Dear People of The World,

"Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire" (arch-duke-maxyenko) 07/17/2014 at 22:29 • Filed to: rant

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Stop saying, "(x-amount of) torques." Torque is measured in force multiplied by distance from the pivot point. So, 500 lbft means 500 pounds of force on a radius of 1 foot, or 1 pound on a radius of 500 feet. Either way, it's already plural. So, just like you don't say 26 MPG's, don't say 26 torques.

cabarne4 > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/17/2014 at 22:31

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What if we do say "MPG's"?

Forgetful > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/17/2014 at 22:34

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But Jeremy says it, so I'm witty when I say because British humor.

AthomSfere > cabarne4 07/17/2014 at 22:38

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Then your a communist...!

wkiernan > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/17/2014 at 22:40

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But I do say "26 MPGs". However I don't say "26.7 MPGs". Plural doesn't seem proper for numbers that aren't integers. Of course MPG is a real number, not an integer, but if you say it as though it were an integer it sounds OK to me.

Although I would say "twenty six point seventy five dollars" rather than "twenty six point seventy five dollar". Maybe it's because I think of quantities of money as integer multiples of the smallest local coin, the penny. Now I wonder, does anyone ever actually make transactions of sub-penny resolution? I know compounded interest rates are computed to full floating point precision but does anyone ever exchange dollars, say through some kind of computer transaction, where there are more than two decimal places to the right of the dot?

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > cabarne4 07/17/2014 at 22:41

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Then you're wrong and you should feel bad. Do you also say psi's? Or Horsepowers? How about mice's?

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > wkiernan 07/17/2014 at 22:44

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MPG stands for miles per gallon, so you are trying to make a plural unit more plural, and that is just nonsensical.

Agrajag > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/17/2014 at 22:50

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I am aware of that, but thought it might come across as silly/funny by using that phrase.

Agrajag > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/17/2014 at 22:51

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I say meese.

thebigbossyboss > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/17/2014 at 22:51

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Clarkson said it. Clarkson is god.

cabarne4 > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/17/2014 at 22:52

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Naturally. My car has many horsepowers.

ranwhenparked > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/17/2014 at 22:53

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I believe "torques" started out as a joke on Top Gear and everyone's just kind of run with it. I would say most people that do use it certainly know better, but its supposed to be kind of funny.

Crocket Bernet > wkiernan 07/17/2014 at 22:58

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That was amazing.

Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/17/2014 at 22:59

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I think it's mis-applied Brit pluralization. Not, mind you, that "torques" is right, but a lot of words that are plural in form describing vaguely plural notions get re-pluralized in the abbreviated form in Britland, which is just retarded. Ur-example: mathematics -> "maths".

In this case, "torque units" -> "torques" would be legitimate-ish, but only if one is a filthy fish'n'chips gobbler.

Racescort666 > wkiernan 07/17/2014 at 23:00

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Yes, this was the purpose of the virus in Office Space. Round everything over 2 decimals down and drop it into an account. (Also this apparently happened in Superman 3)

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/17/2014 at 23:02

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I thought it was a thing to talk in terrible grammar in an ironic way.

Pet the doge

I can't even into

Needs moar monies

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull 07/17/2014 at 23:05

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It really grinds my engineering gears. I would have failed a test, on principle alone, if I had disregarded units and just wrote Torques.

Birddog > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/17/2014 at 23:09

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As a Plumber, I'm a bit tired of hearing "Hot Water Heater".

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Birddog 07/17/2014 at 23:11

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Fucking redundant assholes wasting words.

ttyymmnn > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/17/2014 at 23:23

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In defense of "MPGs", I think it's a bit awkward to say, "MsPG", so we pluralize the abbreviation. Technically incorrect, I suppose, but I'll allow it. If you write the plural of Attorney General, you say "Attorneys General", but if you are talking about more than one AG, you'd say "AGs" not "AsG." I have no idea if there's official style guidance for this, but I'll check in the morning because I'm that much of a grammar nerd.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/17/2014 at 23:24

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Horsespower...

or if you're a distinguished gentleman like myself: Kilowatts.

Birddog > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/17/2014 at 23:36

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I blame the Limey bastids on Top Gear.

I can hear Clarkson now..

"It torques the relief valve on the hot water heater or It gets the hose".

blacktruck18 > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/18/2014 at 00:11

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Are you sure it's not empugaas

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_f9PQ9…

BoulderZ > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/18/2014 at 00:14

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^ This. Same from the science side of the coin. Hell, rule number one in Middle School science fair is to use units correctly. Use English units (not SI), and you're lowered a letter grade. Use the wrong kind of units (e.g. using weight when you mean mass) will drop you two letter grades. *Mix* units (English and SI), and you automatically fail. No negotiations.

When someone says "MPG's" or "torques" or "horsepowers", in my mind I deduct 5 or more IQ points from my most recent estimate of their intelligence. Real world examples of Very Bad Consequences from abuse of units abound. Google "Mars Climate Orbiter", or "Ariane 5 explosion" for some really spectacular events. And the Hubble Space Telescope mirror problem is at least a similarly-related error. Bottom line: data and units matter and only slobs ignore or misuse them, at their own and others' peril.