Why do Brits still use stone as a measurement?
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pinkraynedropjacki wrote: »Why do Yanks still use Imperial as measurement when the rest of the world uses Metric?
I dunno, cause it makes us slightly faster and more original?
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pinkraynedropjacki wrote: »Why do Yanks still use Imperial as measurement when the rest of the world uses Metric?
Because they failed in the switchover prior to my birth.
But in northern New England, a lot of our highway signs are in both metric and Imperial. And English and French.0 -
Because they failed in the switchover prior to my birth.
But in northern New England, a lot of our highway signs are in both metric and Imperial. And English and French.
I dug that about Stowe VT. 100kph is much cooler than 60mph.0 -
I think they use it because it sounds Awesome! "Hey mate, I lost two stone!" I like that better then "I lost 28LBS." Plus, isn't a Pound a form of currency on that side of the pond?0
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Dude... you're American... we still use the Imperial System. You can't pick on someone else for still being in diapers when you are running around in diapers too!
I am British and our units are effed up. We use a mix of Imperial and Metric. So we pay for petrol in £/litre but report our car fuel consumption in mpg (miles per gallon). If you go to to doctor, our body weight is recorded in kg but here we report in lbs/stones etc. Similar things happen in our supermarket. BTW, our imperial differs from American imperial- check for difference in gallon for example!0 -
Both systems are used and it doesnt cause any issues. Imperial is used out of tradition and its worked fine for a long time, but we also use metric.0
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Thats the irony, he doesnt realise his country still uses imperial as well.0 -
lol.
It doesnt , you just made it up.
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Why do you Americans insist on using fractional inches, 12 inches in a foot, 3 feet in a yard, 1760 yards in a mile? Why do you still use Fahrenheit? Same for 16 ounces in a pound? Seriously. It's messed up. Get up to speed with the rest of the world!0
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Who knows? Who do we use feet and inches (as do Americans too, right?) while they use metres/centimetres in the rest of Europe. Why do we use miles and not kilometres?0
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Because that's what the scales say I weight. If I look really really really close I can see my kg weight but the markers are so small on my mechanical scales I can't tell exactly.0
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Original isn't the right word, out dated more like? I do wish there was a universal moving to the metric system and then we'd all be singing off the same hymn sheet :-D0 -
chivalryder wrote: »Why do you Americans insist on using fractional inches, 12 inches in a foot, 3 feet in a yard, 1760 yards in a mile? Why do you still use Fahrenheit? Same for 16 ounces in a pound? Seriously. It's messed up. Get up to speed with the rest of the world!
Why do you use Celsius?
Why not use Kelvin?
Absoulte zero is based on Kelvin...
Then there's Rankine...
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RunRutheeRun wrote: »
Original isn't the right word, out dated more like? I do wish there was a universal moving to the metric system and then we'd all be singing off the same hymn sheet :-D
church is not regulated by government measurements, thank goodness. I refuse to measure anything in hymns.
also, my comment was in response to the person who said the same thing as me, right after me. a joke about being faster.
it's ok, i know people dont really read things as they go, here. they skim and judge, skim and judge.
like you do after you sing.
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LOL you're right I skim ...pick out something and comment :-D ps I sing like an angel
church is not regulated by government measurements, thank goodness. I refuse to measure anything in hymns.
also, my comment was in response to the person who said the same thing as me, right after me. a joke about being faster.
it's ok, i know people dont really read things as they go, here. they skim and judge, skim and judge.
like you do after you sing.
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I know! Throw it in a bog. If it floats, it's made of wood! If not, it's a witch!
There, now we can dispense with the whole Imperial vs. metric nonsense.0 -
I found the stone to be very confusing when I joined MFP. I would have to use my laptop's calculator to figure out my 5 week predictions. But, after a while, I fould each stone to be a nice minigoal each time the predictions said I would go down one. I kind of miss it now...
My car has a button that changes the speed displayed from kilometers to miles. My boyfriend messes with it every once in a while...I'm driving along, seeing 30 on my spedometer, and wondering why everyone is going so slowly....So far I've figured it out before getting myself into trouble...
