Showerthoughts

29607 readers

1217 users here now

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. The best ones are thoughts that many people can relate to and they find something funny or interesting in regular stuff.

Rules

All posts must be showerthoughts
The entire showerthought must be in the title
Avoid politics (NEW RULE as of 5 Nov 2024, trying it out)
Posts must be original/unique
Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

163

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

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

73 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Yes, I think it's a question of use. I can't think of many examples where you would quickly need to know the measurement to the nearest Mm. Maybe if for some reason you deal with a lot of lunar orbits? Diameters of exoplanets?

Any earth distances we need to know with greater precision, and any stellar distances are probably better measured in light years, etc.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Odometer readings

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

"I've driven 112.326 megameters" takes the same amount of time to say as 112,326 kilometers. 🤷‍♂️