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metric vs imperial
Replies
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newheavensearth wrote: »estherdragonbat wrote: »Canadian, here. Thanks to an influx of US cable TV, books, etc., I'm pretty decent at going back and forth between metric and imperial. I tend to think in terms of pounds when buying fruits and vegetables or weighing myself, weigh my portions in grams, translate Celsius temps into Fahrenheit when talking to my American friends, auto-convert miles to kilometers, etc.
My father was in the US military. He insisted we learn metric conversions. I'm rusty, but I know weight and distance. Horrible on temperature.
I don't generally work it out to the decimal if I don't have to, but I can figure out the temperature on the spectrum between, "Carry a bottle or two of water if you're walking more than a couple of blocks," and "Wear extra socks and a balaclava with the winter coat; it's going to be like Siberia out there" under both systems.1 -
The only metric system I used in my professional career was microns and nanometers. I got kicked out before they reached femtometers. Still, they all fit on a computer display so we didn't spend much time describing things as fractions of a human hair, which is 100 microns. Merry Christmas all, you had a good laugh on me.6
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kshama2001 wrote: »Alatariel75 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »Alatariel75 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Bry_Lander wrote: »Alatariel75 wrote: »Bry_Lander wrote: »JeromeBarry1 wrote: »Whether in stone or lb it's difficult to imagine anyone being alive at that weight. How old are you?
You do realize there's this thing called the "metric system", which is used in 95% of the world, right? And that measures in that system are in kilograms rather than pounds?
Outside of the U.S., the only other countries still using Imperial measurements are Liberia and Myanmar.
I was told in grade school in the 1970s that the US was going to be completely metric within 10 years and either learn it or become obsolete. 40 years later, metric measurement use is so rare in my day to day life in the US that I honestly can't recall a time besides running (5k, 10k), using a socket set, and occasionally measuring food on MFP where knowing what the metric equivalent to an Imperial measurement would have made any difference in my life whatsoever.
That has absolutely no relevance to the fact that 95% of the world deals in metric...
What is irrelevant is doing something that others do for the sake of doing something that others do.
Nobody said you have to do it, it's about realising that the vast majority of the world uses metric, not everyone on MFP is from the US, and therefore not automatically assuming that a poster is using the imperial system for weight.
Well, this IS a US site, for which there are rules such as writing in English, etc.
Before I went to a Spanish speaking country, I learned enough Spanish to get by. If I were participating on a non-US forum, I'd brush up on the conventions for that country.
But then, I'm the sort of person who reads the stickies too.
It's a US based international site. Considering it specifically gives the option to track in metric, the idea that posters on the forum should convert to imperial is ludicrous.
Look, if someone wants help, it behooves them to ask for it in such a way that will be understood. If they pose their question in such a way that the majority of the potential helpers don't understand them, they're not going to get as good help as if they did frame the question in such a way that effective communication occurred.
Many of my coworkers are ESL and I am sympathetic to that at work and on forums. When I'm answering a question about weight that was framed in stones, I'll convert it and say something along the lines of "in case anyone else was wondering."
Along these lines, I also get really irritated when my native English coworkers use text-speak abbreviations when typing to our ESL freelancers.
The point is, not knowing the metric system exists isn't because it's a novelty. It's simple ignorance. 95% of the world uses it. Ignorance needs to be corrected, not catered for.
No one doesn't know the metric system exists. He just didn't recognize "wight is 73" as a reference to kilograms, which is perfectly understandable.
What else would it be? OP is exceptionally unlikely to be 73 lbs.1 -
I've told this story before, but years ago, during the 2004 Olympics, I think, I couldn't sleep and got up and turned on the TV and found some Olympic running event that seemed interesting. Hmm, 5000 m, perfect, I like longer races, but what distance is this equivalent to? Now granted, I was sleep deprived, but I went through the following chain of reasoning: a meter is like a yard, 1760 yards in a mile (I remembered this because I'd converted swimming laps in pool measured in yards to miles for tri training), 17 x 3 is 51 so somewhere around 3 miles. So like a 5K.
