Brin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
brin_bellway) wrote2019-08-10 09:28 am
brin_bellway) wrote2019-08-10 09:28 am
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[cw: amnesia]
George Orwell: ""E could 'a drawed me off a pint,' grumbled the old man as he settled down behind a glass. 'A 'alf litre ain't enough. It don't satisfy. And a 'ole litre's too much. It starts my bladder running. Let alone the price.'"
Me, age ~6: *is vaguely aware that litres are a unit of measurement but doesn't know how big they are; shrugs and moves on*
Me, age 13, significantly more Canadian (though not yet *quite* living there): "Hey, wait a minute! A half-litre is slightly *bigger* than a pint! ...huh, that's actually a pretty good way of subtly indicating that the old man's memories can't be trusted."
Me, age ~21, reading about the imperial system on Wikipedia: "Wait, you're telling me that a *British* pint† is slightly different from an *American* pint, and actually *is* a bit bigger than a half-litre? ...okay, I understand the appeal of the metric system on a somewhat more visceral level now. Shame that the subtle-indication-of-warped-viewpoint reading is wrong, though, that was neat."
---
†Bear in mind that 1984 is set in what was once Britain.
George Orwell: ""E could 'a drawed me off a pint,' grumbled the old man as he settled down behind a glass. 'A 'alf litre ain't enough. It don't satisfy. And a 'ole litre's too much. It starts my bladder running. Let alone the price.'"
Me, age ~6: *is vaguely aware that litres are a unit of measurement but doesn't know how big they are; shrugs and moves on*
Me, age 13, significantly more Canadian (though not yet *quite* living there): "Hey, wait a minute! A half-litre is slightly *bigger* than a pint! ...huh, that's actually a pretty good way of subtly indicating that the old man's memories can't be trusted."
Me, age ~21, reading about the imperial system on Wikipedia: "Wait, you're telling me that a *British* pint† is slightly different from an *American* pint, and actually *is* a bit bigger than a half-litre? ...okay, I understand the appeal of the metric system on a somewhat more visceral level now. Shame that the subtle-indication-of-warped-viewpoint reading is wrong, though, that was neat."
---
†Bear in mind that 1984 is set in what was once Britain.