Pound sign (was Re: the Telephone Test)

[Norman Diamond]

In article <1334 at nusdhub.UUCP> rwhite at nusdhub.UUCP (Robert C. White Jr.) writes:

>>Just because you (culutrally) have chosen to use a strange unit
>>name for your currency dson't mean that every refrence to that
>>unit refres to your curency. 

In article <8905081532.AA02862 at beaches.hub.toronto.edu> thomson at hub.toronto.edu (Brian Thomson) writes:

>Noting that the words 'peso' and 'lira' both mean 'pound',  I'd say that
>those of us whose currency is not named after a unit of weight are
>the ones with the strange units.

The Thaler was a troy ounce of silver, of greater purity than the
Sterling pound of silver.  The U.S.A. didn't choose a strange unit,
just a strange spelling.  And they've only inflated it 30 times
(i.e. down to 3.3 original cents) instead of 100 times.

--
Norman Diamond, Sony Computer Science Lab (diamond%csl.sony.co.jp at relay.cs.net)
  The above opinions are my own.   |  Why are programmers criticized for
  If they're also your opinions,   |  re-inventing the wheel, when car
  you're infringing my copyright.  |  manufacturers are praised for it?