Then realization dawned -- yes, a 5000 m race IS a 5K.
Only an American could make that conversion so complicated!11 -
newheavensearth wrote: »Bry_Lander wrote: »Alatariel75 wrote: »Bry_Lander wrote: »Alatariel75 wrote: »Bry_Lander wrote: »JeromeBarry1 wrote: »Whether in stone or lb it's difficult to imagine anyone being alive at that weight. How old are you?
You do realize there's this thing called the "metric system", which is used in 95% of the world, right? And that measures in that system are in kilograms rather than pounds?
Outside of the U.S., the only other countries still using Imperial measurements are Liberia and Myanmar.
I was told in grade school in the 1970s that the US was going to be completely metric within 10 years and either learn it or become obsolete. 40 years later, metric measurement use is so rare in my day to day life in the US that I honestly can't recall a time besides running (5k, 10k), using a socket set, and occasionally measuring food on MFP where knowing what the metric equivalent to an Imperial measurement would have made any difference in my life whatsoever.
That has absolutely no relevance to the fact that 95% of the world deals in metric...
What is irrelevant is doing something that others do for the sake of doing something that others do.
o_0
I'd call that ignorance, not irrelevance. Just because it's not specifically relevant in a person's day to day life doesn't mean that it's not better that a person is aware that it exists and is widely used elsewhere.
Anyone in the US who didn't learn that the metric system exists in kindergarten should sue their school district for negligence.
There are school districts in the US that don't teach cursive and letter writing. Think about that.
...but do teach the ridiculous Common Core math methodology - like I said, negligence, lol4 -
I use my converter app daily when reading through posts on here, i use metric
I also always include weight in pounds in brackets and temperature from C to F, for the Americans, because this is after all an American site. I do not have the want or energy to also convert stones weight.
To make it even more irritating, Australia uses kilojoules instead of calories, which i also need to convert when reading food labels
I have always used calories, and REFUSE to convert!!
Signed,
A confussdeded Aussie 6 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Bry_Lander wrote: »Alatariel75 wrote: »Bry_Lander wrote: »JeromeBarry1 wrote: »Whether in stone or lb it's difficult to imagine anyone being alive at that weight. How old are you?
You do realize there's this thing called the "metric system", which is used in 95% of the world, right? And that measures in that system are in kilograms rather than pounds?
Outside of the U.S., the only other countries still using Imperial measurements are Liberia and Myanmar.
I was told in grade school in the 1970s that the US was going to be completely metric within 10 years and either learn it or become obsolete. 40 years later, metric measurement use is so rare in my day to day life in the US that I honestly can't recall a time besides running (5k, 10k), using a socket set, and occasionally measuring food on MFP where knowing what the metric equivalent to an Imperial measurement would have made any difference in my life whatsoever.
That has absolutely no relevance to the fact that 95% of the world deals in metric...
What is irrelevant is doing something that others do for the sake of doing something that others do.
Nobody said you have to do it, it's about realising that the vast majority of the world uses metric, not everyone on MFP is from the US, and therefore not automatically assuming that a poster is using the imperial system for weight.
Well, this IS a US site, for which there are rules such as writing in English, etc.
Before I went to a Spanish speaking country, I learned enough Spanish to get by. If I were participating on a non-US forum, I'd brush up on the conventions for that country.
But then, I'm the sort of person who reads the stickies too.
You aren't speaking for the site or all Americans. Way to perpetuate the ugly American stereotype here.
Not all of us feel like this fellow international English speakers. I'm happy to convert to metrics even if my brain isn't the best.12 -
I am English, because I'm old, I think in pounds and stones but I accept metric because I also accept that it's a more accurate way of measuring and weighing. I also accept that the US use only lbs. I'm don't know if you have any names for very heavy weights - tonnes for instance? I also have no idea what measurements the US uses.
