Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.

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why don't people say mega meters (lemmy.world)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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How come people say 5,000 km and not 5 Mm?
why not just say millions of meters or Mega meters?

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

When measuring lengths and time, metric units are super useful. Micrometers, Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters and Kilometres are easily and often converted in a lot of technical jobs.

Same with nanoseconds, milliseconds and seconds when dealing with time in simulations or other computer programs (e.g. game development).

Milliliters, Centiliters and Liters are commonly used in cooking.

What's wrong with hectometers? I don't know how often they're used but dealing with a factor of 10 or 100 to the next "regular" unit (meters or kilometers) is no big deal.