Metric System

[mpeirce]

Since one liter of fluid equals one kilo, they use the metric system to monitor fluid increases/decreases.

Then there’s:

A pint of water weighs a pound.

 

[Alan]

Then there’s:

A pint of water weighs a pound.

That would be a US pint weighs an imperial pound. An imperial pint weighs 1.25 pounds.

 

[Murf2]

That would be a US pint weighs an imperial pound. An imperial pint weighs 1.25 pounds.

You sure? They told us,
“A pints a pound, the world around.”
[emoji16]

Happy Thanksgiving

 

[Music Lover]

You sure? They told us,
“A pints a pound, the world around.”
[emoji16]

Happy Thanksgiving

It can be confusing:

US pint - 16 US ounces (16.65 Imperial ounces)
Imperial pint - 20 Imperial ounces (19.21 US ounces)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pint

 

[braumeister]

It can be confusing:

US pint - 16 US ounces (16.65 Imperial ounces)
Imperial pint - 20 Imperial ounces (19.21 US ounces)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pint

That always causes confusion in the beer world.
English pints have more ounces than American pints, but their ounces are smaller.

Still,
English (Imperial) pint = 568.26 ml
American pint = 473.17 ml
More than a 3 ounce difference.

 

[Alan]

Interestingly, when we buy milk in the shops here (England) we buy it in liters but normally we have our milk delivered to the door by a traditional milkman and it is still in imperial pints. (20 fl ozs)

 

[disneysteve]

We've used the metric system in medicine for as long as I've been a doctor, which is over 30 years now. Look at any of your medicine bottles. The dose is in milligrams most likely. We measure rashes or tumors or skin lesions in centimeters. We prescribe cough syrup in milliliters.

 

[braumeister]

We've used the metric system in medicine for as long as I've been a doctor, which is over 30 years now. Look at any of your medicine bottles. The dose is in milligrams most likely. We measure rashes or tumors or skin lesions in centimeters. We prescribe cough syrup in milliliters.

And the main prescription item (Sphere) for the lens in your eyeglasses is in diopters, which is the reciprocal of the focal length in meters.

 

[JoeWras]

We've used the metric system in medicine for as long as I've been a doctor, which is over 30 years now. Look at any of your medicine bottles. The dose is in milligrams most likely. We measure rashes or tumors or skin lesions in centimeters. We prescribe cough syrup in milliliters.

People have been getting metric blood pressure readings for over 120 years, right? Could you imagine: your bp is 4.72 over 2.76, perfectly normal.

US Meteorologists have mostly kicked the inches of mercury habit and gone to millibars or hectopascals. The problem is what is a standard atmosphere? This is messed up and the standard has recently changed, so there's still work to do in the atmospheric pressure world. Too many ideas out there as to what a "standard" atmosphere is.

Force pressure world over is measured in kilopascals. US sticks with PSI. This may never change, it is too embedded. We'd have to throw away too many tire gauges. But when we do, we'll call them tyres.

 

[Music Lover]

Force pressure world over is measured in kilopascals. US sticks with PSI. This may never change, it is too embedded. We'd have to throw away too many tire gauges. But when we do, we'll call them tyres.

My car reads tire pressure in kpa. If you're OCD, it will drive you crazy trying to get all 4 tires to 230 kpa as opposed to 33 psi

 

[aaronc879]

I always have to google it if I need to find standard to metric calculations. I'm good with grams though. Learned those in college, outside of class.

 

[braumeister]

I always have to google it if I need to find standard to metric calculations. I'm good with grams though. Learned those in college, outside of class.

One of the things that somehow always stuck with me was from physics class in high school.

A standard paper clip weighs almost exactly one gram.
A brand new nickel coin weighs almost exactly five grams.

 

[Gumby]

I am partial to measuring length in Smoots. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot

 

[ERD50]

One of the things that somehow always stuck with me was from physics class in high school.

A standard paper clip weighs almost exactly one gram.
A brand new nickel coin weighs almost exactly five grams.

I got curious about a US nickel (5 cents) weighing 5 grams ( a non-US measurement).

Turns out it was not coincidence, it was part of a very early metrification attempt. From wiki:

Pollock prepared a bill authorizing a five-cent coin of the same alloy as the three-cent piece, with a total weight not to exceed 60 grains (3.9 g). At the committee stage in the House of Representatives, the weight was amended to 77.19 grains (5.00*g), ostensibly to make the weight equal to five grams in the metric system but more likely so that Wharton could sell more nickel.[16] This made the new coin heavy, in terms of weight per $.01 of face value, compared to the three-cent copper-nickel coin. The bill passed without debate on May 16, 1866.

I'd interpret that as BOTH to make it a metric measurement AND to sell more nickel. Otherwise, why go from a round 60 grains to 77.19 grains?

I use nickels as a basic calibration sanity check for my gram scale (mostly used for my brewing mineral additions, occasionally for other things). Any normal looking, clean nickel has always come in very close to 5.0x grams.

-ERD50

 

[martyp]

My career was in engineering so I worked in both systems. I am living in Thailand now so I have to live in a metric world. It is one thing to use metric in lab experiment and another to use it in day-to-day life like daily temperature in centigrade or gas mileage (oopp!).

 

[Texas Proud]

Isn't this like when to take Social Security?

Back in the 70s I was working in lumber and everything I did was based on a system of 1/12ths. Today I don't care. Actually I weigh a lot of ingredients for recipes in grams and convert to ounces on the fly.

I wonder what a 2x4 is in metric... or 4x4 etc..

 

[disneysteve]

gas mileage (oopp!).

LOL. So what term does the rest of the world use for gas mileage?

 

[JoeWras]

I wonder what a 2x4 is in metric... or 4x4 etc..

I wonder what a 2x4 is in inch units, LOL.

In the past year I've seen 3 1/4 to 3 5/8.

 

[Texas Proud]

I wonder what a 2x4 is in inch units, LOL.

In the past year I've seen 3 1/4 to 3 5/8.

True... and it has changed over the years... but at least the length is correct...

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

LOL. So what term does the rest of the world use for gas mileage?

Liters per 100km?

 

[ncbill]

Canada transitioned to metric when I was in grade school so I'm familiar and can easily work with both if need be. Isn't it time for the US to stop being stubborn and get with the times?

USA should have done the same even if we had to drag everyone kicking & screaming...should've used JFK's death to do the moon shot & metric.

And when US troops were in half of the countries back in WWII we should have forced or bribed everyone to adopt left-hand drive for their vehicles.

With occupied Japan forced to switch to driving on the right side of the road.

 

[Music Lover]

Liters per 100km?

Yup

 

[Koolau]

Interestingly, when we buy milk in the shops here (England) we buy it in liters but normally we have our milk delivered to the door by a traditional milkman and it is still in imperial pints. (20 fl ozs)

Heh, heh, the real story here is that milk is still delivered to the door! That went out in my neighborhood when I was a teen. Interesting how "traditions" vary from place to place. Vive la difference.

 

[Ronstar]

I am partial to measuring length in Smoots. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot

Interesting - never heard of a Smoot. Thanks for posting!

 

[JoeWras]

And when US troops were in half of the countries back in WWII...

That would have been a fine time to go metric. Dad said he became familiar with metric measurements in WWII. Let's just say they knew the size in mm of every German shell and bullet coming at them. He also spent 6 months there in the occupation and despite being on an army base, they still had enough interaction to absorb various metric measurements.

I suspect, instead, that WWII was one reason the US eschewed metric. And that was all based on feelings after being attacked and having to expel metric based forces.