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metric vs imperial
Replies
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GottaBurnEmAll 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.
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.6 -
smithmssycatsmithiris30 wrote: »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.
A nautical mile is 6,076 feet, or 1.15 mile. (That's what knots are based on as a speed.)0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll 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.
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.
This is the internet. The forum? It's an international community. Your argument is ridiculous. This is a free website on the WORLD WIDE WEB. It's run out of offices based in the US, but they know they are running something available to the whole world and have made accommodations in the software for international users, for goodness sake.5 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »
Interesting. They're pretty but not a bungalow by my definition. We have so many names for houses. So many.
And yes, yards are gardens.
And assumptions on an international site with international users grind my gears. I am often the only one asking where someone lives in order to give them accurate advice. I next never see that from my US counterparts, from assuming we live in a health insurance country to assuming what products we can buy because of course everyone lives in America and if you don't you're really the minority and should state your place of residence in your OP because minority.
It's not too much different to assuming most people on Facebook are from the US because obviously it's an American site, duh. And I do see this attitude in selling groups too so it's not exclusive to MFP. And there are parallels, like buyers asking the seller to convert the currency when nobody else in an opposite transaction does. I've even had people not know what £ is.
I do also have wonderful American friends so I know it's not everyone #notallAmericans but #enoughAmericans*
*Please note the hashtags are sarcasm and joke derived from the not all men thingo.8 -
kshama2001 wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll 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.
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.
To me, this sounds an awful lot like those people who say 'Oh but I'm not homophobic/racist/etc! I have friends who are gay/black/insert minority group here'.
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kshama2001 wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll 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.
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.4 -
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Naught about it being a US site. In fact I would say the above suggests it's global.
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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!4 -
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.0 -
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
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Christine_72 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
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.0 -
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!3 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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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.
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Christine_72 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
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).1 -
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.1
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-26C here = fricken freezing.1
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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.0
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