I see a common argument that Americans still use Fahrenheit instead of Celsius because it's more precise and natural for humans. This is wrong. The reason America uses Fahrenheit is because of Ronald Reagan. Surprised?
An autistic infodump thread on temperature scales.
An autistic infodump thread on temperature scales.
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Even in the lathe I think in thous’ but cut in microns. 🤷♂️
But I’m old.
And you don't even need to memorize all the prefixes, kilo, centi, and milli are the only ones really used for every day measurements.
It is 1.8 times more precise with integer values, which is why scientists using Celsius add decimals. No big deal. And a one degree shift on any scale is hardly the difference between whether or not you need to wear a jacket.
I switched all my thermostats a decade ago, and now Fahrenheit feels very unnatural, and I spent the first three decades of my life exclusively using Fahrenheit, so I don't buy this idea it's more natural.
First we have to go back about 300 years before he was elected, give or take.
In 1686, a man named Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit was born. In case it's not obvious, he's the namesake for the Fahrenheit scale!
Keep reading for more fun facts.
See here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ole_R%C3%B8mer
Fahrenheit had at that point experience with glass blowing and making alcohol based thermometers.
Rømer had convinced Fahrenheit there was a high demand for accurate thermometers, which was very high technology in the early 1700s.
So Fahrenheit got to work.