Idle curiosity about stones and scales
lynn_glenmont
Posts: 10,092 Member
For those of you who think about your weight in stones, do the scales in your part of the world (the ones you use at home, at the doctor's, at a pharmacy/chemist's, etc.) give your weight in stones, or do they give it to you in pounds and you have to do the division yourself?
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Replies
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Mine gives stones as I'm in the UK. I convert to pounds on here.0
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My scales display stones and kgs. No calculations necessary.
Why do you ask?0 -
I’m in Canada, grew up in the UK, and think of my weight in stones, track in pounds, and use metric for any other weights.
Some days are so confusing but I just can’t get out of stones when I think of bodyweight.
Lots of apps, and scales give the option of kg, lbs, or st, here.
Cheers, h.3 -
Therealobi1 wrote: »My scales display stones and kgs. No calculations necessary.
Why do you ask?
As I said, just idle curiosity. I guess it was triggered by a post listing the posters weight in stones and ounces, rather than stones and pounds, and I wondered whether it was a mistake or someone obsessing over minor weight fluctuations, and then I wondered whether the scale lists the weight in stones to begin with or the poster got confused in doing the conversion from pounds to stones and pounds ... I wonder a lot
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In case anyone wonders in the opposite direction, I'm in the U.S. where, outside of some medical and medical research situations, most people think of their weight in pounds. Forty to fifty years ago, home scales were analog in pounds only, while a doctor's office (balance scales with lead weights) might show both pounds and kilograms. About 30 years ago, I started seeing analog home scales with smaller markings for kg and larger markings for pounds, but that was pretty short-lived as digital scales took over the market with displays that toggle between pounds and kilograms.3
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I'm 12 stone (or at least I was before Christmas....
)
My scales show my weight in stones, pounds and decimal fractions of pounds.
Or I can switch them to read in kg (useful for holiday suitcase weighing) or to display in pounds.
Never heard anyone in the UK talk about their weight in stones and ounces. More normal would be "I'm 12 and a half stone" or "I'm 12 stone 7" (meaning 12 stones and 7 pounds).6 -
I've always wondered this, OP. Thanks for asking!2
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Slightly off topic comment.........
I am in Australia. We have been metric for decades, nearly half a century, and all scales are in kg.
And people state their weight in kg.
But for some really strange reason many people still state baby birth weights in pounds and ounces - eg 7lb, 5 which would mean 7 pounds, 5 ounces.
I have no idea why this one segment of weight has not become metric in people's minds, although everything else has . ( obviously it has in medical records etc, like everything else)7 -
My scale is programmable - it is set to Kg (world standard unit) but it can be set to use old fashioned units like stones or pound or whatever.
My kitchen scale also has all options and will occasionally all of a sudden flip to non world standard units and that annoys the *kitten* out of me0 -
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I'm 12 stone (or at least I was before Christmas.... )
My scales show my weight in stones, pounds and decimal fractions of pounds.
Or I can switch them to read in kg (useful for holiday suitcase weighing) or to display in pounds.
Never heard anyone in the UK talk about their weight in stones and ounces. More normal would be "I'm 12 and a half stone" or "I'm 12 stone 7" (meaning 12 stones and 7 pounds).
Same as this, i weighed in 10 mins ago...12st 12lbs .2 , it can swtch to kgs but i grew up measuring this way.
Thats my xmas weigh in...up a lb by the way , urgh0 -
The U.K. generally show or use both Imperial and Metric systems.
Milk is sold by the litre but everyone calls it a pint of milk (it’s not!).
You’d ask for a pound of flour but it’s sold in kg bags.
Your doctor will weigh you in kg and you’ll say “what’s that in real money?” (Old joke from decimalisation) and they’ll convert it into stones and pounds for you.
I would always use feet and inches to describe my height, waist measurements.
I have to remember to convert information for MFP challenges and write the date backwards!1 -
paperpudding wrote: »Slightly off topic comment.........
I am in Australia. We have been metric for decades, nearly half a century, and all scales are in kg.
And people state their weight in kg.
But for some really strange reason many people still state baby birth weights in pounds and ounces - eg 7lb, 5 which would mean 7 pounds, 5 ounces.
I have no idea why this one segment of weight has not become metric in people's minds, although everything else has . ( obviously it has in medical records etc, like everything else)
I have often wondered this exact same thing...2 -
Lillymoo01 wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Slightly off topic comment.........
I am in Australia. We have been metric for decades, nearly half a century, and all scales are in kg.
And people state their weight in kg.
But for some really strange reason many people still state baby birth weights in pounds and ounces - eg 7lb, 5 which would mean 7 pounds, 5 ounces.
I have no idea why this one segment of weight has not become metric in people's minds, although everything else has . ( obviously it has in medical records etc, like everything else)
I have often wondered this exact same thing...
In the UK babies are weighed in hospital at birth and you are given their weight in kg, but people still expect to hear the weight in pounds and ounces so I remember googling to convert my babies’ weights for the birth announcement.
