I’m open to arguments about how Fahrenheit isn’t really more arbitrary than Celsius and how base 12 for feet can be convenient for fractions and so on, but how do you fucking justify having different miles for land and sea
I will actually sort of defend nautical miles: they are a rationalized, legible unit created specifically for purpose. They are the arclength of one minute of latitude at the equator, and so are a very useful standardized measurement for naval purposes. By contrast, regular miles are just some random unit whose definition stretches back into the mists of time from something the Romans did. I will always vouch for rationalized systems of measurement.
It is unfortunate that they named them “nautical miles” instead of just giving them a completely new name, but since they’re close to regular miles (basically by sheer coincidence), I can see how the temptation occurred.
somehow I’ve never considered nautical miles but I’m willing to accept them if referred to as naughty miles