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When we use fractions for measurements, the denominator is virtually always a power of two. The only one I can think of that isn't is a fifth of alcohol, which
by satiric 2mo ago
When we use fractions for measurements, the denominator is virtually always a power of two. The only one I can think of that isn't is a fifth of alcohol, which is really just its own unit at this point.
- legulere 2mo agoAn inch is 1/36 yd or 1/12 ft or 6 pica or 72 pt. There is no power of two whatsoever in this.
- satiric 2mo agoNeither 1/36th or 1/12th are used, and the other two aren't fractions. We don't say six and a twelfth feet, we say six feet one inch. With distance, fractions are only used for fractions of an inch (apart from trivial uses like "one and a half miles").