Thread: Why MPH?
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Short Wave Sportfishing[_2_] Short Wave Sportfishing[_2_] is offline
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First recorded activity by BoatBanter: Mar 2008
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Default Why MPH?

On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:29:58 -0500, wrote:

On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:11:31 -0400, Eisboch wrote:

wrote in message
news
On Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:52:01 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:


"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
...
On Jul 17, 10:54 am, HK wrote:
On Jul 17, 9:49 am, "Ulf B" wrote:
Hello all,

why are recreational boatspeed in the US measured in MPH when the
rest
of
the world including the US proffesional mariners uses knots???

Most Americans can't even learn English, so to expect them to learn
the metric system is more than a stretch.

I don't think there is anything metric about knots. Metric would be km.

-Robert

There *is* nothing about metric in "knots".

Eisboch


Unless you are a mathmetician or scientist...



Please explain. Last time I checked a "Knot" multiplied by 1.8
something, something, something equalled one kilometer per hour.

That's a knot ..... coverted to a metric unit.

What's the origin of a "knot"?

Eisboch


Apparently, knots and meters are tied together, somewhat. A nautical
mile is a minute of latitude. A meter is 1/10,000,000 of the distance
from the equator to the North Pole, and, obviously, a knot is a nautical
mile per hour. Thank you, wikipedia.


The Knot, as I'm sure Harry knows, is a non-SI unit - meaning that it
does not conform to the standards set down by Le Système International
d'Unités or in a real language, International System of Units also
known as the metric system.

The reason is that the Knot is not (get it - knot is not?) is because
it does not directly correlate to the metric or SI system.

Thus, it is not a metric measurement.

And while I'm on my high horse, were you aware that the meter is based
on the distance traveled by light in 1/299,792,458 of a second? And
that this measurement is 1/10,000,000 of the distance from the Equator
to the North Pole on a line running through Paris? PARIS!!

How stupid is that? No wonder the metric system is so weird. Paris -
honest to pete. Damn Frenchies never got over the English having the
Prime Meridian run through Greenwich. :)

Metric system my ass. :)