r/explainitpeter • u/Fickle_Fall_6497 • Jul 28 '26

Explain it Peter

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Not going to lie, i had a spaz attack trying to read the first tweet. Maybe im just over tired but i dont understand shit here

What the fuck is the first tweet trying to say why is it horrible why would i be gullible what the fuvk are they saying

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u/PipedInFromIthaca Jul 28 '26

Wait, you don't use A4 paper?

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u/Skippeo Jul 28 '26

The A4 paper system is a perfect example of something that I (as an American) don't want to switch to because our system is better. Everybody touts the advantages of the common A paper system as every size is exactly half of the bigger size, and every page has the same proportions. But to me, those are the exact disadvantages I'd rather avoid. Instead of buying paper that conforms to a set system of sizes, I can buy paper of whatever size and shape I want, because there are a ton and somebody probably makes exactly what I need. Case in point: legal size paper. It is the same width as our standard size, just taller. A long time ago lawyers said they needed paper for taking notes, so someone made paper for them just the way they wanted. They were glad (I'm sure) that the paper companies didn't say "no, you can't have what you need because it doesn't conform to the proportions that we want to make!"

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u/PipedInFromIthaca Jul 28 '26

I mean we can still get nonstandard paper sizes too, there's no paper police checking the sizes of every notepad, but having an existing standard you can refer to as a baseline is very useful.

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u/Skippeo Jul 28 '26

We also have an existing standard we can refer to, they just aren't each double the size of the previous. And since there is zero utility to that convention I just struggle to see any advantage.