this post was submitted on 09 Dec 2024
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[–] ThePyroPython@lemmy.world 253 points 1 week ago (18 children)

May I present to you, how to measure like a Brit

Flow chart showing the uses for metric and imperial in the UK

It's great fun especially when you're trying to work out how fuel efficient your car has been when your tank and fuel pump is in litres and the fuel efficiency is in miles per gallon.

Oh and you'll have a jolly time following a recipe from more than 20 years ago trying to remember what the hell "Gas Mark 4" is in centigrade for fan or convection ovens.

Oh and my personal favourite for the industry I'm in: when designing a PCB your component sizes will use imperial codes, your wire diameters will be in AWG, your track widths and PCB dimensions will be in millimetres, but your copper thicknesses will be in ounces despite the final weight for the assembly will be in grams.

[–] addie@feddit.uk 41 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Bear in mind that the gallon we use is different from the US gallon, too:

  • a UK gallon is eight (imperial) pints of 20 fluid ounces, so 4.54 litres
  • a US gallon is 231 cubic inches, so 3.79 litres

The reason that I thought American car fuel economy was so terrible as a child is partly because UK mpg is +20% on US mpg for the same car on the same fuel. But also, because American car fuel economy is so terrible.

[–] bitwaba@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Don't forget that the UK fluid ounces are different (slightly smaller) than the US fluid ounces as well

20 UK fl oz = 19.21 US fl oz

[–] ZeffSyde@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Holy crap, that's why craft beer tall cans are different from 16oz tall boys here in the states. I'd always wondered why the were 19.2.

[–] anomnom@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Brits also think our gasoline is crappier because we use a different calculation for octane, (R+M)/2 instead of RON.

So 90 RON is actually 85.9 in the US. And in most of the country the minimum is 87 (R+M)/2.

93 Premium is like 98 RON. And race gas 100 is like 105 RON.

[–] then_three_more@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

To be fair though, your petrol is still insanely cheap compared to the UK and Europe.

[–] kreskin@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

US freedom is made from cheap gas.

[–] then_three_more@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I thought it was the right to keep a bear's forelegs

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[–] dankm@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 week ago

It's weirder when you look at Canada vs USA. Mileage here is usually written L/100km, but back in the day the cars were exactly the same but the mileage in Canada was better because the the US gallon is only ~83% the size of a proper gallon.

[–] IrateAnteater@sh.itjust.works 27 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Canada has a similar chart, with some fun modifications. For example, distance could be feet/inches, millimeters/meters/kilometers, or minutes/hours, depending on what you are measuring.

[–] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 19 points 1 week ago (2 children)

As an Indigenous Canadian ... when someone asks me where something, someone, some town, some location, the sun or a celestial object is located ... I turn my head and point with my lips.

And my distance measurements are usually answered first by asking 'why?' .... and if they give an acceptable response, I'll tell them the distance is either ... 'not far' ... 'far' ... or 'very far'

[–] hsdkfr734r@feddit.nl 12 points 1 week ago

I turn my head and point with my lips.

TIL that this is a thing in Indonesia.
I still have some doubts. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BeIUsyoAoLs

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[–] Psythik@lemmy.world 17 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Thank you for posting this. So sick and tired of people saying that GB switched to Metric.

[–] Overshoot2648@lemm.ee 9 points 1 week ago (9 children)

This! That stupid map that just shows the US and Burma always annoys me. The US customary system includes Metric units. Canada and England still use Imperial/Customary. And "Metric" Is actually like 5 different systems with similar features like ANSI/ISO, KMS/CGS, and the three different pressure measurements.

Natural units >>> Metric I want an alternative to Metric that uses base 12 units instead.

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[–] HowManyNimons@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago

It's because we're stuck with a bunch of twats who can't let go of the past. They'll stick with Imperial measurements, mostly because the word looks like "Imperialist" and that's the side they want to be on. Jacob Rees-Mogg is a wrought-iron dildo.

[–] ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

According to this chart, goat milk is vegan 🤔

[–] notabot@lemm.ee 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Goats are actually malevolent vegetables.

