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Metric System

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

...Americans loath the metric system--sometimes...

Q

uick. True or false. The length of American cigarettes is measured using the metric system.

"It's the 100 yard dash, goddamn it," they'll say.

"I weigh 300 pounds and stand five foot two. Not an inch more."

But go find a pack of the 100s. Those long slender American cigarettes that, in a pinch, work as pole vaults.

Find a ruler and measure them.

Surprise.

The name 100s, used for these cigarettes, comes from the fact they are 100 millmetres long. Go figure.

In Canada, you can buy Winston 100s. They are made specifically for the Canadian market so the packaging is bilingual. On the English side it's 100s and the French side it's 100mm.

I know. I know. I'm making it up. This can't possibly be right. They aren't 100mm, they're 3.93700780078 inches!

Posted 2007/05/01 at 19h37ET in Life.

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