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metric vs imperial

13

Replies

  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    AnvilHead 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? :D

    Outside of the U.S., the only other countries still using Imperial measurements are Liberia and Myanmar.

    Most of us of a certain age still use lbs in the uk....I say pah to metric.

    My country adopted metric very soon after I started school in the 1970s, so for me the switch was made as a child, and not as an adult stuck in the old ways.

    I'm therefore "bilingual" in speaking and understanding measurements. Metric actually makes so much more sense.

    My normal thought process:
    Human weight and height - imperial
    Product weight - metric
    Distance and speed - metric
    Volume - metric
    Length - imperial
    Temperature - both equally

    But I can use or understand the opposite in any of the above.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    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. :wink:

    Again, many thanks & apologies to the OP for being off topic.

    A nautical mile is 6,076 feet, or 1.15 mile. (That's what knots are based on as a speed.)
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    edited December 2017
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    AnvilHead 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? :D

    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.

    Pfft, I learned enough Spanish to get by before I went to a Spanish speaking country and when I lived in Okinawa I learned enough Japanese to be polite, and I learned how to convert yen per grams mentally to dollars per pound. I recognized I was not in America and changed myself to fit in, rather than expecting everything to change to suit me. That's the opposite of Ugly American mentality. I never demanded well done steak with ketchup rather than local cuisine - I LOVED local cuisine.

    If I were on a forum based in a country that used the metric system, that's what I would use.

    It was especially confusing when the unit of measurement wasn't even included.

    Sorry, but your rationalization is just plain lame. There are people here from around the world. Based in the US but a global community. Your parochial attitude is a prime example of the "ugly american" mentality. I am American and offended by it. BTW, upon first reading the OP, I had no confusion with what they were referring to in terms of measure. I live in Pennsylvania. Seriously! Get over yourself.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    So is the debate that people should use imperial measurements only or people should understand that more than imperial measurements are in use?

    I think people can use whatever measurement they prefer.
    I enjoy communicating with people from around the world and undertand that what is normal to me is not necessarily normal to them. I can easily convert things to what I understand because there are sites that do that for you. Or I would ask politely for clarification from the poster if I was not sure.
    Weight given in lbs and stones will always annoy me though- you clearly do use lbs so just put it all in lbs!
  • Agator82
    Agator82 Posts: 249 Member
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    "Half a ton" seems to work okay.

    But what about 500lbs, what could we possibly call that????? ;0

    Some might call this a 'Quarter Ton'

    Really interesting to watch how this topic has meandered.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    So is the debate that people should use imperial measurements only or people should understand that more than imperial measurements are in use?

    I think people can use whatever measurement they prefer.
    I enjoy communicating with people from around the world and undertand that what is normal to me is not necessarily normal to them. I can easily convert things to what I understand because there are sites that do that for you. Or I would ask politely for clarification from the poster if I was not sure.
    Weight given in lbs and stones will always annoy me though- you clearly do use lbs so just put it all in lbs!

    That's a good point! Why do brits use both lbs and stones? This just causes double the confusion for us metric users.

    As an aside... Australia used to use imperial units, and changed to metric from around 1970. So it can be done, people didnt have a choice but to learn and change :wink:

  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    So is the debate that people should use imperial measurements only or people should understand that more than imperial measurements are in use?

    I think people can use whatever measurement they prefer.
    I enjoy communicating with people from around the world and undertand that what is normal to me is not necessarily normal to them. I can easily convert things to what I understand because there are sites that do that for you. Or I would ask politely for clarification from the poster if I was not sure.
    Weight given in lbs and stones will always annoy me though- you clearly do use lbs so just put it all in lbs!

    That's a good point! Why do brits use both lbs and stones? This just causes double the confusion for us metric users.

    As an aside... Australia used to use imperial units, and changed to metric from around 1970. So it can be done, people didnt have a choice but to learn and change :wink:

    My country adopted metric very soon after I started school in the 1970s, so for me the switch was made as a child, and not as an adult stuck in the old ways.

    I'm therefore "bilingual" in speaking and understanding measurements. Metric actually makes so much more sense.

