One thing the Europeans do right is the metric system … it is so easy to figure our measurements, distances, weights, etc (everything except time is really easy to calculate). We use the English system … which has long since been abandoned by the English …

But their ingenuity even applies to the size of paper (as Alan Peterson informed me). Our standard 8 1/2 x 11″ paper makes no sense in the grand scheme of things …

In Europe, all paper is in the shape of a perfect rectangle (supposedly the most beautiful shape — basically the length = width * Phi constant). The biggest size of paper is A1 — which is in the shape of a perfect rectangle and is a total of a square meter (it is very big). Half of that is A2. half of A2 is A3. half of A3 is A4 (the standard European paper that is a competitor to our inferior American 8 1/2 x 11″ paper).

Half of A4 is A5 (which is the common large European envelop size) …