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Lb.? Why lb.?

Dear MA:

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How is it that the abbr. for a pound of weight is lb? None of my English instructors could answer this but I'm confident you can.

-- Dave-O, the net

That's the attitude we like, Dave. And take our word for it, when you're an elf it's all about attitude. So the research elves say, tell your teachers that lb. stands for libra. Then I�m sure your teachers will give you an A for citizenship and initiative. Or maybe a Z for being a wiseguy. These days, who knows. Anyway, aside from being a sign of the zodiac, libra was a basic and frequently used unit of weight in ancient Rome. One libra of dried figs would net you about 3/4 of a pound of the fruit in our way of measuring things; but then who likes dried figs anyway. The fewer you have, the better off you are.

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Dear MA:

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How is it that the abbr. for a pound of weight is lb? None of my English instructors could answer this but I'm confident you can.

-- Dave-O, the net

That's the attitude we like, Dave. And take our word for it, when you're an elf it's all about attitude. So the research elves say, tell your teachers that lb. stands for libra. Then I�m sure your teachers will give you an A for citizenship and initiative. Or maybe a Z for being a wiseguy. These days, who knows. Anyway, aside from being a sign of the zodiac, libra was a basic and frequently used unit of weight in ancient Rome. One libra of dried figs would net you about 3/4 of a pound of the fruit in our way of measuring things; but then who likes dried figs anyway. The fewer you have, the better off you are.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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