Title text:
Other numbers are largely unaffected, but anyone using ‘4’ for their certificate key is urged to upgrade to ‘5’.
Transcript:
Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com
Source: https://xkcd.com/3314/
Title text:
Other numbers are largely unaffected, but anyone using ‘4’ for their certificate key is urged to upgrade to ‘5’.
Transcript:
Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com
Source: https://xkcd.com/3314/
What is the origin of this system? It’s nuts.
It’s just pre-imperial. We’ve left everything else behind for metric, but the snaes still roams the shadows of our counting system.
Everyone knew what a snaes was and everyone measured in snaes enyway, it also happened to be about the amount that we stored fish and eggs as. So, instead of having to count all the fish, we simply asked for one snaes/box of fish. And if you needed 2,5 snaes of fish? well, then you simply asked for half three snaes.
For a very interesting example of modern culture using such improvised counting systems, look no further than the USA’s obsession with measuring everything in football fields, elephants, etc…
And for an example for saying “half x”? Ask anyone who has ever said “let’s meet at half six”.