tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937390557356997344.post8983754901090241561..comments2024-03-22T03:59:39.188-07:00Comments on Dive into Worldbuilding: Culture Share: Canada - Time as a measurement of distanceJuliette Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937390557356997344.post-9078069012249445022011-06-01T04:16:59.129-07:002011-06-01T04:16:59.129-07:00Australia has places where a visiting alien resear...Australia has places where a visiting alien researcher would conclude humans either didn't exist or were an endangered species, so small is the population scattered across such vast landscapes.<br><br>In these areas, a variation of the distance-as-time measurement is used. Distance is measured in how many cans of beer are drunk during the distance travelled...:)David Marshallnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937390557356997344.post-60100070142172357942011-05-30T16:38:05.791-07:002011-05-30T16:38:05.791-07:00Then again that mainly applies to places I travel ...Then again that mainly applies to places I travel regularly. Or places with much distance and few landmarks. Or both.Jaleh Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04942272578488986874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937390557356997344.post-6854780451186234432011-05-27T11:25:58.927-07:002011-05-27T11:25:58.927-07:00I also live (and grew up in) Ontario, but I really...I also live (and grew up in) Ontario, but I really only "get" metric units - I can do some soft conversion in my head (inches to centimetres, that sort of thing), but miles and Fahrenheit are an utter mystery . . . .Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937390557356997344.post-67196204620715806562011-05-27T08:35:16.178-07:002011-05-27T08:35:16.178-07:00In Norway it's not uncommon to give distance a...In Norway it's not uncommon to give distance as the time it takes to arrive - usually follow by a statement on the mode of travel; after all an hour by foot is much closer than an hour by car.<br>An older Norwegian unit of measurement was the "rast", meaning a rest; a suitable distance to walk before you needed a breather. Up in the northernmost parts of Norway the Sami still measures distances in "kaffekok", that is how many times you stop and make a cup of coffee along the way.Hans Mariushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00451067161929155320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937390557356997344.post-15201017465365933462011-05-26T09:55:21.162-07:002011-05-26T09:55:21.162-07:00Though I know my family uses the whole Vitamin Cot...Though I know my family uses the whole Vitamin Cottage (favorite grocery store) is twenty minutes away. We only get into cross streets, etc. if there is no equal point of reference to give a time on.Megshttp://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/MeganPaynenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937390557356997344.post-75928045543751207732011-05-26T09:23:10.525-07:002011-05-26T09:23:10.525-07:00When I lived in Montana, we used time as a measure...When I lived in Montana, we used time as a measurement of distance also, and now that I live in Ontario I find the same thing. But I think Heidi is right; in Chicago we usually describe a location by cross streets or landmark or neighborhood, and the person would have an idea of distance in their head based on those descriptions.M.L. Edwardsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937390557356997344.post-13995460797177526652011-05-26T06:00:59.796-07:002011-05-26T06:00:59.796-07:00Oh, and I thought of another thing that might be r...Oh, and I thought of another thing that might be relevant - Australia is very metric, but they do still measure height in Imperial inches...and some older people measure weight in stone!Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937390557356997344.post-65733722083400789642011-05-25T22:24:57.572-07:002011-05-25T22:24:57.572-07:00And thanks for having me, Juliette! Interesting th...And thanks for having me, Juliette! Interesting that Americans use this turn of phrase, too. I'm wondering if the size of the country and population density have something to do with it. A place with close-packed cities and landmarks might just have more vocabulary for travel than "x hours in one direction".Heidi C. Vlachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11865524260060421873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937390557356997344.post-57882188962479243112011-05-25T21:37:00.400-07:002011-05-25T21:37:00.400-07:00Thanks for this, Heidi - in fact, we in CA (and, I...Thanks for this, Heidi - in fact, we in CA (and, I hear, in the Pacific Northwest as well) use time for distance in this way. However, I think it's very interesting to note the contrast with Europe. In Japan, too, I found that people don't equate time with distance in this way.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.com