Japan has told its citizens living in China to keep a low profile, including talking quietly in public, after Beijing blasted Tokyo for releasing treated radioactive water from a wrecked nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

  • Zoidsberg
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    fedilink
    151 year ago

    500 Olympic-sized pools

    Why do people use football fields and swimming pools as units of measurement.

    • magnetosphere
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      fedilink
      21 year ago

      I assume it’s to help people visualize volume/distance/size/etc. If an article said “50,000 gallons”, it would be much more precise, but also harder to relate to. When an article says “500 Olympic-sized pools”, it’s significantly easier to picture in my mind.

      It’s also worth remembering that this is a newspaper intended for the casual edification of the general public, not a scientific document.