Calvin19 0 #251 March 6, 2011 Archaic shortcuts in construction, while I'm sure were worthwhile at the time, are not something needed with modern architecture. International architects from the US and everywhere else, including an increasing number of US national architects, are now using the metric system. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Belgian_Draft 0 #252 March 7, 2011 QuoteQuoteQuoteQuoteQuoteQuoteQuote It appears you still haven't learned who our founding fathers were. . this is awesome. Our founding fathers were english. And the english now use metric units. It appears you didn't take the hint to look on the back of the dollar bill. Seriously, take a gander at the left side of it. The great seal? Yes. Take a close look at it. Notice any symbology? Suggest anything about a few of our founding fathers? Well, not really suggest, come right out and says it actually. Does that suggest to you anything about why the metric system wasn't adopted by our founding fathers when it was first proposed in 1791? Remember, by that time, the founding fathers were no longer English, so why did they hold so tightly to that "old" system? And why specifically a metric square might actually be sort of ironic? Nothing I can find on the seal has anything to do with measurement. Please elaborate. A fairly significant number of our founding fathers were Masons. Masons claim a history going back to the stone cutters of Egypt and the Temple of Solomon. One of the most significant symbols for a Mason is "The Square." To create a square, it's exceptionally handy to have your measuring tools evenly divisible by the numbers; 3, 4 and 5. 12 works quite nicely. Draw a triangle with the length of the sides being 3, 4 and 5 and one of the angles is 90 degrees which makes checking your square simple. In order to draw a triangle with those exact measurements you need one of two things; either a square that already has a perfect 90 degree angle, or three pieces of string, wire, etc. cut to those exact lengths. Whether inches, meters, furlings, thumbs, or cricket legs are used matters not so long as each unit is identical to the others. BTW, 12/5 is 2.4 Not very handy. Edited to add: BTW, you don't need any predetermined units to make a square. All you need is a piece of string, three small nails, and a board. Three sticks, a string, and piece of flat ground would work as well.HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #253 March 7, 2011 QuoteBTW, 12/5 is 2.4 Not very handy. Damn. A case of me giving away the punchline before I'm supposed to. I knew I needed to get to 3, 4, 5 which is why I typed that instead of the correct 2, 3, 4. Obviously, you get the 5 from 2 + 3.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rhaig 0 #254 March 7, 2011 QuoteArchaic shortcuts in construction, while I'm sure were worthwhile at the time, are not something needed with modern architecture. International architects from the US and everywhere else, including an increasing number of US national architects, are now using the metric system. a 3/4/5 square is not an archaic short-cut in construction. It's a useful tool employed by the resourceful.-- Rob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Southern_Man 0 #255 March 7, 2011 Quote I used to be an arrogant bastard I love your Ale."What if there were no hypothetical questions?" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Belgian_Draft 0 #256 March 7, 2011 Quote Quote I used to be an arrogant bastard I love your Ale. I had to look that one up. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
