1.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ISO_standards

This is ridiculous! Just look at some...I never knew this existed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

3.) Shoe size in the United States and Canada is based on the length of the last (the foot-shaped template over which the shoe is manufactured), measured in inches, multiplied by 3 and minus a constant. This constant differs for shoes intended for men, women and children.

male shoe size = 3 * last length − 22

Women's sizes are almost always determined with the "common" scale, in which women's sizes are equal to men's sizes plus 1.5 (for example, a men's 10.5 is a women's 12).

In the less popular scale, known as the "standard" or "FIA" (Footwear Industries of America) scale, women's sizes are men's sizes plus 1 (so a men's 10.5 is a women's 11.5).

female shoe size (common) = 3 * last length − 20.5
female shoe size (FIA) = 3 * last length − 21

Children's sizes are equal to men's sizes plus 12.33. Thus girls' and boys' sizes do not differ, even though men's and women's do.

child shoe size = 3 * last length − 9.67

For the international market, ISO 9407 is used.

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
ISO_9407#United_States_and_Canada

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

4.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EN_13402

These systems are amazing, scary, interesting...(is there a difference anymore?) I'm drawn to this one. (re: clothing measurements)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

5.) The European Union has a directive[7] banning non-SI markings after 31 December 2009 on any goods imported into the European Union. This applies to all markings on products, enclosed directions and papers, packaging, and advertisements. However, on September 11, 2007, the EU announced that the United Kingdom would be excepted from this directive, and Imperial measurements would still be permitted.

wow

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SI#Trade

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

6.) A male spider will dip his palp (the small, leg-like appendages on the front of his cephalothorax) into the seminal fluid he has discharged onto a small web pad. He will then go looking for a female spider and insert his palp into her epigynum (the female's genital opening).

Very unusual behaviour is seen in spiders of the genus Tidarren: the male amputates one of his palps before maturation and enters his adult life with one palp only. The palpi constitute 20% of the body mass of males of this species, and since this weight greatly impedes its movement, by detaching one of the two he gains increased mobility. In the Yemeni species Tidarren argo, the remaining palp is then torn off by the female. The separated palp remains attached to the female's epigynum for about four hours and apparently continues to function independently. In the meantime the female feeds on the palpless male.

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider#Reproduction

---

---

---