    My normal thought process:
    Human weight and height - imperial
    Product weight - metric
    Distance and speed - metric
    Volume - metric
    Length - imperial
    Temperature - both equally

    But I can use or understand the opposite in any of the above.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited December 2017
    The only one where I have no idea and can't even estimate in my head is celsius. (I use a converter and don't expect people to cater to my inability here, for the record.) I know 0 is 32 and 100 is 212, but because it's not an easy multiplication I don't know, except apparently 30s C is quite hot and today where I live it was -20 C in the morning (which I don't approve of, -4 C (instead of F) is far more civilized!).

    I was in South Africa in January one time and it was funny because often the temps at home and there looked the same (it was usually lower at home still, but close enough), except at home it was snowing and where I was I was getting sunburnt the second I got careless with sunscreen!
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    The only one where I have no idea and can't even estimate in my head is celsius. (I use a converter and don't expect people to cater to my inability here, for the record.) I know 0 is 32 and 100 is 212, but because it's not an easy multiplication I don't know, except apparently 30s C is quite hot and today where I live it was -20 C in the morning (which I don't approve of, -4 C (instead of F) is far more civilized!).

    Also 20 C is around 70 F, which is the approximate point we set Air Condition units to run at in buildings here (between 68 F and 72 F). Perhaps those big commercial units come from the USA and the controls are in Fahrenheit.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    The only one where I have no idea and can't even estimate in my head is celsius. (I use a converter and don't expect people to cater to my inability here, for the record.) I know 0 is 32 and 100 is 212, but because it's not an easy multiplication I don't know, except apparently 30s C is quite hot and today where I live it was -20 C in the morning (which I don't approve of, -4 C (instead of F) is far more civilized!).

    I was in South Africa in January one time and it was funny because often the temps at home and there looked the same (it was usually lower at home still, but close enough), except at home it was snowing and where I was I was getting sunburnt the second I got careless with sunscreen!

    Yep, can't for the life of me do the temp conversion. That's what Google is for.

    Weirdly, if someone asks my height, i always give it in feet and inches, even though I obviously know my height in centimetres.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    The only one where I have no idea and can't even estimate in my head is celsius. (I use a converter and don't expect people to cater to my inability here, for the record.) I know 0 is 32 and 100 is 212, but because it's not an easy multiplication I don't know, except apparently 30s C is quite hot and today where I live it was -20 C in the morning (which I don't approve of, -4 C (instead of F) is far more civilized!).

    I was in South Africa in January one time and it was funny because often the temps at home and there looked the same (it was usually lower at home still, but close enough), except at home it was snowing and where I was I was getting sunburnt the second I got careless with sunscreen!

    Yep, can't for the life of me do the temp conversion. That's what Google is for.

    Weirdly, if someone asks my height, i always give it in feet and inches, even though I obviously know my height in centimetres.

    Celsius to Fahrenheit - Multiply by 9, Divide by 5, then add 32.
    Fahrenheit to Celsius - Subtract 32, Multiply by 5, then divide by 9

    But I don't try to convert anymore. I simply think both ways and relate to whichever comes.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,340 Member
    Under Armour's global headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland with additional offices located in Amsterdam (European headquarters), Austin, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Houston, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Munich, New York City, Panama City (international headquarters), Paris, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Francisco, São Paulo, Santiago, Seoul, Shanghai (Greater Chinese headquarters), and Toronto.

    Just sayin'.

    I can think both, save for ounces (both fluid and solid). I state my height in feet and inches but my weight in kilograms. I tend to switch between depending on the nationality of the person in speaking to but I'd certainly never expect others to do so or would have the gall to state that visitors to a website should abide by one.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    So is the debate that people should use imperial measurements only or people should understand that more than imperial measurements are in use?

    I think people can use whatever measurement they prefer.
    I enjoy communicating with people from around the world and undertand that what is normal to me is not necessarily normal to them. I can easily convert things to what I understand because there are sites that do that for you. Or I would ask politely for clarification from the poster if I was not sure.
    Weight given in lbs and stones will always annoy me though- you clearly do use lbs so just put it all in lbs!

    That's a good point! Why do brits use both lbs and stones? This just causes double the confusion for us metric users.

