[pkxlugbsbv]

i grew up with metric system.. then came to US and been using imperial system since. now i can't even remember what 1kg feels like.. but sure know what pint of Guinness looks like.. and imperial pint at that (we had one pub that used imperial pint glass from UK.. the owner shut the pub down and i really miss Guinness served in imperial pint glass)..

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070509/...tric_milestone

pete

[Dilangfh]

Also grew up with metric, with the exception of pints, I don't get imperial at all.

Wouldn't drink Guinness in anything but a pint glass, can't be as healthy...

[seperalem]

But imperial measures still are put on many road signs Many? I've never seen a metric road sign in Britain!

[Carfanate]

Did you see that the Eu have now said that Britain and Ireland can keep Imperial if they want to but must also display metric. Isn't that nice?

Thing is, every country uses Imperial measures in some format; planes fly in feet and inches.

However I cannot get excited by Imperial (like some people do over here). A yard is pretty much the same distance as a metre; there are roughly 2lb in a kilo and a pint is half a litre (near as dammit). So in many ways we could use metric then just adopt some imperial terminology for the measures we wish to refer to. I am sure most in Europe wouldn't be bothered if we said that we wished to call half a litre a "pint" because that is the measure we use for Beer.

[pobrierce]

Just noticed the chance of a cheap reply and thought I'd take it before anyone else steals it.


[QUOTE=satsumaruma;254762]

Thing is, every country uses Imperial measures in some format; planes fly in feet and inches.

QUOTE]

No they don't, planes fly in the sky.hahahaha




Ahem.

[kazinopartnerkae]

Both. Metric for my job (design) & DIY and imperial for everything else.

[EnubreBense]

As far as I know, legally, things have to be sold in metric. With the exception of beer (and something else, milk?) which can only be sold in imperial mesures (well, multiples of a half-pint).

[VotsUtegems]

Yep, I am currently anjoying a nice pint of milk with '1pint/568ml' printed on the side of the carton.

[Jackson]

It doesnt matter, when our alien overlords arrive, we'll all be measuring Equriquicks

[HawksBurnDown]

You been on the glue again?

[IoninnyHaro]

Canada is officially metric, but there's still some imperial stuff. Lumber, for example. We still buy 2by4 studs and 4by8 sheets of plywood, and I don't know anyone who does carpentry in metric. Because of that I still think small distances in inches, but for long distances it's km, that's the way the road signs have been for 30 years.

Everyone will tell you their height and weight in imperial, even kids who by rights should be completely metric in their thinking. I know mine in metric only due to dealing with kendo equipment orders so much.

Everything in the grocery store is sold in metric, although they'll often package meat in 454g (1 lb) increments. Pop cans are still 12 oz but any container bigger than that is an even metric number.

Beer is sold in 12 oz bottles or pints in the bars (real pints, not US ones).

Temperature is Celcius, and I don't relate to Fahrenheit that much anymore. So traveling in the US is a bit of an adjustment.

Our papers are required to print metric everything, so we'll often get stupid conversions like a 0-96 kph time in a car test. Or you'll be reading something where an obvious rough imperial estimate has been converted to metric (that Sasquatch must have been 3.05 m tall!).

Anyways, between the US, UK and Canada, we're the most metrificated, but we aren't there yet.

[Hsmrcahr]

Metric. Unless we want to blow up another space vessel.

Really, I can't understand why anyone would want to use something that is old, obsolete and totally illogical. (Yeah go ahead, flame me! )

So much easier to just use the standard fully logical metric system. Try to find one good reason why imperial would beat metric that is not based on "we have always used imperial" and I'd be surprised

End of rant.

[JaK_MarkoV_Pi]

Canada is officially metric, but there's still some imperial stuff. Lumber, for example. We still buy 2by4 studs and 4by8 sheets of plywood, and I don't know anyone who does carpentry in metric.

All carpentry in the UK is metric these days. Probably a good thing - I hate working in fractions.

[SerycegeBunny]

Try to find one good reason why imperial would beat metric that is not based on "we have always used imperial" and I'd be surprised.

