Damur

Damur was one of the Cardassian numbering systems. The Damur numbering base originated with ancient merchants and traders in Cardassian society. In Damur the basic unit of linear measurment was based on the size of a seed grain that was common on Cardassia.

In 2369 the Cardassians expressed interest in sending what they called an unarmed research vessel through the Bajoran wormhole into the Gamma Quadrant. When Chief Miles O'Brien of Deep Space Nine sent specifications for the impulse buffers to the Cardassians in order to prepare their ships for installation of the buffers, someone translated it into umur, which was the traditional numbering system of the warrior caste and later the military.

As a result when the ship arrived at DS9 the clearance was too tight to permit the installation of the buffer. In a meeting to discuss the mistake and O'Brien's reaction to the problem, Odo pointed out that if the specifications were translated into damur that it would be closer to what O'Brien wanted. The mistake also tipped DS9 staff off that the ship was not the unarmed research vessel the Cardassians claimed it to be, but rather a military ship in disguise.