    As an aside... Australia used to use imperial units, and changed to metric from around 1970. So it can be done, people didnt have a choice but to learn and change :wink:

    Hi! Brit here. Who has kind of lost touch with what stones mean relatively, I know 9 stone is probably alright for mot people but beyond that it's all a bit grey. However, it does make sense, 14lbs in a stone. It's no different to inches in a foot, or ml in a litre. So I can see why it's broken down like that.

    I think it's one of the imperial hangovers, along with pints for beer and milk (though milk has to be labeled with the metric measure it does have the pints too still).
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    Oh and forget about temperature conversion. Celsius just makes sense. Zero is freezing, 100 is boiling. Zero is where I deploy the "big coat". Low 20s are pleasant, 30s getting touch OMFG it's hot.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    -26C here = fricken freezing.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    The only one where I have no idea and can't even estimate in my head is celsius. (I use a converter and don't expect people to cater to my inability here, for the record.) I know 0 is 32 and 100 is 212, but because it's not an easy multiplication I don't know, except apparently 30s C is quite hot and today where I live it was -20 C in the morning (which I don't approve of, -4 C (instead of F) is far more civilized!).

    I was in South Africa in January one time and it was funny because often the temps at home and there looked the same (it was usually lower at home still, but close enough), except at home it was snowing and where I was I was getting sunburnt the second I got careless with sunscreen!

    Yep, can't for the life of me do the temp conversion. That's what Google is for.

    Weirdly, if someone asks my height, i always give it in feet and inches, even though I obviously know my height in centimetres.

    I can't do anything in my head thanks to my lovely brain tumor/migraine meds combo. Thank goodness for converters.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    The only one where I have no idea and can't even estimate in my head is celsius. (I use a converter and don't expect people to cater to my inability here, for the record.) I know 0 is 32 and 100 is 212, but because it's not an easy multiplication I don't know, except apparently 30s C is quite hot and today where I live it was -20 C in the morning (which I don't approve of, -4 C (instead of F) is far more civilized!).

    I was in South Africa in January one time and it was funny because often the temps at home and there looked the same (it was usually lower at home still, but close enough), except at home it was snowing and where I was I was getting sunburnt the second I got careless with sunscreen!

    Yep, can't for the life of me do the temp conversion. That's what Google is for.

    Weirdly, if someone asks my height, i always give it in feet and inches, even though I obviously know my height in centimetres.

    Celsius to Fahrenheit - Multiply by 9, Divide by 5, then add 32.
    Fahrenheit to Celsius - Subtract 32, Multiply by 5, then divide by 9

    But I don't try to convert anymore. I simply think both ways and relate to whichever comes.

    You know what's funny about this? Once upon a time, in a world long ago when the US was making noises back in the 70's that it was going to convert to the metric system, I remember doing some report in school where I was stood at a black board demonstrating this and I was adept at doing conversions in my head.

    Not any more!
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    The only one where I have no idea and can't even estimate in my head is celsius. (I use a converter and don't expect people to cater to my inability here, for the record.) I know 0 is 32 and 100 is 212, but because it's not an easy multiplication I don't know, except apparently 30s C is quite hot and today where I live it was -20 C in the morning (which I don't approve of, -4 C (instead of F) is far more civilized!).

    I was in South Africa in January one time and it was funny because often the temps at home and there looked the same (it was usually lower at home still, but close enough), except at home it was snowing and where I was I was getting sunburnt the second I got careless with sunscreen!

    Yep, can't for the life of me do the temp conversion. That's what Google is for.

    Weirdly, if someone asks my height, i always give it in feet and inches, even though I obviously know my height in centimetres.

    Celsius to Fahrenheit - Multiply by 9, Divide by 5, then add 32.
    Fahrenheit to Celsius - Subtract 32, Multiply by 5, then divide by 9

    But I don't try to convert anymore. I simply think both ways and relate to whichever comes.

    To convert Celsius to Fahrenheit I prefer....
    Double the number, take off ten percent, add 32 as it seems easier to do mentally.

    I'm a bit odd in that I think in Celsius in winter (as freezing point is important) but in Fahrenheit in Summer.