That's a perfectly valid reason, though. For example, if you want to renovate a house that's built in imperial dimensions, it's stupid to try to force metric measurements onto it. If you've got a bar with an investment of thousands of dollars into imperial-sized glassware, telling them they've got to throw the lot out for metric is a waste of money.

One of the other advantages of imperial over metric is that it is based somewhat on human proportions. So while you may scoff at a foot being the length of some old king's actual foot, the scale is human. The metric stuff fits a little wrong. A metre is too long to talk about height. A kilogram is too heavy for cooking, a litre too big. People in Canada adapted readily to km and degrees C, but for human-scale measurements there was a natural resistance, so that even now that we're on the second generation of kids growing up metric, people still use imperial measure around the house.

[Mello]

That's a perfectly valid reason, though. For example, if you want to renovate a house that's built in imperial dimensions, it's stupid to try to force metric measurements onto it. If you've got a bar with an investment of thousands of dollars into imperial-sized glassware, telling them they've got to throw the lot out for metric is a waste of money.

One of the other advantages of imperial over metric is that it is based somewhat on human proportions. So while you may scoff at a foot being the length of some old king's actual foot, the scale is human. The metric stuff fits a little wrong. A metre is too long to talk about height. A kilogram is too heavy for cooking, a litre too big. People in Canada adapted readily to km and degrees C, but for human-scale measurements there was a natural resistance, so that even now that we're on the second generation of kids growing up metric, people still use imperial measure around the house.

Hehe, point taken. I realized after posting that a lot of carpenting stuff here is still using imperial (or atleast something similar) and probably a few other areas as well.

Just being annoyed since I have no idea how fat someone who weighs 25 stones is, or how tall someone who is 5'4". And those measurements are quite often used in texts and TV from english speaking countries (and that is the main source of entertainment around here).

What really bothers me though are when engineers or scientists use it (like in the article I posted above) instead of international standards. Same with time really. I would be so happy if everyone could just start using YYYY-MM-DD so that the confusion could stop...

[leijggeds]

Just being annoyed since I have no idea how fat someone who weighs 25 stones is, or how tall someone who is 5'4". And those measurements are quite often used in texts and TV from english speaking countries (and that is the main source of entertainment around here).

What really bothers me though are when engineers or scientists use it (like in the article I posted above) instead of international standards. Same with time really. I would be so happy if everyone could just start using YYYY-MM-DD so that the confusion could stop...

Yup. Couldn't agree more.

[Mediconlinee]

All carpentry in the UK is metric these days. Probably a good thing - I hate working in fractions.

What the hell is a board-foot of lumber in metric then?

[Casyimipist]

One of the other advantages of imperial over metric is that it is based somewhat on human proportions. So while you may scoff at a foot being the length of some old king's actual foot, the scale is human. The metric stuff fits a little wrong. A metre is too long to talk about height. A kilogram is too heavy for cooking, a litre too big.

feet are too big for size: you got to use the inch, and how many inches are there in a feet? twelve. Great!
Same remark with the ounce and pound for cooking. But it's sixteen ounces in a pound! Who is used to make calculs in hexadecimal?

For cooking, instead of using the litre people use the decilitre. For cooking, people use units of 100g, which may (but is never) be called an hectogram. For the size, the combination of metre and centimetre fits quite well.

The BIGGEST advantage (IMO) of metric system over your differents (see the gallon) american and english imperial units is the use of the base 10.

I don't have the smallest idea about what is the weight of a stone.

telling them they've got to throw the lot out for metric is a waste of money.

I think that it is mainly for custom and tax problems. There is a big difference between a litre and a gallon of whisky.

BTW the french "demi de bière" is a quarter of litre of beer. If you see two glasses, what is the total?

h2o, what is YYYY-MM-DD ?

Finally, I think that the main problem of the International System is that it has a french origin. (1793, mainly from Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier)

[Heacechig]

i can see most people are reluctant to change their way of measurement some likes metric, and some likes imperial.. doesn't really make any difference to me as long as my Guinness comes in a pint glass. tho.. i do envy germans and their liter stein. then again, i normally order two pints and tell them to pour the next pint as soon as they bring me the first one. i hate waiting for my pint.

pete

[loan4younow]

I don't like Celcius, it is too damned cold.