120 Bit for 20 bucks

[sweensdv]

There is a popular cheer that starts off...2 bits 4 bits...6 bits...a dollar...

Yeah, like maybe 50-60 years ago it was all the rage.

[cabinetman]

Yeah, like maybe 50-60 years ago it was all the rage.

The mention of it sparked a memory for you. Were you a cheerleader?

.

[LCHIEN]

Sweens what can i say, we're old.

Duncsuss, its 12.5 cents, no such coin but back it the day when this term was popular and in much more common use, 12.5 cents was a lot of money. Prices of meals, haircuts, movies and such were often quoted in bits. I'd say this encomapsed the 1800s or maybe before, to the early 1900s.

The other piece of memorable use of this was "shave and a shower, 2 bits" back in the old west days when the barbershop was the center of all hygiene. The phrase is used to describe the cadence of the secret door knock, Da---dada-da-da, --- da-da


related links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_bits

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_(money)

[duncsuss]

Thanks Loring

I guess it's on a par with the pounds, shillings and pence that I grew up with

[sweensdv]

The mention of it sparked a memory for you. Were you a cheerleader?

Whadda mean were, still am! Now don't go gettin all drooly on me now, you know how you get when you've had a glass or three of Merlot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDgwSZX3kxg

[LCHIEN]

Thanks Loring

I guess it's on a par with the pounds, shillings and pence that I grew up with

right, I guess a shilling is 1/20th of a pound.

I think in the old days before decimalisation (where currencies were divided into 1/100th of the base currency, like 1 cent of a dollar or 1 pence of a pound) it was common for the base currencies to be divided in half, quarters and other smaller halvings (like 1/8th and 1/16th). Historically, US NYSE stock market prices were quoted in eighths of a dollar, changed to 16ths of a dollar in 1997 and then to decimals only in 2001.

As aside it used to be common practice to cut and use larger denomination stamps in half or quarters to say, get 4, three cent stamps if you only had a 12 cent stamp. I'm talking the 1700s and 1800s. A recent (OK, maybe 20 years ago) attempt by a philatetic writer to do so with modern postage resulted in call from the postmaster general.

[duncsuss]

right, I guess a shilling is 1/20th of a pound.

I think in the old days before decimalisation (where currencies were divided into 1/100th of the base currency, like 1 cent of a dollar or 1 pence of a pound) it was common for the base currencies to be divided in half, quarters and other smaller halvings (like 1/8th and 1/16th).

As aside it used to be common practice to cut and use larger denomination stamps in half or quarters to say, get 4, three cent stamps if you only had a 12 cent stamp. I'm talking the 1700s and 1800s. A recent (OK, maybe 20 years ago) attempt by a philatetic writer to do so with modern postage resulted in call from the postmaster general.

When I grew up in England, they'd already abolished the groat (4d) and the farthing (1/4 of a penny), but halfpennies (pronounced "hay-penny") were circulating.

£1 (one pound) = 20 shillings, 1s = 12 pence, 1d = 4 farthings.

Other coins included the crown (5s), mostly a ceremonial coin by then; the half-crown (worth 2s 6d) which was the largest coin in general circulation; the 2s "two-bob-bit"; the 1s "bob"; the sixpence; the thre'penny bit (3d) which was octagonal.

Decimalisation made things a lot easier, but IMO contributed to a less numerate society. Working in base 12 and base 20 (in addition to the more normal base 10) fostered a certain flexibility of thinking -- like adding fractions does

[BobSch]

I thought it was based on the Spanish Real where the term pieces of eight came from.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieces_of_eight

Drilling further away from the original subject.

[cabinetman]

I thought it was based on the Spanish Real where the term pieces of eight came from.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieces_of_eight

Drilling further away from the original subject.

What was it?

.

[LCHIEN]

I thought it was based on the Spanish Real where the term pieces of eight came from.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieces_of_eight

Drilling further away from the original subject.

actually that is the root of a bit (in money terms). Pieces of eight were silver coins, a bit was 1/2 of 1/2 of 1/2, or 1/8 of a piece of eight. And very possibly the fact that a bit is now also 1/8 of a byte.

[duncsuss]

And very possibly the fact that a bit is now also 1/8 of a byte.

I have a soft spot for the half-byte, 4 bits, which in England we called a nibble, although I've forgotten which CPU had an instruction to flip the nibbles. It was handy for processing BCD data.