| As a child, my parents always told me they were Democrats, but they voted for Reagan, and taught me the lesson to look past politics and vote for the best man. It was a lesson I always
thought of as admirable, and left me thinking I was quite a maverick for eschewing political parties and always registering to vote as an independent. As the 80's roared on, the Cold War ended suddenly, the economy seemed like it would never burst, and the future looked so bright you may really need to wear shades.
Of course, Ronald Reagan was President, and when he wasn't trying to make ketchup a vegetable, or spent every waking dollar on the military industrial complex, he also made one seemingly innocuous decision - America had a paper problem. With the dawn of the computer age and proliferation of photocopiers, the government standard to that date was set by Herbert Hoover in the 1920's. The standard had been 8" x 10.5", which is still used in notebooks today. Since copiers weren't made to handle that size paper,
the decision arrived at Reagan's desk. With the metric system officially killed off in 1982 after a seven year trial to convert the American masses, Reagan could have followed the world standard, but instead chose a seemingly arbitrary standard that wasn't even made into a full standard until 1995. The letter size Americans know and love today is explained by the American Forest and Paper Association that it originated with handmade papermaking techniques, with 11 inches being the length one man could extend his arms to flatten the pulp,
although this doesn't explain the ratios of the paper.
Now, this all may sound like nitpicking and bringing up an absurd issue, but upon closer inspection, the genius of the world standard becomes even clearer. It's based off the silver ratio, which is similar to the golden ratio (Fibonacci numbers, which are often found recurring in art, architecture and plays a significant role in aesethics). The weight of A4 paper also comes out to 5 grams, which also is handy in judging exact postage based
upon the number of sheets being mailed. Envelopes and folders can be standardized as well, as simply folding a piece of paper in half will make the next size down.
As I discovered the reasons behind 8 1/2" x 11" paper, the project I was working on ground to a halt, and I was left wondering how much easier things would be if America actually adopted a standard based on rational thought instead of haphazard and outdated preferences that were arbitrary to begin with, especially when the rest of the world is in lockstep with each other. Quickly, I even realized that there probably was no chance of this system being put into place in America before I die, which bummed me out even
more.
And so I have a new reason to hate Ronald Reagan. Forget about every foreign policy he created that blew back in our face, the staggering debt he left us with, the crippled Social Security program, Star Wars, and the like, the real reason Ronald Reagan should be vilified is his decision to buck the system and make ours 8.5x11.
Truly, it's morning in America.
for more on A4 and paper sizes, check this out, and if that's not enough, here's even more paper knowledge and even more paper fun here. |