One thing that really confuses me is a block. How many feet is there in a block please?0 -
smithmssycatsmithiris30 wrote: »I am English, because I'm old, I think in pounds and stones but I accept metric because I also accept that it's a more accurate way of measuring and weighing. I also accept that the US use only lbs. I'm don't know if you have any names for very heavy weights - tonnes for instance? I also have no idea what measurements the US uses.
One thing that really confuses me is a block. How many feet is there in a block please?
www.convertunits.com offers three different regional U.S. conversions of "block" to other common units of distance. Generally, towns developed organically with smaller blocks in the Eastern U.S. and as population development moved west during the age of the automobile the towns organically developed with larger blocks. A block being the observed distance between two intersections along a street.4 -
I also think block comes from American cities being newer and built on a grid system. So a series of blocks. Hence using it as a reference.1
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Generally, either metric or Imperial is equally acceptable to me, even though very little in my everyday life in the US is measured using the metric system. It takes about 20 seconds for me to search the conversion value on the internet on electronic devices that I nearly always have access to, so it isn't exactly a large burden.
The practical metric knowledge that I have was from the military ("klicks" for land navigation, meters for weapons firing distances, ammo measured in millimeters, etc., it is good to be on the same sheet of music as NATO allies) and then later for translating fitness things (a 5k run is about 3.1 miles, an ounce of protein powder is roughly 28 grams, or that I currently weigh around 79 kgs)0 -
VintageFeline wrote: »I also think block comes from American cities being newer and built on a grid system. So a series of blocks. Hence using it as a reference.
Quite correct, but in different cities or even different Neighborhoods within a city, a block can be as short as 100 yards/meters or as long as 1/4 mile or half a kilometer, it can also vary between industrial, commercial and residential zones3 -
stanmann571 wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »I also think block comes from American cities being newer and built on a grid system. So a series of blocks. Hence using it as a reference.
Quite correct, but in different cities or even different Neighborhoods within a city, a block can be as short as 100 yards/meters or as long as 1/4 mile or half a kilometer, it can also vary between industrial, commercial and residential zones
Exactly. But then you have city blocks vs. suburban blocks, with 10 city blocks supposedly equaling appx. 1 mile.0 -
smithmssycatsmithiris30 wrote: »I am English, because I'm old, I think in pounds and stones but I accept metric because I also accept that it's a more accurate way of measuring and weighing. I also accept that the US use only lbs. I'm don't know if you have any names for very heavy weights - tonnes for instance? I also have no idea what measurements the US uses.
One thing that really confuses me is a block. How many feet is there in a block please?
Depends on the city. Where I live there are 8 blocks to a mile, but that's different in other cities. (I'm in Chicago which is based on a grid, and everyone knows what the blocks are even though there are streets between them. For example, Addison to Belmont is 4 blocks (or 3600 N to 3200 N), even though at some spots you might go through 5 or 6 street crossings. And, assuming you are on a street going due south, it's half a mile. It's nice for running as you know how far you are going very easily.)
We use tons, just spell it differently!0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »smithmssycatsmithiris30 wrote: »I am English, because I'm old, I think in pounds and stones but I accept metric because I also accept that it's a more accurate way of measuring and weighing. I also accept that the US use only lbs. I'm don't know if you have any names for very heavy weights - tonnes for instance? I also have no idea what measurements the US uses.
One thing that really confuses me is a block. How many feet is there in a block please?
Depends on the city. Where I live there are 8 blocks to a mile, but that's different in other cities. (I'm in Chicago which is based on a grid, and everyone knows what the blocks are even though there are streets between them. For example, Addison to Belmont is 4 blocks (or 3600 N to 3200 N), even though at some spots you might go through 5 or 6 street crossings. And, assuming you are on a street going due south, it's half a mile. It's nice for running as you know how far you are going very easily.)
We use tons, just spell it differently!
That sort of standardization is nice, but can be confusing to those who are from cities where any street crossing means a new block, although sometimes its hard to tell the difference between a street and an alley.
Usually it's the presence of a light, or two way traffic. Meaning, that if there is a light, it's probably a block, if there's no light, but two way traffic it may also be a block.
