MichaelBluejay
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RogerKint
August 13th, 2025 at 12:44:23 PM permalink
(This isn't a math "question" but I didn't see where else to post it.)

I invented a unit of measurement called "feenches", short for "feet-inches". It's 1 inch x 1 inch x 1 foot. It's useful for measuring things like how much crushed stone you need for landscaping. For example, if I'm installing crushed stone to block weeds along a line, I measure the depth and width in inches, but the length in linear feet, e.g., 5 inches wide, x 6 inches deep, x 11 FEET long. To get feenches, just multiply all the numbers together, even though they're different units: 5 x 6 x 11 = 330 feenches.

Then, I apply a conversion factor of 0.0139 to change it to bags.

330 feenches x 0.0139 = 4.6 bags

That's how many bags I need to buy at Home Depot.

If I need a lot of material and will get delivery from landscaping supply, then the conversion factor is 0.000257 to convert to cubic yards (what suppliers colloquially call "a yard").
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DogHand
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MichaelBluejay
August 13th, 2025 at 1:28:43 PM permalink
As a portmanteau of "foot" and "inches", perhaps "foonches" would be a better choice.

Just my 1/50th of a dollar.

Dog Hand
JohnnyQ
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MichaelBluejay
August 13th, 2025 at 4:25:02 PM permalink
Quote: MichaelBluejay

I invented a unit of measurement called "feenches", short for "feet-inches".

I happen to be on the Nobel Prize committee. Please look surprised when you are notified.
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Dieter
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Dieter
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MichaelBluejay
August 13th, 2025 at 4:44:53 PM permalink
That seems to be roughly 1 2/3 gills.
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SOOPOO
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August 13th, 2025 at 5:07:48 PM permalink
You call it a feench. I call it 12 cubic inches.

In my life, I rarely think of a cubic ‘anything’.
unJon
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August 13th, 2025 at 5:39:33 PM permalink
Metic makes the length to volume calculation easier as 1000 cubic centimeters is just a liter.
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MichaelBluejay
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August 13th, 2025 at 5:39:56 PM permalink
Quote: DogHand

As a portmanteau of "foot" and "inches", perhaps "foonches" would be a better choice.

Just my 1/50th of a dollar.

Dog Hand
link to original post



I'm thinking of it as "feet-inches" rather than "foot-inches". Makes sense for both units to be plural (plural-plural), rather than different (singular-plural).

Of course, it's not really correct because the measurement is not really feet-inches, it's feet-inches-inches, so feenchinches would be more accurate, but that's cumbersome. It's like how landscape suppliers call a cubic yard just "a yard". The abbreviation isn't entirely accurate, but only pedants will care, and screw them.
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MichaelBluejay
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August 13th, 2025 at 6:45:10 PM permalink
Quote: unJon

Metic makes the length to volume calculation easier as 1000 cubic centimeters is just a liter.
link to original post

Except all my tape measures are in feet/inches, and the landscape supply doesn't sell by metric units, they sell by cubic yards.
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AutomaticMonkey
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MichaelBluejay
August 13th, 2025 at 6:58:22 PM permalink
Quote: MichaelBluejay

Quote: unJon

Metic makes the length to volume calculation easier as 1000 cubic centimeters is just a liter.
link to original post

Except all my tape measures are in feet/inches, and the landscape supply doesn't sell by metric units, they sell by cubic yards.
link to original post



Yeah, and what if you have to go to the moon for something?
MichaelBluejay
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August 13th, 2025 at 8:18:25 PM permalink
Quote: AutomaticMonkey

Quote: MichaelBluejay

Quote: unJon

Metic makes the length to volume calculation easier as 1000 cubic centimeters is just a liter.
link to original post

Except all my tape measures are in feet/inches, and the landscape supply doesn't sell by metric units, they sell by cubic yards.
link to original post



Yeah, and what if you have to go to the moon for something?
link to original post

Indeed, if you're leaving this solar system, and you fail to use metric, your spacecraft will crash:

Quote: Google AI

A major unit conversion error, specifically between the metric and English (imperial) systems, was the primary cause of the Mars Climate Orbiter's failure in 1999. NASA engineers used English units (pounds, inches, feet) while the ground software expected metric units (Newtons, meters, millimeters). This discrepancy led to incorrect trajectory calculations, causing the spacecraft to enter the Martian atmosphere at an incorrect altitude and ultimately fail.

https://www.simscale.com/blog/nasa-mars-climate-orbiter-metric/
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