Question for those outside of the USA - Measurements

[necromanzer52]

We use the metric system for just about everything except in pubs where we still use pints.

 

[Johnnyseven]

In the UK the measurements change depending on where you go, who you talk to and what you talk about. I don't understand why really, metric system seems far simpler and easy enough to learn to me. Though for some reason saying things in imperial does just have a better ring to it.

 

[Burst6]

I work in air traffic and its all over the place. Global altitude is measured in feet, unless you're in Russia, where its metres. Air pressure is measured in hectoPascales (used to be millibars, don't get me started) though if you're in America its inches of mercury (WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!?) And every nation has it's own altitude where you go from the local air pressure to the standard air pressure on the altimeter of 1013 mB (or 29.92 inches for the colonials) So many conversions.

I think inches of mercury means how mercury rises in a tube due to pressure.

We had a similar thing in my chemistry course, except instead of inches of mercury it was millimeters of mercury. It always annoyed me. I kept thinking "You're scientists. Have some pride and use proper SI unites".

 

[capper42]

One thing that really annoys me in the UK, is we buy our petrol (gas) by the litre, but still talk about miles per gallon when discussing the efficiency of a car. In general though, I quite like our mix of imperial and metric. We're gradually edging further towards the metric system though, and I'm sure within a generation or so it'll all be metric.

Except the pint! We must always hold onto the pint for ordering beer. It's a perfect amount to have, and who wants to ask for 568ml of beer.

 

[StriderShinryu]

In Canada, metric measurements are used officially but when giving size or weight on a smaller scale (like when talking about how tall someone is or how much they weigh) it's very common to use imperial. For example, almost no one outside of a doctors office gives their height in metres and cm., it's almost always in feet and inches.

 

[Emo-Hawk]

What's worse is depending on how old someone is, as they will use the imperial and ask me who grew up using metric, to figure out their arse backwards maths, I'm a shop assaistant not a maths teacher

 

[Rawberry101]

Metrics, all the way.

While I lived in US for a while, I eventually got used to all the alternative measures (although some are pretty counter-intuitive); but there was one I could never, ever, get used to: Fahrenheit. What kind of backward measure is that which sets the reference points at 32 and 212? Who measures something in 1/180th of an interval? I swear, after years, its bonkers to me...

I'm pretty sure some European guy came up with it...
Mr. Fahrenheit, I presume.

I learned in Chem that he put arbitrary markings on a mercury thermometer and just did some stuff to it. He boiled water and saw it vaporized at 212 'markings' so that's what it became. He froze water and made it as cold as possible, because he thought that's how cold it could ever possibly get, so it was 32 'markings' below freezing.

Like the rest of our measurements we never actually came up with them, pilfered from Europe and then when Europe changed we said 'Screw that! These are our measurements!'

 

[Ravinoff]

Here in Canada we tend to use whatever works best. Personally, I find imperial more useful for day-to-day stuff like weight and length, with metric being more specialized (kilometers, miligrams).

 

[Arfonious]

SI-system (metric) all the way

Anything else is stupid in our modern world
Or you will find yourself meassuring Slugs per square feet

(slug is accually i measurement of mass, 14.5939 kg)

 

[Roxor]

Down here in Australia, we pretty-much exclusively use metric, unless you're talking to someone over the age of 50 (who'll probably slip into into imperial) or looking at a catalogue featuring screens (half the time TV sizes are given in inches with a conversion to centimetres, and computer displays are still almost universally given in inches).

 

[Something Amyss]

Other countries like to complain that America is backward about a lot of things: gun-control, socialized medicine, creationism, etc... they're usually wrong, but one issue on which we most definitely ARE backward is our failure to embrace the Metric system.

Not sure if serious.

Here in ol' Norway, we use Polar Bears as our standard unit of weight. It gets cumbersome.

Are they measured at the shoulder (all fours) or the head (bipedal)?

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Canada uses both. Metric for most, but Imperial for construction materials, given our proximity to the States.

 

[Astoria]

Australians mostly use metric but if we're just giving a estimated length/weight/size whatever people sometimes use feet or stone and stuff like that. Most people still use feet and inches to measure a person's height.

 

[Joccaren]

Australia uses the Metric System.

Sometimes the Imperial system will be used for things like height, but its not taught in schools, and its becoming less and less common to know how far a foot or an inch is, and people who do know Imperial will be able to tell you in Metric anyway.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Phooey. I thought this might have something to do with "the three sizes." Haven't gotten rid of all the vestiges of my former teenage brain, I guess.

The problem with tons and tonnes is that one is imperial and the other is metric and they aren't the same. A metric tonne is 1000kg. I looked up the imperial ton and it is 2240 pounds ('cos that's a sensible number).

Wait, what? A ton is 2000 pounds.

*checks*

Huh. I had no idea an American imperial ton and an English imperial ton were different.

Metrics, all the way.

While I lived in US for a while, I eventually got used to all the alternative measures (although some are pretty counter-intuitive); but there was one I could never, ever, get used to: Fahrenheit. What kind of backward measure is that which sets the reference points at 32 and 212? Who measures something in 1/180th of an interval? I swear, after years, its bonkers to me...

According to Wikipedia, it's because the guys who came up with it used the freezing point of brine as the reference for 0 degrees, and the others followed from there before settling on the 32-212 1/180 interval thing. It doesn't say how they arrived at the original number for the freezing point of water, but after they did, they just tweaked the degree separation to make the math easier. I actually never knew that before.

Honestly, though, I know Celsius is easier to comprehend, but I like how Farenheit is more precise without needing decimals.

 

[Violator[xL]]

Dutch. Metric system all the way. I am two meters and five centimeters tall.

 

[MorganL4]

In the UK we have a hybrid system and it's fucking horrible, I really wish the government would just push for full metric. Miles and pints irritate me the most, along with construction mostly using the old imperial system, which I don't understand nearly as well as the metric.

But dude...... No one wants to sit down at a bar and order a half a liter of beer.... It just sounds stupid. We want to order A PINT!