Do you think in Metric or Imperial ?

[armie]

Well okay then, let's divide one foot not by two, but by five. This is "natural", for we have five fingers on one hand. That's 2.4 inch, a "silly" number.

Oh and I forgot to put a smily next to my "culprits" remark, sorry. That was NOT a serious remark.

 

[apj1974]

The rigidity of the metric system makes it less convenient for designing units. For example, drinking a pint or buying a two-liter bottle of soda seems natural. However, saying you would like a 400 milliliter bottle of coke does not. Similarly, a convenient unit of one foot is known around the world and makes sense to most people in terms of measuring.

1 US pint = 473 ml
1 Imperial pint = 568 ml

which one seems more natural and why would not a 500 ml drink seem equally as natural, we could even call it a "pint" in common parlance if that helped (as happens in South Australia with the 425 ml ("pint") glass and in France where a 250 ml galss is referred to as a 'demi')

I reject this odd idea that one system of measurements make more sense than another, in the end all systems of measurements are arbitrary and you choose to "understand" them or not. My foot is not a foot long, I don't choke if there is 68 ml less beer in a can than in a pub and to be honest I couldn't care if we measured things in yards, metres or smoots - I just wish that we used one system instead of messing around. Why does my car measure miles per gallon yet I buy petrol per litre, why does my pepsi come in ml but my beer in pints, why are the marker posts on the motorway 100 m apart yet the distances are marked in miles. And why do people over a certain age always insist on asking what a quoted measurement is "in real money", if it matters that much find out, learn the conversion and stop being lazy.

anyway rant over I'm off to walk a couple leagues now, I think a few gills of water should be enough for me to take.

 

[poddle]

Divide 1250 into ANYTHING and you are into silly numbers, which system has the greater resilience before breaking down?

 

[armie]

OK then, I'll use the "Imperial" method to avoid silly numbers:
I saw in another thread that the diameter of a drill was 5/16 ".
This works for metric too. No more silly numbers!

 

[PRKL]

metric for sure,but due to my hobby with us/uk motorcycles im pretty ok with those 8575/38373 measures too.

but all the pints,stones,and handfulls are oddball to me

 

[apj1974]

Divide 1250 into ANYTHING and you are into silly numbers, which system has the greater resilience before breaking down?

what a strange argument - 1250 mm is between 49 and 50 inches.

49 is only divisible by 1 & 7 without a fraction whilst 50 only has 1, 2 & 5 (same as 1250)

of course 60 would divide by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 but 1260 would divide by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 9 so what is your point? If something is 1.25 m long or 4 ft 1 3/14 inch that's how big it is!

 

[poddle]

There are plus and minus for both system Arnie, neither are perfect, but its good to explore the difference.

I like to stand up for the Imperial because it laughs in the face of the globalists and the European parliament that are stacking up reams of bureaucracy.
Having a bit of the old imperial kicking about keeps us from being totally absorbed by this EU monster.
Well at least that what it feels like anyway.


I'm just old fashioned I reckon.

 

[armie]

I know what you mean!
Let us grimly shake hands then and then run back to our respective trenches

 

[poddle]

I know what you mean!
Let us grimly shake hands then and then run back to our respective trenches

Totally agree Arnie, how many inches are these trenches apart?

 

[armie]

Dunno.. can I borrow your tape measure? Mine doesn't seem to.... hey!!@#$%

 

[poddle]

Dunno.. can I borrow your tape measure? Mine doesn't seem to.... hey!!@#$%

Sorry Armie I lopped meter off when you were working out a fraction, sorry about that

:You_Rock_
ATB Poddle

 

[Miyagi]

When I started school we had Imperial measurements.
L s d, pounds shillings and pence. We had whole weeks devoted to teaching us to count just in money.
Think on it,
We had pounds........of 20 shillings, or eight half crowns or ten florins, 240 pennies, 40 sixpences, or 80 thrupenny bits, 480 ha'pennies or 960 farthings. Thankfully we'd gotten rid of the groat by then, there were 60 of them to the pound. Oh and a guinea was 21/-..............that's 21 shillings.

