General Chat

On Allan's birthday card thread I asked "What do 68F and 20C have in common?" 

Bobtanian, you replied "LOL Barry, as I am sure you know 68F and 20C are the same temperature......."

Bobtanian, you are correct in your 'figurative' reply ... although this is not what I was after!
I further wrote "There is one word above (clue: it's plural [the clue word was 'photos']) to which these figures are (particularly so a few decades ago) important."?

I also wrote "Any ideas developing" (Another photo clue!)
.
OK, Bobtanian, here we go! The answer ... for YOU! 

I feel sure most of us who read these posts were brought up on the Imperial system of weights / measures / distance etc..
This included Fahrenheit for temperature.
We knew nothing of the system Europe used or what is was called it way back when!! 
I was quite young at school and was told to remember (wish I knew by whom) this one figure in degrees C. (The enemy!)
This was 20C ... is the equivalent to 68F. 
This figure was important for ... well, here come the photo clues, Bob ... 

This is the temperature the photographer kept his darkroom so the chemicals were at the correct temperature when he developed, stopped (the process), printed, washed film etc., 
A different temperature than the above and all his hard work may not have been 'just so'. 
68F / 20C was critical.
(I also did developing and printing decades ago and kept the same temperature.)

We generally keep our house 'comfortable' at 72F or 22C approx.
This does not vary much from the darkroom temperature.

That was my wee quiz question, Bobtanian!
I wonder if you recall this reason for it?

Perhaps Bradley will ask it on "The Chase'.
We'll simply have to watch and wonder.
Take care,
Barry

Thank you Barry,
I would never have thought of that route, however you are right, about our being brought up on those scales of measurements, even today, my car is on deg F,,

there IS one measure that I feel is my own interpretation, that of Celsius.

now as you will recall, Centigrade is just that, 0deg to 100deg.and when ,in my youth I recall temperatures being quoted so many degrees of frost,ie negative /minus degrees,, they couldn't have minus centigrade, so Celsius was adopted, which DOES allow minus temperatures..


just my way of thinking...




hope the birthday boys' day went well

best regards,
Bob

Hi Bob.
Thanks indeed for your reply. Most interesting.

I have a feeling that degrees Kelvin comes in somewhere, too ... VERY cold temps indeed, methinks! Getting too old to remember these days!

Which car do you own that has temps in F? Quite remarkable! I'm intrigued indeed.

I hope to see Allan later. Thanks.
Ciao,
Barry

Citroen, programable /kilos miles temps. consumption...

Imperial system when I was at school too but we all knew (or should have known) that to easily calculate a rough figure was to add or deduct 30 whichever way round you were approaching the temperature from - 70F/21C - ish being the rough turning point. I would guess that everyone in our form knew that, or ought to have done so.

Similarly, miles-kilometres and vice versa, with roughly 1.6k being the turning point but easier to calculate roughly in the head by using 1/1.5 then adding a smidgen.

Not exact for scientific purposes but close enough for a layperson to easily calculate.

My OH watches his petrol consumption carefully and keeps a track of consumption. I'm afraid I don't see the point as, if I have to get from A to B, then I have to get there.