4 ms·

> The Eureka is no ordinary blueberry. It is large – often the width of a dollar coin. Okay, what country's dollar? Australia? Canada? The USA? And if the USA

> The Eureka is no ordinary blueberry. It is large – often the width of a dollar coin. Okay, what country's dollar? Australia? Canada? The USA? And if the USA, a Sacky, Tony, or Ike? Perhaps the Guardian is returning the favors of US journalists who insist on using measurement units of football fields, swimming pools, and 747s for length, volume, and mass. I expect we will soon see time measurements reported in coffee breaks, Youtube videos, or micro-Tik-Toks.

resolutebat 3y ago
Given that the story is about Australia, it's reasonable to assume it's an Australian dollar, which is about the width of a US quarter.
- defrost 3y ago
  Agreed. More to that is the author Nicole Hasham is an Australian environment and energy journalist | editor | correspondent for several Australian publications. The UK Guardian sources a fair amount of material from Australian contributors.
  - skissane 3y ago
    Added to that, the Guardian has an (online-only) Australian edition, with staff based in Australia to help produce it. Decent chance this article was originally written for their Australian edition. They have four online editions (UK, US, Australia, International). All four contain the same articles; the difference is basically in which articles are on the front page, and the hierarchy of their categorisation system (e.g. “UK Politics” is a top-level category for the UK edition, but buried deeper for the other three.) Certainly all three of the UK, US and Australia editions commission original content from local journalists designed to appeal to the interests of that country’s readers.
LanceH 3y ago
As an American, the width of an Australian dollar coin seems perfectly reasonable.
- llamaLord 3y ago
  As an Australian, the one thing about America I wish we DID copy was the idea of $2/1 notes. Coins are such a pain in the ass, but $1/2 is enough that I don't just want to refuse the change to avoid the inconveniences of carrying coins.
  - PeterStuer 3y ago
    Not advocating for digital only, but I can't even remember the last time I carried cash.
    - llamaLord 3y ago
      I mean... Yes, but IMO I think I'd be much more likely to carry a small amount of cash if I didn't have to worry about it converting into 10 different coins once I break the big note.
  - hnick 3y ago
    We did have them. We got rid of them because coins last longer so are more cost effective for small amounts like that.
    - llamaLord 3y ago
      Was that before or after polymer notes? I have to assume that a polymer $1/2 wouldn't have this issue?
      - hnick 3y ago
        I'm not sure but it looks like it was 1988 for the coins, which is when the notes were removed, then 1996 for finalising the switch to polymer notes, with some earlier introductions. I think whether it would help is somewhat complex because polymer notes do still wear out, and lower value notes have higher usage which makes them wear out faster. IIRC the main driver for polymer was security with durability as a nice side effect. This link https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2015/sep/7.html https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2015/sep/7.html says that median life for $5 notes is 3.5 years under one measurement system, which I would presume would be even lower for $1/$2 if we used them, since they'd get more frequent usage and less storage. It should be possible to calculate the costs, savings, and lifetime of all the coin and note variations but that's a bit much for me right now :)
lorax 3y ago
Given that the Ike hasn't been minted in 45 years, I think it is safe to say it is not that. The Sacky and Tony are exactly the same width, 26.5 mm. The Canadian dollar is also 26.5 mm (as are the Prezzies and the Innos, and why are we Infantilizing coins anyway). The Australian dollar is a touch smaller, 25 mm. So I think the answer to your question is "all of them", 1.5 mm is likely larger than the variation between blueberries. Converting that to Library of Congresses or National Library of Austrailias is left as an exercise to the reader.

resolutebat 3y ago

Given that the story is about Australia, it's reasonable to assume it's an Australian dollar, which is about the width of a US quarter.

defrost 3y ago
Agreed. More to that is the author Nicole Hasham is an Australian environment and energy journalist | editor | correspondent for several Australian publications. The UK Guardian sources a fair amount of material from Australian contributors.
- skissane 3y ago
  Added to that, the Guardian has an (online-only) Australian edition, with staff based in Australia to help produce it. Decent chance this article was originally written for their Australian edition. They have four online editions (UK, US, Australia, International). All four contain the same articles; the difference is basically in which articles are on the front page, and the hierarchy of their categorisation system (e.g. “UK Politics” is a top-level category for the UK edition, but buried deeper for the other three.) Certainly all three of the UK, US and Australia editions commission original content from local journalists designed to appeal to the interests of that country’s readers.

LanceH 3y ago

As an American, the width of an Australian dollar coin seems perfectly reasonable.

llamaLord 3y ago
As an Australian, the one thing about America I wish we DID copy was the idea of $2/1 notes. Coins are such a pain in the ass, but $1/2 is enough that I don't just want to refuse the change to avoid the inconveniences of carrying coins.
- PeterStuer 3y ago
  Not advocating for digital only, but I can't even remember the last time I carried cash.
  - llamaLord 3y ago
    I mean... Yes, but IMO I think I'd be much more likely to carry a small amount of cash if I didn't have to worry about it converting into 10 different coins once I break the big note.
- hnick 3y ago
  We did have them. We got rid of them because coins last longer so are more cost effective for small amounts like that.
  - llamaLord 3y ago
    Was that before or after polymer notes? I have to assume that a polymer $1/2 wouldn't have this issue?
    - hnick 3y ago
      I'm not sure but it looks like it was 1988 for the coins, which is when the notes were removed, then 1996 for finalising the switch to polymer notes, with some earlier introductions. I think whether it would help is somewhat complex because polymer notes do still wear out, and lower value notes have higher usage which makes them wear out faster. IIRC the main driver for polymer was security with durability as a nice side effect. This link https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2015/sep/7.html https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2015/sep/7.html says that median life for $5 notes is 3.5 years under one measurement system, which I would presume would be even lower for $1/$2 if we used them, since they'd get more frequent usage and less storage. It should be possible to calculate the costs, savings, and lifetime of all the coin and note variations but that's a bit much for me right now :)

lorax 3y ago

Given that the Ike hasn't been minted in 45 years, I think it is safe to say it is not that. The Sacky and Tony are exactly the same width, 26.5 mm. The Canadian dollar is also 26.5 mm (as are the Prezzies and the Innos, and why are we Infantilizing coins anyway). The Australian dollar is a touch smaller, 25 mm. So I think the answer to your question is "all of them", 1.5 mm is likely larger than the variation between blueberries. Converting that to Library of Congresses or National Library of Austrailias is left as an exercise to the reader.