    Being middle-aged and English I use a whole variety of imperial and metric measures:
    Pints for beer, gallons for fuel(*), kilos for weight lifting, stones and pounds for body weight, miles for distance and mph for speed, millimetres for small measurements and inches for larger measurements, grams for cooking but ounces for the size of my steak.

    We buy our fuel in litres but our car's odometer records miles so I mentally multiply litres by 0.22 to get gallons to work out my fuel consumption in mpg.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited December 2017
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    -26C here = fricken freezing.

    It's actually a balmy 7 here this morning (-14 C), which is a nice improvement after the past couple of days. Apparently it might get warm enough to snow this evening.

    I don't like celsius because it makes sense to me that 100 is super hot and below 0 is very cold (and I know it's because I grew up with that), and that they are legitimate weather temperatures. (It's celsius on the stove that seems most wrong to me.)

    If 32 is around 90 and 0 is 32 then there's too little in-between!

    But yeah, I realize this is irrational prejudice based on what I'm used to. ;-)
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Sometimes I suspect we have an industrial conspiracy to keep the U.S. on the SAE system. Snap-On has an awesome tag line, "I get my nuts off with Snap-On Tools", but Americans have to own 2 separate sets of wrenches to get the nuts off our internationally source Chevrolets and Fords. I've got a dad-blamed Noahcic assembly of wrenches, sockets, and Torx tools 2 by 2.
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
    Just stopping in to say using the metric system is a whole lot easier. I like it a lot better. I wish the US would convert to all metric like we were warned about back in the 70s and 80s. Back then as a kid I was scared. Now I say bring it on LOL
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited December 2017
    wizzybeth wrote: »
    Just stopping in to say using the metric system is a whole lot easier. I like it a lot better. I wish the US would convert to all metric like we were warned about back in the 70s and 80s. Back then as a kid I was scared. Now I say bring it on LOL

    I still (inconsistently) like feet/inches and lbs for human measurements, just because they mean something to me without having to think about it, but I am glad we have grams on foods and think ounces are annoying (I was going to abbreviate but didn't want the Australians to think I was being hostile!). If I had 3.5 oz of potatoes, that wouldn't mean much to me, but 100 g I can visualize and understand (granted, because I've used a food scale and become used to it). More significantly, it is just a more sensible system (overall, despite my attachment to some aspects of imperial).

    This discussion is making me think of Trollope's Pallisers series, because of the one character who is so into the importance of decimalizing the money.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,563 Member
    I agree anyone using an international site should use whatever system is most comfortable to them (except calories vs kilojoules, of course, haha). I have a goal of first being able to do conversions quickly in my head, but ultimately to not have to convert at all, and just directly visualize the real-world application of the measure. I don't need to convert to know 100 C is boiling and 0 C is freezing. 25 C is easy also as it's used as room temperature in testing all sorts of things in a lab and I can go directly to how it feels without translating. I'd like to have that multi-lingual ability in all systems of measurement and think it's worthwhile pursuing.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    The only one where I have no idea and can't even estimate in my head is celsius. (I use a converter and don't expect people to cater to my inability here, for the record.) I know 0 is 32 and 100 is 212, but because it's not an easy multiplication I don't know, except apparently 30s C is quite hot and today where I live it was -20 C in the morning (which I don't approve of, -4 C (instead of F) is far more civilized!).

    I was in South Africa in January one time and it was funny because often the temps at home and there looked the same (it was usually lower at home still, but close enough), except at home it was snowing and where I was I was getting sunburnt the second I got careless with sunscreen!

    Yep, can't for the life of me do the temp conversion. That's what Google is for.

    Weirdly, if someone asks my height, i always give it in feet and inches, even though I obviously know my height in centimetres.

    Celsius to Fahrenheit - Multiply by 9, Divide by 5, then add 32.
    Fahrenheit to Celsius - Subtract 32, Multiply by 5, then divide by 9

    But I don't try to convert anymore. I simply think both ways and relate to whichever comes.

    Good God :open_mouth: It's easier and quicker to open the conversion app and punch in the numbers :lol:
This discussion has been closed.