Posted by Peter Ceresole on September 17, 2004 at 08:51:55 from 80.177.22.49 user PeterC.
In Reply to: Re: Ghastly Mess (was A Ransome Moment) posted by Jon on September 16, 2004 at 20:10:09:
And if I remember correctly the French revolutionaries did try a metric angular measurement system, which survives today as "grads"
Yes. And there's the alternative I used for engineering; radians. Two pi radians for the full twirl, pi to head back where you'd come from and pi-be-two for a sharp left turn. Of course they are still used in maths and are a full-blooded, living alternative to degrees.
But unlike the metric system they don't make mental calculations easier- or at least, they do but there's that 'pi' factor to bear in mind.
As for the decimal day, there was also an attempt at a ten day week. And (in the Russian revolution I believe) a nine day week. But they were quite rightly seen as devices for cutting back on days off. They never caught on.