On 10/23/2015 2:03 PM, Jack Hammer wrote:
On 10/23/2015 01:05 PM, Don Y wrote:
32oz in a quart so 32/50 oz == 16/25
2T = 1oz
3t = 1T
so 6t = 1 oz

16/25 * 6 = 96/25 ~= 4t

The problem most folks have is that they don't *use* these units of
measure.
When was the last time you *used* a measuring cup? Measured teaspoon?
Etc.
Folks who bake use them constantly and, as such, have no problem
remembering
the conversion factors.

OMG!

One of the very first concepts learned in engineering school is

**** Keep It Simple ****

This basic concept lowers production costs and reduces the chance for costly
errors.

So if you designed a system of measurement you wouldn't make it an easy-to-use
base 10? Seriously?

If I had designed a system of measurement THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, I would
probably use things like the length of my forearm, the length of a pace,
etc. I surely wouldn't be counting vibrations of a cesium atom!

With that in mind, factors of two sure seem handy! People readily relate to
"twice as much" and "half as much". What you can carry in ONE hand vs. TWO,
etc. Start talking about factors of 10 and people start wanting to *count*
items lest too much error creep in!

I guess you're assuming no one MEASURED anything before the 1700's?
Nor were they able to build anything with their pre-metric units
of measure (things like the pyramids were obviously built by aliens,
likewise roman aqueducts, etc.).