Why is it that we measure heat output in BTU's, or BRITISH Thermal Units? Nothing against the British, mind you. They've given us many great things; including Velcro, spaghetti, and the internet. I have much respect for them. But this is the USA. We dance to the beat of our own drum. We loathe the metric system. We like fast cars and football. Hot Dogs and fireworks. So I propose that we invent a new unit of heat measurement called ... The American Thermal Unit, or ATU. It is exactly the same as a BTU, only different. For simplicity's sake, an ATU will be equal to two BTU's Therefore, if a cord of elm is good for 18.4 million BTU's, that would equate to 36.8 million ATU's! That's almost twice as the amount of heat from the same amount of wood! Think of how much warmer you will be sitting next to the fire. Not to mention the time you will save by only having to cut half as much wood. Just something to think about, let me know what ya think.
Umm.. if a ATU is equal to 2 BTU you would be getting half the heat and would have to split twice as much of that stringy azz elm to get the same amount of heat! Gary
Good observation Gary! That would be true if we were in the Southern Hemisphere. But here in North America it's the exact opposite, due to the rotation of the earth, the moons magnetic field, and various other factors that I would rather not get into right now.
You must be going batty. Velcro is from Switzerland, spaghetti from Italy, and the internet is from the us ( and it wasn't al gore). Having lived in Maine, I know what they call people from Massachusetts. Lol
Well, I while back, there was a debate as to which term should be used to refer to a resident of the state. Michigander, or Michiganian. I've sort of melded the two, hence: Michiganderanian. Just for the record, Michigander officially won.
And don't forget that the brits gave us the colonies...oh wait, that's right-we took 'em. As goofy as some of them have been getting the past few years, I wonder if they are being infiltrated with brits and they are trying to get them back? Sore losers...
To further complicate things a btu is the amount of energy it takes to heat one POUND of water one degree FAHRENHEIT. Since it's BRITISH, shouldn't it be a kilogram of water one degree Celsius?
