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In my new scale, °X, 0 is Earths' record lowest surface temperature, 50 is the global average, and 100 is the record highest, with a linear scale between each point and adjustment every year as needed.

https://explainxkcd.com/3001/

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[-] someguy3@lemmy.world 6 points 13 hours ago

I once read that circular thermometers were a thing and that's why fahrenheit has 180° between freezing and boiling.

[-] ikidd@lemmy.world 10 points 13 hours ago

I think a degree F was 1/10,000 of the volume of mercury he happened to use in his first thermometer. The 180 was probably a coincidence because bimetal spring thermometers came along later.

[-] TheTetrapod@lemmy.world 0 points 10 hours ago

I've heard this too. It also allows for easily making your own thermometer, since you can just divide by 2 until you get all the way down to degrees.

this post was submitted on 22 Oct 2024
462 points (98.7% liked)

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