The Metric System, Dates, and Times

Typically, I like to spread my posts out to ensure I have enough to talk about every few days, but I wanted to share my experience with what I highlighted in my title. Since I have traveled before, I'm used to the differences in measurement, dates, and times. I had an interesting conversation with one of my Swedish classmates though, that I wanted to share. I went like this:

Swede: You know Celsius was a Swede right?
American: No I didn't know that. Pretty cool.
Swede: Yeah, it's quite simple when you think about it. He said, "Ok - water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius and boils at 100 degrees Celsius."
American: In Fahrenheit, water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit
Swede: That doesn't make any sense.
American: Well I don't really know what to tell you. I guess you have a point.
Swede: You know Fahrenheit was a German right?
American: Well, let's blame the Germans then.

I still have not perfected translating Celsius into Fahrenheit. All I know is that 0 degrees Celsius equals 32 degrees Fahrenheit. That is when it starts to snow in Minnesota, which means there is probably a Wild game on at some point that week. Let's then thank the Swedes and Germans for letting us know when hockey season rolls around.

As far as measurement goes, a kilometer is shorter then a mile. That's all I know, and I sleep well knowing my brain stops there. I do know that a 5k run is almost 3.2 miles, because I ran one back in college (circa 2000). It took me around 30 minutes to run and I thought I was going to have a heart attack after. Running is not in my genes, and I need a ball or puck to keep my legs moving forward. Kind of like a donkey with a carrot in front of its nose.

Now for dates and times, something I can say I fully understand! In the states, the next episode of "The Office" is on 4/17 at 7:00 p.m. (making that up). In Europe, you would say the next episode is on 17/4 at 19:00. I'm backing the states on this one. I'll give you Celsius, but it seems more efficient for me to say "April 17", and not "the 17 of April". Also, military time can be quite confusing when you are presented with it for the first time. Here is how I figured it out the first time I came to Europe.

If it is 19:00, subtract 2, and that gives you 17:00. Now, drop the 1, and you can see that it is 7:00 pm! When the severity level increases, and the time is 23:00, subtract 2 again, and that gives you 21:00. Now replace the 2 with a 1, and it is 11 pm!

See, it's all so simple. I do find it slightly amusing that the US is basically the only country that follows the guidelines we use for these measurements. I guess it is our attempt at being different. Believe me, it leads to all types of tangents.