2 1/3 = 2.33

When I made the blog yesterday, I thought it would be a while before I'd have anything to add. I was wrong. This afternoon I went to the hardware store to buy two and one-third yards of vinyl fabric to cover the chicken coop gate. At the check-out the cashier could not figure out how to enter two and one-third yards. I suggested she enter the quantity at 2.33.  She said she wasn't sure that was right because she was never good at math. She called over another employee, who was also a bit baffled, but convinced herself I wasn't trying to trick them.  First employee then told me she could do basic math, but never understood the algebra.  I almost lost my mind. Somehow I bit my tongue, finished the transaction and left. I then stormed into a business a few doors down and asked EVERYONE in the store to PLEASE tell me how you would cover 2 1/3 to decimals. All four people in there answered correctly.  At least not everyone has lost their basic math skills!

Why we need this blog.

I have started this blog for a friend who wrote:
I'm considering starting a blog called "Stupid Things I Heard Today." It doesn't so much bother me when people use the wrong part of speech like, "I should have went left there," but it KILLS me when people use the wrong word entirely. Yesterday on a sports show, one of the commentators noted, "The Russian team won handedly today." Oh. My. God. I backed it up to make sure I hadn't misheard. I'm sorry if this seems silly to you, but I just feel like there is a slide into idiocy going on that has to be acknowledged. I hear something like that on the radio or TV every day, and these are people paid to communicate information to us. What to do about it remains a larger question, I think.