If we don’t use a metric system based on feet, kilofeet, millifeet, &c, then maybe we could use one based on miles, millimiles, .. ?
Mile-metric system
| mile-metric | approximately |
|---|---|
| 1 nanomile | 1.6 microns |
| 1 micromile | 1/16 inch |
| 1 millimile | 5.28 feet |
| 1 mile | a fifteen minute walk |
| 1 kilomile | New York to Orlando, Portland to Los Angeles |
| 0.24 megamiles | distance from Earth to the Moon |
| 0.93 megamiles | distance from Earth to the Sun |
| 2.7 - 4.7 gigamiles | distance from Pluto to the Sun |
Analysis
I kind of prefer the foot-metric. A “gigafoot” just has so much more appeal, to me.
Inch-metric system
Why not?
| inch-metric | approximately |
|---|---|
| 1 nanoinch | 1/40 nanometer |
| 1 microinch | 25 nanometers |
| 1 milli-inch | 25 microns |
| 1 inch | .. |
| 1 kiloinch | 28 yards |
| 1 megainch | 16 miles |
| 0.5 gigainch | diameter of the Earth |
| 1 terainch | 16 megamiles |
I don’t really like this one, either. A gigafoot, here to the Moon! A millifoot, a couple sheets of paper. Seems more centered.