I don’t find it difficult switching between pounds and stones for this site (good for practising your 14 times tables!) but kg is a bit trickier. I generally work off remembering 10 stone/140 pounds/ ~64kg when I’m reading different people’s stats and goals on here.0 -
But for some really strange reason many people still state baby birth weights in pounds and ounces - eg 7lb, 5 which would mean 7 pounds, 5 ounces.
Well, an 8lb baby is relatively average (?), 9lb is large, 7 or 6 lb are small. 5 lb is too low. Mine were mid 6s, a little small but they grew.
I have no idea of kg weights for babies!!0 -
I'm 12 stone (or at least I was before Christmas.... )
My scales show my weight in stones, pounds and decimal fractions of pounds.
Or I can switch them to read in kg (useful for holiday suitcase weighing) or to display in pounds.
Never heard anyone in the UK talk about their weight in stones and ounces. More normal would be "I'm 12 and a half stone" or "I'm 12 stone 7" (meaning 12 stones and 7 pounds).
Here in the US, even suitcases are conventionally weighed in pounds. Last time I looked, usual airline limit was 50lb.
They don't usually weigh the carry-ons, so you can get away with a bit more, as long as you can lift it to the overhead bin with a carefree motion. Good way to surprise one of those nice young men who think a li'l ol' lady needs help, though.
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Im in the US but my scale gives me options of which units to display the weight in.0
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My scale has stones and pounds, pounds, and kilo settings. I use kilos and convert to pounds online--my doctor uses kilos so I like to know what their scale is going to say, but pounds alone are what make sense to me.1
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »
Hahaagree!!
I have a scale from Italy so I’m constantly converting from kilograms. 🤸🏼♂️
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Slightly off-topic, but why does my American daughter-in-law call them Kg - pronounced "Kaygee" instead of "kilos"?
I'm trying to get used to metric but I know my goal weight is 8 stone - because that's what I was 50 years ago when I was a student. That translates to about 51 Kg but for easy reference I'm thinking in terms of 50 Kg.
I use a spreadsheet for easy conversion for MFP. (and I refuse to write the date backwards).
And, the fresh milk in my fridge is in 1 pint and 2 pint bottles but the longlife milk in the cupboard is in 500 ml and 1 litre cartons. Some days are really confusing!1 -
Mine shows stones and lbs, but has settings for kgs too.0
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lesdarts180 wrote: »Slightly off-topic, but why does my American daughter-in-law call them Kg - pronounced "Kaygee" instead of "kilos"?
I'm trying to get used to metric but I know my goal weight is 8 stone - because that's what I was 50 years ago when I was a student. That translates to about 51 Kg but for easy reference I'm thinking in terms of 50 Kg.
I use a spreadsheet for easy conversion for MFP. (and I refuse to write the date backwards).
And, the fresh milk in my fridge is in 1 pint and 2 pint bottles but the longlife milk in the cupboard is in 500 ml and 1 litre cartons. Some days are really confusing!
I don't know, but rest assured it's not "an American thing" -- it's a "your DIL" thing. I've never heard anybody refer to kilograms as kaygees. I don't hear kilos very often, either, as abbreviated versions of words tend to crop up more for words you use a lot, and most people in the U.S. don't use kilograms a lot. But when I hear people in the U.S. shorten kilograms, it's always kilos, never kaygees.3 -
Kaygees is common in Australia as short hand for kilograms, we also just say kilos.
Same way for 'kays' is used for kms. eg We were doing 100 'kays" (100 km/hr) or it is 10 'kays' (10 km away).
Anyone under 40 is all metric, baby weights in pounds does still persist a bit.
If you are a scientist, metric is the only way to go, except if you are NASA , then you spend over 100 million on a orbiter and then sling it into space and miss your target because you insist on imperial and are working with the rest of the world that does metric and convert wrong.
Edited to add that although the UK is not in red, they confuse everyone else by unofficially persisting, especially with the stones business.4 -
lesdarts180 wrote: »Slightly off-topic, but why does my American daughter-in-law call them Kg - pronounced "Kaygee" instead of "kilos"?
I'm trying to get used to metric but I know my goal weight is 8 stone - because that's what I was 50 years ago when I was a student. That translates to about 51 Kg but for easy reference I'm thinking in terms of 50 Kg.
I use a spreadsheet for easy conversion for MFP. (and I refuse to write the date backwards).
And, the fresh milk in my fridge is in 1 pint and 2 pint bottles but the longlife milk in the cupboard is in 500 ml and 1 litre cartons. Some days are really confusing!
Because the weight is in grams (the gees in Kaygees) Kilo is the 1,000 metric prefix So 1Kg (Kaygees) is 1 kilograms = 1,000 grams
MG is a Megagram therefore 1,000,000 grams is 1,000Kg
mg is milligrams therefor 1/1,000 of a gram equals 0,001g
Therefore Kg is is more precise as opposed to a Kilo as a kilo could also refer to for instance
km (kilometer), kJ (kiloJoule) of kW (kiloWatt) Though most people will use kilo as a shorthand for Kg
The metric system really is a lot easier to use than any imperial old fashioned system as it is consistent and logical Wikipedia has a really good article about it.
