A Question for the English (Page 2): The answer is easy Jerry, we are multi-taskers in all respects. Also we like our own identity, none of this Continental stuff that was forced on...

EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

jerryc41 wrote:

I recently finished watching two seasons of "Real Rescues" on Netflix. The English people featured on this show regularly used words like feet, inches, meters, kilometers, miles, pounds, kilograms, gallons and liters. It's been quite a while since you switched to metric, so what's going on?

The answer is easy Jerry, we are multi-taskers in all respects. Also we like our own identity, none of this Continental stuff that was forced on our weights and measurements system. I grew up with pounds, shillings and pence in the good old days, however metric is a lot easier for youngsters to learn, not that they do all learn it. They prefer to use calculators on their smart phones. Maths is still an enigma to many.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Texcaster wrote:

It's generational as RT says. Some industries stay old school, like surfboards and the antique trade. For me to work in Australia as a cabinetmaker, I had to switch to metric in 1981. I never looked back until I started building guitars. Steel string acoustic and electric guitars as well as mandolins and ukuleles are American instruments, imperial. Classical guitars and the fiddle family are metric.

Interesting

Nikonbob Loc: Upper Chichester, PA

Of course we do use both Imperial and metric measurement systems in the USA, which means we have to jump back and forth and make mental calculations on the fly. As a Skywarn weather observer, I have to argue that The Fahrenheit scale for air temperature is more useful for recording small changes in temperature. Though the metric system appears so simple and clean with 100 whole units between water freezing and boiling, the Fahrenheit scale has 180 whole units to express the same range, making it easier to express small changes without using decimal fractions.

In commercial aviation in the US, we still fuel our aircraft in thousands of pounds of fuel. If we pump 41,000 pounds of Jet A fuel into an Airbus A319 for a flight from PHL to LAX, we are loading 6,065 gallons in the tanks.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

EnglishBrenda wrote:

The answer is easy Jerry, we are multi-taskers in all respects. Also we like our own identity, none of this Continental stuff that was forced on our weights and measurements system. I grew up with pounds, shillings and pence in the good old days, however metric is a lot easier for youngsters to learn, not that they do all learn it. They prefer to use calculators on their smart phones. Maths is still an enigma to many.

One thing that boggles my mind is why you got rid of the word "shilling." You kept pound and pence, so why not shilling? It was so typically English, and the coin still survives with another name. When I made trips to England after the conversion, I always brought home shillings I got in change. I have about a dozen of them. Funny story - I would also occasionally bring home pound notes that I had with me, rather than take the trouble to convert them. I would use them on my return trip. One year when I returned, I paid for something with a £1.00 note, and the person looked puzzled and asked me where I got it. That was after the introduction of the £ coin.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Texcaster wrote:

It's generational as RT says.

That was my first thought when I heard a caller on 999 refer to something as 12" in diameter, and he was an older man.

shagbat Loc: London

papajacknow20 wrote:

As a Scot, our range of measurements are as follow... (show quote)

Jock Mate, yer slaughtered 'em wi' 'bawhairs', I did chuckle! I'm London, but suffer with too many Weagie pals. A bawhair is 0.0045" (measured) so it equals 12 Gnats! A great 2017 to all and your families.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

tramsey wrote:

Have you ever heard of the United States as being called a 'back water country?' I hadn't until I got curious about how many countries still use the Imperical Method of Measurement. Here's what Goggle says

"Of all the countries in the world, only three backwaters still use the archaic Imperial system of weights and measures: Liberia. Myanmar (a.k.a. “the country formerly known as Burma”) United States of America. Aug 13, 2008"

One of the reason we are sticking with imperial measurement is those other two countries. We don't want to switch to metric and be left in the dust by Myanmar and Liberia.

