Units 1

[chessbot]

Most units are found at the end of their values, for example:
100 N
580 feet
0.7 grams
55''
81.735 seconds
89%
However, currency symbols occur before the value, e.g.
$35.81
[£]58
Does anyone know why?

--Chessbot

There is a level of Hell reserved for probability theorists in which every monkey that types on a typewriter produces a Shakespearean sonnet.

 

[MakeItSo]

Perhaps because monetary values normally end with the small unit.
So either:
25$30¢
or $25.30 in order to avoid misunderstandings?

[blue]An eye for an eye only leaves the whole world blind. - "Mahatma" Mohandas K. Gandhi[/blue]

 

[chessbot]

But would it not be 25.30$?

--Chessbot

There is a level of Hell reserved for probability theorists in which every monkey that types on a typewriter produces a Shakespearean sonnet.

 

[MakeItSo]

What I was trying to say was that for anyone to see at first glance it is 25$ something and not 30 $ with something written before it.
Prices shall catch your eye.

Units on the other hand are normally part of formulae or of technical data and are thus either read thouroughly or not at all.

So, I'd say it's a marketing method...

[blue]An eye for an eye only leaves the whole world blind. - "Mahatma" Mohandas K. Gandhi[/blue]

 

[Dimandja]

According to this link (and a couple of others I checked), the currency symbol can appear before or after the value.

Also, when "GBP" is used instead of the "pound symbol", "GBP" will invariably appear after the value. This is true for "USD" as well.

My own very unscientific observation shows that when the symbol is a "special" character, it looks better in front of the value.

 

[chessbot]

I have never seen 500$, or any variant, before, that I can recall.

It does look better, but I guess that marketing could be a good reason (5.99$ looks like 99$ if glanced at quickly).

--Chessbot

"In that blessed region of Four Dimensions, shall we linger on the threshold of the Fifth, and not enter therein? Ah, no! [...] Then, yielding to our intellectual onset, the gates of the Sixth Dimension shall fly open; after that a Seventh, and then an Eighth -- --" Flatland, A. Square (E. A. Abbott)

 

[MakeItSo]

My own very unscientific observation shows that when the symbol is a "special" character, it looks better in front of the value.

I think that's a good point there. So there is no confusion whether you are just seeing the currency symbol or a part of the number.
$500: You see the dollar sign and know instantly that whatever follows is the price.
500$: You need to take a closer look in order to find out whether this says "500 Dollars" or "5005"



[blue]An eye for an eye only leaves the whole world blind. - "Mahatma" Mohandas K. Gandhi[/blue]

 

[Jomama46]

Putting the $ first says, "Hey, pay attention, we're talking money here!"

Jomama

 

[GwydionM]

A lot of standards get established for no reason. Like the USA writing dates as MM/DD/YY, whereas Britons say DD/MM/YY.

Also the Spanish put an upside-down question mark at the start of a question, as well as one at the end. A more sensible system, actually.

------------------------------
A view from the UK

 

[Jomama46]

Reading about the terrible tragedy in Asia, I noticed that the Austrailian donation was notated as A$2.5M. I'm guessing Hong Kong would be HG$2.5M.

Jomama

 

[ESquared]

The sign goes in front of currency so people are more likely to make silly mistakes such as:

That yacht cost $1,000,000 million dollars?

 

[Dimandja]

Australian dollars are typically abbreviated to AUD, Hong Kong to HKD. That reporter must have been trying to beat a deadline and didn't bother to check his... figures.

2,500,000.00 AUD would be equal to 15,142,842.59 HKD.