Imagine reading "one-second(th?) of all women". It seems absolutely ridiculous. ... | Hacker News

Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit

		pindab0ter 10 months ago \| parent \| context \| favorite \| on: Did UCLA Just Cure Baldness? Imagine reading "one-second(th?) of all women". It seems absolutely ridiculous. Yet "one-third" or "one-fifth" are perfectly normal. Language is weird and I like that.

dnel 10 months ago [–]

I'm sure there is a historical reason we have "half" and "quarter" and no others but it's not my area of expertise but still, not using them when they're appropriate just seems...odd.

fingerlocks 10 months ago | [–]

We do have others. You might be familiar with an octave, which is 1/8, or a decimal which is 1/10.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact