Re: measuring systems (was: Selenites)

At 4:13 pm -0300 26/9/98, Pablo Flores wrote:
>J.A. Mills wrote:
>>Wasn't there a time during the French Revolution when the people were
>>switched
>>over to a calendar based on decimals (10's, 100's)?  If somebody has more
>>information on this, feel free to lecture.  I've never been able to
>>figure out
>>why most conlangers choose to translate things like "pounds", "miles", and
>>"hours" into the conlang without devising a new system.
>
>Yes, after the French Revolution, they switched to a ten-month year and
>began counting from there.
Sorry to contradict, but this is not so.  There remained 12 months.

What they did change was the 7 day week to a 10 day decade.  Each month
consisted of three decades.  This gave a year of 360 days.  The deficit was
made up of 5 (6 in every 4th or 'Olympic' year) days known as 'Les
Sansculottides'from the nickname "sans culottes" (without breeches ['cos
they wore common trousers ;) ]) given by the aristos to the
revolutionaries.

>The months were named after the climate and activities such as harvesting,
>I think (I don't know their names).
Yep - the year began at the Autumn solstice and the months were grouped
into four seasons, thus:
Vende'maire  <-- Latin: ui:nde:mia = vintage, grape harvest
Brumaire     <-- brume (fog)
Frimaire     <-- frimas (hoar-frost)

Nivo^se     <-- Latin: niuo:sus = snowy
Pluvio^se   <-- Latin: pluuio:sus = rainy
Vento^se    <-- latin: uento:sus = windy

Germinal    <-- Latin: germen (gen. germinis) = bud
Flore'al    <-- fleure = flower (cf. Latin: flo:s, flo:ris)
Prairial    <-- prairie = meadow

Messidor    <-- Latin: messis (harvest) + Greek: do:ron (gift)
Thermidor   <-- Greek: thermo- + do:ron = heat-gift
Fructidor   <-- Latin: fructi- + Greek: do:ron = fruit-gift

The calendar was devised by Gilbert Romme (the ancient Egyptians had a very
similar one) and the months were named (Would you believe it? :-) by a
poet, a certain Fabre d'Eglatine.

It was adopted by the National Convention on 5 October 1793,
retrospectively as from 22 Sept. 1792, and remained in force until Napoleon
abolished it & restored the Gregorian calendar on 1st Jan. 1806.

Ray.