It's funny when I complain about the heat when I'm in the US. "It was so hot - 34 degrees!" and get looked at like I'm nuts.
It will be nice when we all use the same measurements, convenient and simple. But also a little less interesting.0 -
the number of Stones are less frightening than the kilogram equivalent. ha ha. also I learned stones, pounds and ounces in my school days.0
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It's very expensive to switch. It's hard enough to force everyone to learn and use, but the costs involved have made it impractical.pinkraynedropjacki wrote: »Why do Yanks still use Imperial as measurement when the rest of the world uses Metric?
As America falls further behind in industry, it will happen.0 -
pinkraynedropjacki wrote: »Why do Yanks still use Imperial as measurement when the rest of the world uses Metric?
But we don't use Imperial. A US gallon is 128 (fluid) oz., which means that a US quart is 32 oz. and a US pint is 16 oz. An Imperial gallon is 160 oz., or 20 oz. per pint. That's why British pint glasses are 25% larger than US pint glasses. But US beer these days (leaving aside the mass-produced stuff) is about 25% more potent than real ale and bitter, so it all works out in the end.0 -
pinkraynedropjacki wrote: »Why do Yanks still use Imperial as measurement when the rest of the world uses Metric?
Because we can.
Because we aren't going to let those Europeans tell us what to do, I guess.
More seriously, I think it's normal to not want to change, as the measurements you grow up with seem intuitive. Of course, back in the '70s when I was in elementary school everyone was convinced we were on the verge of change. The '70s were weird, though.0 -
BigDave1050 wrote: »I think they use it because it sounds Awesome! "Hey mate, I lost two stone!" I like that better then "I lost 28LBS." Plus, isn't a Pound a form of currency on that side of the pond?
Haha, yes saying you lost a 100 pounds here could be very depressing.
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But we don't use Imperial. A US gallon is 128 (fluid) oz., which means that a US quart is 32 oz. and a US pint is 16 oz. An Imperial gallon is 160 oz., or 20 oz. per pint. That's why British pint glasses are 25% larger than US pint glasses. But US beer these days (leaving aside the mass-produced stuff) is about 25% more potent than real ale and bitter, so it all works out in the end.
pretty sure they are referring to inches and pounds.
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BRING BACK BRONTOSAURUS AND PLUTO, TOO.
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I'm having fun just reading all of this.
But after living in Japan for 2 years, while I'm not accurate, I have a general idea of what the conversion would be for imperial/metric. Both are fine in their own ways. And while metric took some time to get more accurate on conversing in my head, it wasn't too hard on learning. If you see it everyday and try to learn, things get easier over time.0 -
I haven't read the replies yet...
But I ask myself all the time why Americans still use pounds and ounces etc??????
We stopped using those back in the 1960's before I was born! Welcome to the metric system guys
Also, there are other countries out there besides America, who also don't "speak American" 0 -
You guys don't use stones, though, do you?christinev297 wrote: »I haven't read the replies yet...
But I ask myself all the time why Americans still use pounds and ounces etc??????
We stopped using those back in the 1960's before I was born! Welcome to the metric system guys
Also, there are other countries out there besides America, who also don't "speak American"
I've known exactly one Australian in my whole life...and not that well, lol.
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i still use stones as its what i grew up with .. then i started work after the metric changes started up.. i used to sell yards of cable but they came on a 50m drum .. try telling an oap she wants 5. whatever metres instead of 5yrd .. lol
Having said that.. the brits confuse one another on a daily basis .. my doctor cant recognise anything but kg now when they weigh me .. i go home and convert it back to stones ..
The yanks confuse me even more when i visit there .. the supermarket shelves are a NIGHTMARE .. why put up the prices in 3 different ways? ..cant remember what they are but they confused the hell out of me..i just want the price for the box of teabags i want to buy, nit cost per bag or sack full ... lol
But ONE thing in life never changes..NO MATTER where i am in the world..i will only ever ask for a PINT of beer0
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