Numbers of days

[geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA]

 Feeman Kevin asked <<How would you write: The test lab was
 needed for three eight-hour days.>>

 Well, the way you've got it now works just fine for me.
 However, I work mostly in scientific editing, and the
 standard there is to use numerals for measured quantities.
 The result would be "three 8-hour days."

 <<The SME suggest 3 8 hour days.>>

 This is a risky practice in general because it's too easy
 to misread this as a single two-digit number. In this case,
 it's easy to figure out that this isn't the case (unless
 you're talking about--say--day length on another planet),
 but what about "2 4-hour days" or "1 88-hour week"? It's
 easier to use the word for small counted quantities (most
 style guides say "for numbers less than 10"), and rephrase
 for larger quantities (e.g., "88 days, each of 8 hours").

 --Geoff Hart     @8^{)}     geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
 Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.

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