Re: when is a billion not a billion

In article <1192004377.568000.101340@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> =?iso-8859-1?B?U2XhbiBPJ0xlYXRobPNiaGFpcg==?= <jwlawler@xxxxxxxxx> writes:
On 9 Oct, 19:20, Michael Press <rub...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
....
In 1893 the pound avoirdupois and the yard were
officially defined in terms of the kilogram and the
metre, not by act of Congress, but by order of the
Superintendent of Weights and Measures,
T.C. Mendenhall, with the approval of the
Secretary of the Treasury.

I was aware of that but, over here at least, it had no noticeable
effect on day to day life.

If overhere means something like the UK, you are right. The above
official definition was only valid in the US. The UK maintained
their old-style definition until (if I remember right) 1969.
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