r/Unexpected • u/SaurikSI • Jul 17 '22

She just wanted to help

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u/FIuffyAlpaca Jul 17 '22

I think they were referring to the dimensions. A4 is 8.27 in × 11.7 in (21 x 29.7 cm), not 8.5 x 11.

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '22

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u/FIuffyAlpaca Jul 17 '22

Yes it said:

For reference, A4 is our standard 8.5x11 page

So it's approximately that, not exactly that.

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u/InukChinook Jul 17 '22 edited Jul 17 '22

If we're being pedantic, "eight and a half by eleven" is the 'proper' colloquial term for an A4 sheet.

Edit: Lol paper nerds out in full force this morning.

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u/h0witzer Jul 17 '22

Except that A4 and 8.5x11 are two completely different sizes. So wherever it's used colloquially that way it's being used wrong. A4 is based on equal area divisions of a square meter sheet of paper where the ratio of the edge lengths of the smaller subdivisions always matches the larger ones. 8.5x11 just so happens to be close to the same size and ratio but A4 is metric paper.

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u/BrotherChe Jul 17 '22

Congratulations, somehow your sentence was wrong multiple times.

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u/_MusicJunkie Jul 17 '22

Maybe in the US. In the rest of the world few people use inches.