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[–] BluesF@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The only part I disagree with is stone/pounds for people's weight. Although we use stone, I've never heard someone use pounds... Maybe if you're in Weight Watchers or something, but otherwise it'd be rounded to the nearest half a stone (e.g. 9 and a half stone)

[–] Churbleyimyam@lemm.ee 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yeah, it's common talking about babies birth weight but that's about it.

[–] Nfamwap@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

I'm 14st 13lb. Nowhere near 15 stone.

[–] bandwidthcrisis@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago (2 children)

A similar chart could be made for the US, proving that it does use metric: soda and wine bottles, medicine doses, eye-glasses measurements (in fact most medical things).

I think that both systems are used in schools now.

But then I see cooking instructions for a "cup of chicken strips" and a recipe having 1/4 cup of butter, and I wonder why anyone thought that volume was a good idea there.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

If it's medical, over 12%abv, or 2L of soda we use metric. Or related to spaceflight after the incident

[–] BakerBagel@midwest.social 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Butter comes in sticks that are 1/2 cup. So half a stick is 1/4 a cup

[–] bandwidthcrisis@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago (6 children)

True, but that's just replacing a cup with a length, and rules out using an existing tub.

Why not use weight, which is easy to measure and tolerant of different forms/shapes?

[–] EtherWhack@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Butter in a tub usually isn't pure butter as they add oil to it to make it spreadable when cold.

Recipes that call for butter are normally designed for true/pure butter and may not cook or bake properly if spreadable stuff is used. (there is however Amish rolled butter that's sold in big 'loaves' where measuring can be annoying)

[–] bitwaba@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

Unless you need to measure it in grams then it's super simple!

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[–] rockerface@lemm.ee 9 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Since volume is equivalent to metres cubed and distance is equivalent to metres (both multiplied by some conversion coefficient), I think fuel efficiency should be measured in metres squared, because why not.

[–] purplemonkeymad@programming.dev 7 points 1 week ago (2 children)

This is a correct unit for it. Why? Think of it like a tube where as you move along it you use up the fuel. Over a set distance you would use more in a lower efficiency vehicle. Since the length of that pipe is the same, then the change would be the area of the ends of the pipe. Thus fuel efficiency is an area, smaller is better.

[–] bandwidthcrisis@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

https://what-if.xkcd.com/11/

(Yes, the "bird poop" one is correct, it does talk about fuel consumption too).

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[–] marcos@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

your track widths and PCB dimensions will be in millimetres

Not milli-inches? Is this a UK thing or have PCB design evolve since I last touched it?

Anyway, milli-inches is one of the funniest unities I've used.

[–] MadBob@feddit.nl 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (5 children)
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[–] then_three_more@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Short distances should be meters, feet, inches, millimetres.

None of that fractions of an inch bollocks.

And milk is often actually in litres and half litres, we just assume it's in pints. Clever little bit of shrinkflation.

[–] rc__buggy@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 week ago

fractions of an inch bollocks

my condolences

Short distances should be meters, feet, inches, millimetres.

American machinists go a different way altogether: thousandths of an inch. So no binary fractions, but still imperial-ish. :/

And milk is often actually in litres and half litres, we just assume it’s in pints.

That one makes sense.

[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 5 points 1 week ago (2 children)

How about breast milk? It is neither cow milk, nor vegan milk...

[–] milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Measure in ml if it's outside, or g if it's in the baby, I think.

[–] homesnatch@lemm.ee 4 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Or cup size, if still in the source container.

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[–] CertifiedBlackGuy@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Isn't it vegan if it's sourced by consent?

[–] milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee 2 points 1 week ago

Like the steak in the restaurant at the end of the universe?

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[–] Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

There's also a difference between imperial miles and nautical miles, though I'm not sure if British long distance ships use nautical miles or not.

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[–] Churbleyimyam@lemm.ee 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yes. Calculating how much a car journey is going to cost is such a chore. Trip in miles ÷ mpg × 4.5 × £/litre of fuel = cost.

[–] GreatAlbatross@feddit.uk 2 points 1 week ago

I just assume I'll do 45.45 MPG, then I'm pleasantly surprised when the fuel bill is lower than expected.

[–] uis@lemm.ee 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

But what if it is horse milk?

[–] thehatfox@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] uis@lemm.ee 3 points 1 week ago

How about spherical feet?

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