Chicago has the advantage of having suffered a relatively recent major disaster which enabled the city planners to restructure and reorganize.
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Useless fact. Edinburgh (New Town) and Glasgow (City Centre) were the second and third European countries to be built on a grid. Well, partly, because old AF. It was adopted by America who took it next level because they obviously had a lot more new cities to build.3
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smithmssycatsmithiris30 wrote: »I am English, because I'm old, I think in pounds and stones but I accept metric because I also accept that it's a more accurate way of measuring and weighing. I also accept that the US use only lbs. I'm don't know if you have any names for very heavy weights - tonnes for instance? I also have no idea what measurements the US uses.
One thing that really confuses me is a block. How many feet is there in a block please?
Internationally, there are essentially 3 tonnes.
Metric 1000 kilos
Imperial Standard
US Standard
And of course the additional confusion regarding what to call 1000 lbs.
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"Half a ton" seems to work okay.0
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smithmssycatsmithiris30 wrote: »I am English, because I'm old, I think in pounds and stones but I accept metric because I also accept that it's a more accurate way of measuring and weighing. I also accept that the US use only lbs. I'm don't know if you have any names for very heavy weights - tonnes for instance? I also have no idea what measurements the US uses.
One thing that really confuses me is a block. How many feet is there in a block please?
1 ton (US) = 2000 pounds.0 -
I grew up in Queens. According to my dad, a mile was equal to 20 blocks. I honestly have no idea where that came from, but when we moved to CA suburbia, the rule went out the window
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I grew up in Queens. According to my dad, a mile was equal to 20 blocks. I honestly have no idea where that came from, but when we moved to CA suburbia, the rule went out the window
The street layout in my town looks like somebody vomited a plate of spaghetti onto a blank map and they decided to go with it. A block could be anything from a couple hundred feet to a half mile.1 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »"Half a ton" seems to work okay.
But what about 500lbs, what could we possibly call that????? ;02 -
I grew up in Queens. According to my dad, a mile was equal to 20 blocks. I honestly have no idea where that came from, but when we moved to CA suburbia, the rule went out the window
The street layout in my town looks like somebody vomited a plate of spaghetti onto a blank map and they decided to go with it. A block could be anything from a couple hundred feet to a half mile.
This is nearly everywhere in the UK because it's all so old, town planning pretty much wasn't a thing post Roman Britain and the Romans didn't get everywhere. Then there's those two Scottish exceptions I mentioned, very pioneering us Scots.0 -
Ah, thank you everyone. So a block , in a town or city, can really be any distance, within reason, depending on where.
Here, a ton is a Imperial weight, a tonne, a metric weight. So really I should always say tonne now.
I have read somewhere that the US mile is shorter than the English mile (Imp') and there is a difference too between the English and Scottish mile. However, having English, Scottish and with a drop or two of Irish blood, I'm not going to argue those points.
Again, many thanks & apologies to the OP for being off topic.0 -
@VintageFeline people in the UK don't say backyard or yard, they call it garden, right?0
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Yes and we call a house of just one storey, a bungalow....Christine_72 wrote: »@VintageFeline people in the UK don't say backyard or yard, they call it garden, right?
When I visited my son and family in Australia they sort of - educated me.....
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smithmssycatsmithiris30 wrote: »
Yes and we call a house of just one storey, a bungalow....Christine_72 wrote: »@VintageFeline people in the UK don't say backyard or yard, they call it garden, right?
When I visited my son and family in Australia they sort of - educated me.....
We call a single storey, a house, and a two storey, ummm a two storey or double storey lol Such simplistic language we has 0 -
I'm in Canada. It could vary by region, but we tend to call 1-storey houses bungalows, too. (At least in the parts of Montreal and Toronto where I grew up). This, whether or not they have basements.0
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Lubbock, TX and Salt Lake City, UT are famously gridded new cities in the west of the U.S. It's not worth an airplane ticket to see. Google Earth can show you all you care to see.0
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