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Friday, May 11, 2012

A Bit of Confusion

I was plodding along on part 14 of The Great Escape. And I mean plodding. The signpost is composed of Van Dyke stitches which gave the Wheat-Ear stitches (wings) a run for the title of Most Boring Stitch. Well, the stitch isn't boring, it's just having to do a billion of them that made me lose interest.


The Great Escape
28ct white Jubilee, DMC 317, 318, 413, 414, 415

Eventually I got to the text and that's when I got confused. I wondered why there should be a sign if the town was a metre away. Because to me, "1 m" equals "1 metre". "1 mile" would be "1 mi". Adding to my confusion was my belief that the UK is metric (apparently Mousehole is a place in Cornwall).

A bit of research later: Apparently the UK still uses miles for distance, and "m" as an abbreviation. And it's illegal to use "km" for distance! The mind boggles!

For my own sake I'm wondering if a bit of modification to "mi" isn't called for...

12 comments:

Lija Broka said...

Yes we do use miles, feet, inches and all those annoying measurements. And don't get me started on the weight. Pounds? Stones? I absolutely hate them, and get confused lots myself, and I live here. Coming from Europe originally I am used to metric measurements. So essentially anytime someone asks my height or weight. It is the standard metre or kilogram reply, to which I get 'and what is it in normal measurements?'
Stitching looking good.

Topcho said...

Oh dear. Ok, now I feel really really stupid. Apart from thinking it was metre, I thought that "Mousehole" was, well, the hole where those two mice live. And if you're one small mouse, it won't be that illogical to have a 1 metre sign, right? Like to say "hey welcome mice, you're almost home!" And I thought the whole great escape thing was them mice getting to their hole that is 1 metre away. I hope that now they won't have to run one mile to the closest town! Owww my head starts to hurt >.<""""

Rhona said...

Aww, that's so cute! No confusion on my part...1M = 1 mile. Bet most folk wouldn't even think about the sign when they look at your stitching.

Mouse said...

hehehehe it is defo one mile ...lol and it is in cornwall and its a lovely place :)
love mouse xxxxx

The Knitting Cross Stitcher said...

Your TGE is looking good inspite of your problems
Too add to the confusion the place Mousehole is pronounced the same as mouse up to the s,then the s sounds like a z,making you think it is spelt Mouzal:)It is a very pretty place,but Corwall is lovely anyway.

Stitchabilities said...

LOL I suppose there is no confusion when you are used to it, If I was to see 1m on a road sign then yes, it is one mile as one metre you wouldn't need a sign it'd be right there :0) lol

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

I was going to say what Lesley said about the pronunciation!
We were forced into "going metric" when we joined the EEC in the 70s. Schoolchildren are taught in metric but real life uses imperial still.
You get all sorts of anomalies - wood is sold in metre lenghts but inch diameters, so you buy 3metres of 2inch by 4inch!!
It's because it would cost too much to replace everything to measure in metric. And we are stubborn. Half of us didn't want to be in the EU anyway and say "hands off our measurements" LOL.

mdgtjulie said...

Love your owl, though. And it looks good, so you can leave it as is. However, my suggestion is this: if it really bothers you, change it. Otherwise, every time you see it, you will frown. And that's not what you want, Blu. Make it so you like it and you'll smile every time you see it.

Anonymous said...

Your owl looks great with all the different stitches.

Giovanna said...

Nice progress whatever you decide about the sign :-)

Veronica said...

I never knew that either. Thanks for that bit of trivia. Though I think having 1 meter makes sense though... After all, mice are small creatures. 1 mile is a long way for a mouse to run. Either way, lovely stitching.

Hugs,
Veronica.

Caitlin @ Naughts Cross Stitches said...

gorgeous stitching :)