MSGID: 1:153/716.0 e48c3080   
   REPLY: 2:221/360.0 5e463f30   
   CHRS: IBMPC 2   
   Hi, Alexander!  Recently you wrote in a message to Mike Powell:   
      
   AK>  I heard that American whiskey contains as much alcohol   
   AK>  as a producer wants, up to 90%.   
      
      
              Ah... I think I get the picture (pun alert!) now.  The cartoon   
   shows a scale of ninety degrees similar to what one might see on a protractor,   
   but in reverse order.  Around these parts one might often see a scale near the   
   exit of a commercial establishment which helps the staff report accurately how   
   tall the thief is who's just made a hasty retreat.  I reckon this man's wife   
   has devised a scale for measuring the angle at which he stands when he is   
   inebriated.  :-))   
      
      
      
   AK>  I suspect the alcohol degrees in Russia are actually equal   
   AK>  to the alcohol percentage. But why we call it "degrees" is   
   AK>  a puzzle for me.   
      
      
              I see the percentage of alcohol by volume listed on various   
   items... including examples from Canada, Australia, the US, and the UK.  If   
   others refer to the same idea in "degrees" it's a mystery to me as well.  But   
   the cartoon is more amusing AFAIC now that I know "degrees" are widely used in   
   Russia....  :-)   
      
      
      
   AK>  For instance, the strength of pure alcohol is 90 degrees.   
   AK>  Is it 90%? Why 90%, not 100% if it is a pure substance?   
      
      
              We have a bottle of isopropyl alcohol listed as 99% USP.  It is   
   used for de-icing frozen car door locks & dissolving glue from sticky labels   
   we want to remove from book covers, e.g., without damaging them.  Medical   
   professionals often use it as an antiseptic.  However, it's clearly labelled   
   "POISON" & there may be different rules WRT the variety human beings tend to   
   drink... [chuckle].   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
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