links: coraline, stupid shoe sizes, pigeon-smuggling

[cimorene]

Coraline: 10" plush replica of Coraline's button-eye doll. Creepy and cute! The crazy knitting genius woman who hand-knitted all the tiny miniature sweaters and gloves in the movie. WOW.

I knew the international shoe sizing conversions were complex, stupid, and frequently misunderstood, but I didn't quite know how MUCH. Sample info from Wikipedia:

UK sizes are based on a unit called the "barleycorn" which is 1/12th of a "hand" (1 hand=4 inches/10.16 cm). The US system is based on the UK system+1, except US women's sizes are either men's+1.5 or men's+1, concurrently and with no explanation. Several major athletic brands (Nike, Reebok, Fila mm) use a different system based on 5mm increments instead of the 4.233333mm of a half-barleycorn. The continental European system is measured in "Paris points", a "Paris point" being 1.5cm. The Asian system is the only metric one.

Some guy tried to smuggle live pigeons into Australia in his tights the other day. He was also travelling with "undeclared eggplant".

Comments

[mecurtin.livejournal.com]

Last night my husband proudly declared that he finally understood the lyrics from one of his favorite sea-chanties, because he now knows what a cran (http://www.sizes.com/units/cran.htm) is.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I clicked. AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH. Oh, Imperial measurements! ♥

[copracat]

That is, without any doubt, the very best website EVER.