I'd like to see us switch right now. It's based on ten, so it's not difficult to learn. Converting from inches to centimeters can be confusing, but simply using the metric system is a breeze. I once took the front bumper off a 1980 Buick, and half of the bolts were metric and half were imperial. Ridiculous. Using both systems wastes millions of dollars a year a leads to costly mistakes. There must be powerful financial forces keeping us on the imperial system.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Nikonbob wrote:

...the Fahrenheit scale has 180 whole units to express the same range, making it easier to express small changes without using decimal fractions.

And digital F thermometers give us readings like 36.4°.

Canonuser Loc: UK and South Africa

For shorter measurements I use whichever I believe is most convenient. For weights, especially body weights I prefer pounds. It's seems that it's far easier to lose just over 2lbs body weight than a kilo😥. For longer distances miles is fine, but when driving in Ireland and criss crossing the border, it's often only the speed signs in either MPH or KPH that enables you to tell which side of the border you are.

Texcaster Loc: Queensland

jerryc41 wrote:

And digital F thermometers give us readings like 36.4°.

That's one of the advantages, no fractions, calculator friendly. Years ago I had to learn the decimal foot for calculator use. Example, all I can remember, 3 in =.25 ft, 6 in = .5 ft, 9 in = .75 ft

Another advantage, in cabinetmaking it's common to eyeball 1/2 of a 1/16 in and call it 1/32 or just eyeball 1/2 of a mm. A mm being smaller you're just casually more accurate.

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

jerryc41 wrote:

I recently finished watching two seasons of "Real Rescues" on Netflix. The English people featured on this show regularly used words like feet, inches, meters, kilometers, miles, pounds, kilograms, gallons and liters. It's been quite a while since you switched to metric, so what's going on?

It all depends on which generation you are from, the younger you are the more likely you can only use only metric. The generation I was brought up in can use Metric and Imperial is the same sentence for instance when I measure a piece of timber I use a combination of both so my piece of wood could measure 6 inches wide and 1500mm long, it's what is easier at the time.
We buy petrol in litres and measure consumption in MPG, my car has 16" wheels and tyres but my fuel tank has a capacity of 45 litres.
As other posters have written there are endless examples of use of these two ways of measuring combined together

DaveHam Loc: Reading UK

Who has switched to metric?

Some parts of UK life metricated - our currency, use liters instead of gallons, kilos instead of pounds. We still measure distance in miles, yards, feet and inches. Most shops can still sell you a pound of something. People still talk in terms of miles per gallon.

The move toward metrication did lead to motorways having markers placed in kilometers but they are not used.

We are an insular crown; we got used to pounds and pence rather than pounds shillings and pence because it was easier. The best perhaps of both worlds? With the current anti euro state of the nation it is unlikely to go any further.

Just a typical English muddle perhaps?

James Slick Loc: Pittsburgh,PA

Nikonbob wrote:

Of course we do use both Imperial and metric measu... (show quote)

I have no problem with the metric system except for Celcius. The Fahrenheit scale just fits humans better: 0 is cold as hell, 100 is hot as hell. 'nuf said. PS: I remember Centigrade and Kilocycles. Then they just HAD to change them to Celcius and Kilohertz. Just to mess with us. I even slip up and say ASA for ISO!

stonecherub Loc: Tucson, AZ

I'm a scientist and live in metric. I dimly remember an attempt at metrification back in the 70s that failed for two reasons. First was unfamiliarity which is always a killer. We don't want to change our normal way of doing things. Secondly, American business people took advantage of the unfamiliarity to raise prices. For example, 750 ml, is NOT a "fifth," it's 10 ml less yet the price remained the same (or, maybe went up). My experience buying gas by the liter in Arizona (something I did and do in Mexico all the time), it was some places nearly 10% more expensive.

Nobody wants to be cheated so it's always safer sticking to the familiar.

James Slick Loc: Pittsburgh,PA

stonecherub wrote:

I'm a scientist and live in metric. I dimly rememb... (show quote)

You're right about liquor bottle sizes! a true "filth" was larger than 750Ml. I did go all metric there. I only buy cheap vodka in 1 liter sizes, none of this .75 liter business for me!