away!:
> Who would really be so extreme as to want to 'metricate' something like the
> Royal Mile of Edinburgh? Is this guy really that stupid or is he just
> pretending?
> A housing estate at the village of Beuningen, about 2 km west of Nijmegen is
> called Viermorgen. That means 4 Acres, it was the name of an old townland in
> that area.
> And in Deventer to the north, you can buy Ellekoek; it has the name of the
> old unit ell and also its length.
>
> Han
>
> If the world went metric
>
>

What does he mean by "if"?  The world already IS metric!