Then we had feet and inches, and yards, and rods and chains and acres and miles. 16ths, 10ths, 32nds an 64ths were common.

Pints and gallons and quarts and gills and hogsheads and tunnes.

Drams and ounces and pounds and stones and hundredweights and tons.

and they *all* had different measuring systems, different values.

Then in 1970 in came Metric and everything was done in tens
Suddenly there was time in the school curriculum for other things.........right enough the nations mental arithmatic went right out the window too

cheers,
Toddy

Yep, and you got belted by the teacher if you couldn't work it out. Even through all this my Gran used the Decimal system - her Rosary beads helped when saying decades of the Rosary.

I started school in 1970; if you’re 42 you’re screwed!

My family were using imperial, my teachers metric, those who could be bothered. As a result I estimate length in feet and inches but measure in centimetres, I buy my cooked meat in Tesco in quarter and half pounds but weigh things in grams, and anything less than a pint and I’ll just have a coke!

Aye, me too, except I only drink Cola if there is vodka in it.

It is my sorrowful duty to inform all of you beer drinkers that here in the U.S. we have traditionally had the 6-pack, the 12-pack, and the case. The case being 24. However, and here comes the good news for me/bad news for you -- We now have the "suitcase," which is about the size of a real suitcase, and contains 30 cans!"

That sounds good!!

On a more serious note; when I was a kid all (or most) of the gas cans were marked with the U.S. gal. and also with the imperial gallon markings. I never understood why, but surmised that this was to enable the sale of these cans in Canada.

I think it was a War effort thing, when the fuel cans used by the allied sides were made under contract in different places but used by any allied force. I think...

When hunting I generally think in terms of 100 yards.

Aye, me too.

I'm thinking that the area of human measurements would be a good place for a mixed system: instead of 36 - 24 - 36, how about 94 -24-36? Just a thought.

Hahahahaha, agreed!!

 

[poddle]

Hey Miyagi, have they got decimal in Scotland yet?


okenest:

 

[Miyagi]

Hey Miyagi, have they got decimal in Scotland yet?


okenest:

Only as far as the Antonine Wall. It died out farther North.

Drinks measures for Whisky and other spirits are easily quantifiable - no need for Metric nor Imperial.

We use what are called "Hoose Measures" (not pub measures), which are usually about a third of a glass - then you add cola etc., if your a softie.

Stooboy and Andybysea were introduced to Hoose Measures using 58 pattern mugs etc., on our beach trip the other month.

Slainge (Cheers)

Liam

 

[poddle]

Seems a far better system to me.

 

[leon-1]

I think and work in both measures. It comes in handy when you work with leather to be able to buy from the states in the weight that you want which provides the thickness that I require for making moccasins and the like.

Threads tend to be graded by weight 18/3 for instance being the distance that 1lb of linen flax is spun out to (18 x 300 yards = 5400 yards) and how many strands (3). But now many synthetics are graded on a similar scale but come in 5000m cops.

At the same time I tend to measure twice and cut once, but I measure in metric, mental arithmetic to imperial and go from there. The reason being is I am more familiar with the look of inches than cms, I don't tend to think that guy is 2 meters tall I think he's about 6' 6".

I also shoot so, am familiar with MOA and Mil-Rad and doing mental conversions for calibers (.223 is 5.56mm, 7.62mm is .308 so on and so forth). 7000 grains to a pound and the like. Ranges I tend to judge in metric (military background).

I also work with dyes, so measure and buy in Floz but tend to think in ml. When buying wine or spirits I think in metric, when buying beer or cider I think in Imperial just because that's what I am more familiar with.

I can see no problem in working in both and no harm in being able to convert from one to another.

 

[bushwacker bob]

I'm of the generation that grew up Imperial but changed towards the end of Primary school.
7gms is quarter of an ounce.

Toddy

A Child of the 60's Toddy?

 

[Sanji]

My fiancee is from USA, so i have to use both systems very very confusing sometimes lol