Rambling Thoughts

Well I was driving down the road the other day not really thinking about anything and a thought popped into my head. Why is it that when people give directions they often say “two tenths of a mile” or something to the equivalent. I know when I was learning fractions in grammar school we were told that the fraction should always be brought done to its lowest number. For example shouldn’t 2/10 be 1/5? So shouldn't you say go 1/5 of a mile. Well this really bothered me for some reason until I found the answer.The reason you use tenths to describe mileage is due to the odometer in your car. Your odometer calculates mileage down to the tenth of a mile, so when relaying directions you state it in that format so the person driving can watch their odometer. Just a tidbit in case you ever wanted to know!!