PS I also refuse to the American halfway reverse date notation Either you go all the way in reverse (ISO yyyy-mm-dd) or standard world (dd-mm-yyyy)0 -
lesdarts180 wrote: »Slightly off-topic, but why does my American daughter-in-law call them Kg - pronounced "Kaygee" instead of "kilos"?
I say it that way in my head because I'm reading the abbreviation. I also refer to pounds as "libs" when I see the "lb." abbreviation.
I like it that metric abbreviations don't require periods after them when used mid-sentence. Imperial measurement abbreviations are supposed to have them, which is annoying when typing on my phone so I often leave them off.
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My scales will show stones and lbs, lbs only, or kgs... I always prefer to measure my own weight in stones & lbs as thats what I grew up doing (despite England supposedly being fully metric), but at work (I'm a dialysis nurse) when we weigh our patients its always gotta be in kg. When my daughter was born last year the midwife told me the weight in kg and I had to convert it into lb and oz to kinda get perspective as I'm so used to hearing baby weights in imperial measurements... it's such a mish mash of measurements here we measure distances in miles, beer in pints still and then other groceries etc in grammes...0
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »lesdarts180 wrote: »Slightly off-topic, but why does my American daughter-in-law call them Kg - pronounced "Kaygee" instead of "kilos"?
I'm trying to get used to metric but I know my goal weight is 8 stone - because that's what I was 50 years ago when I was a student. That translates to about 51 Kg but for easy reference I'm thinking in terms of 50 Kg.
I use a spreadsheet for easy conversion for MFP. (and I refuse to write the date backwards).
And, the fresh milk in my fridge is in 1 pint and 2 pint bottles but the longlife milk in the cupboard is in 500 ml and 1 litre cartons. Some days are really confusing!
I don't know, but rest assured it's not "an American thing" -- it's a "your DIL" thing. I've never heard anybody refer to kilograms as kaygees. I don't hear kilos very often, either, as abbreviated versions of words tend to crop up more for words you use a lot, and most people in the U.S. don't use kilograms a lot. But when I hear people in the U.S. shorten kilograms, it's always kilos, never kaygees.
as JMF said, no it isnt an american thing or a your DIL thing - is quite common in some places.
I am in Australia and I agree with JMF - common to hear both Kaygees and kilos - and kays for kilometres and mills for milliliters
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paperpudding wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »lesdarts180 wrote: »Slightly off-topic, but why does my American daughter-in-law call them Kg - pronounced "Kaygee" instead of "kilos"?
I'm trying to get used to metric but I know my goal weight is 8 stone - because that's what I was 50 years ago when I was a student. That translates to about 51 Kg but for easy reference I'm thinking in terms of 50 Kg.
I use a spreadsheet for easy conversion for MFP. (and I refuse to write the date backwards).
And, the fresh milk in my fridge is in 1 pint and 2 pint bottles but the longlife milk in the cupboard is in 500 ml and 1 litre cartons. Some days are really confusing!
I don't know, but rest assured it's not "an American thing" -- it's a "your DIL" thing. I've never heard anybody refer to kilograms as kaygees. I don't hear kilos very often, either, as abbreviated versions of words tend to crop up more for words you use a lot, and most people in the U.S. don't use kilograms a lot. But when I hear people in the U.S. shorten kilograms, it's always kilos, never kaygees.
as JMF said, no it isnt an american thing or a your DIL thing - is quite common in some places.
I am in Australia and I agree with JMF - common to hear both Kaygees and kilos - and kays for kilometres and mills for milliliters
Maybe lesdart is mistaken and her DIL is Australian, not American.0 -
paperpudding wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »lesdarts180 wrote: »Slightly off-topic, but why does my American daughter-in-law call them Kg - pronounced "Kaygee" instead of "kilos"?
I'm trying to get used to metric but I know my goal weight is 8 stone - because that's what I was 50 years ago when I was a student. That translates to about 51 Kg but for easy reference I'm thinking in terms of 50 Kg.
I use a spreadsheet for easy conversion for MFP. (and I refuse to write the date backwards).
And, the fresh milk in my fridge is in 1 pint and 2 pint bottles but the longlife milk in the cupboard is in 500 ml and 1 litre cartons. Some days are really confusing!
I don't know, but rest assured it's not "an American thing" -- it's a "your DIL" thing. I've never heard anybody refer to kilograms as kaygees. I don't hear kilos very often, either, as abbreviated versions of words tend to crop up more for words you use a lot, and most people in the U.S. don't use kilograms a lot. But when I hear people in the U.S. shorten kilograms, it's always kilos, never kaygees.
as JMF said, no it isnt an american thing or a your DIL thing - is quite common in some places.
I am in Australia and I agree with JMF - common to hear both Kaygees and kilos - and kays for kilometres and mills for milliliters
The kaygees must be more common along the Eastern Sea Board as I only know one person in SA that says it that way, but she is Indian.0
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