4 ms·

The US has adopted the metric system just as completely as, say, the UK has. (Watch UK television and look for how many times the script will say "miles" or "pi

The US has adopted the metric system just as completely as, say, the UK has. (Watch UK television and look for how many times the script will say "miles" or "pints" or "pounds" for weight or even better, "stone"!) The UK in daily use has as many imperial measurements left as the US does. Americans are just more honest with ourselves about it.

to3m 10y ago
Whereabouts in the UK do you live? This isn't at all my experience... Old people might still commonly use Imperial gallons, Imperial pints, pounds, Fahrenheit, inches, and so on, but the cutoff age for this is rising. I'm 39 and I don't routinely use these. I use some context-specific Imperial units: feet (people), stone (people), Imperial pints (beer), miles per Imperial gallon (car fuel economy). Miles are pervasive, and will probably never disappear. (Miles per Imperial gallon is obviously stupid - but it will probably become outmoded before it's changed.) I bet there are young people that don't use feet or stone. If you don't drink beer, you won't encounter pints very often. (Family-sized milk containers come measures in litres.)
- JdeBP 10y ago
  Isn't your point that there are now old people that don't use feet or stone? (-:
jeffwass 10y ago
Stone is the big one where the UK 'beats' the USA. Never heard that one used in America. Though our pints are different sizes too.
UnoriginalGuy 10y ago
> The US has adopted the metric system just as completely as, say, the UK has. I've lived in both, that's inaccurate. The UK is mostly metric with exceptions (MpH, pints, pounds & stone for "people weight") but in all other ways it is metric, cooking is in metric (grams, liters/milliliters), parts are in metric, temperature is in metric (centigrade), and most measurements are metric (metres, cm, mm, etc). It is a metric country with a few leftovers. The US conversely is imperial with exceptions. Meaning most "day to day" activities are in imperial units with certain industries (like science) and activities (?) being metric. But if you go buy a cookbook in a US bookstore then good luck finding a metric one unless it is an international cookbook (it will be in "spoons" "cups" "ounces" and so on). You buy a new cookbook in the UK and it is almost certainly metric unless it is from a used book store. So, no, the UK has adopted metric much more thoroughly than the US. To use made up percentages, the UK is 65% metric, the US is 20% metric. Again, I've lived in both for a decent chunk of my life.
- blakeyrat 10y ago
  I guess everybody in the UK switched to metric, except the few who write the television shows.
aninhumer 10y ago
Other than miles, the UK doesn't use imperial measures for anything serious. Yes, some people talk about their weight in stone or their height in feet and inches, but almost anything official will be in metric. And yes beer is sold in pints, but in that context it's not really a comparative measure, it's just "a normal sized glass of beer". And bottled beer is usually 500ml these days.
- JdeBP 10y ago
  Herewith the part of the Weights And Measures Act (1985) (as amended) that tells you the only two remaining things (as of almost 17 years ago) that can be sold in pints: * http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/72/section/8 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/72/section/8
  - aninhumer 10y ago
    Yes? I don't mean to say it's not exact. I'm just saying that when people order pints of beer, they're not thinking about exactly how much liquid that is, that's just what you order.
    - Symbiote 10y ago
      Exactly. "Pint" and "half" are the local version of "large" and "small". Bottled beer volumes can vary between 568mL (UK produced), whatever an American pint is for American exports, and 330mL (small bottles), 500mL (large bottles), and 750mL (huge bottles). The metric sizes are common for British produces, as well as the rest of the world -- presumably, standard sized glass bottles are cheaper.

to3m 10y ago

Whereabouts in the UK do you live? This isn't at all my experience... Old people might still commonly use Imperial gallons, Imperial pints, pounds, Fahrenheit, inches, and so on, but the cutoff age for this is rising. I'm 39 and I don't routinely use these. I use some context-specific Imperial units: feet (people), stone (people), Imperial pints (beer), miles per Imperial gallon (car fuel economy). Miles are pervasive, and will probably never disappear. (Miles per Imperial gallon is obviously stupid - but it will probably become outmoded before it's changed.) I bet there are young people that don't use feet or stone. If you don't drink beer, you won't encounter pints very often. (Family-sized milk containers come measures in litres.)

JdeBP 10y ago
Isn't your point that there are now old people that don't use feet or stone? (-:

jeffwass 10y ago

Stone is the big one where the UK 'beats' the USA. Never heard that one used in America. Though our pints are different sizes too.

UnoriginalGuy 10y ago

> The US has adopted the metric system just as completely as, say, the UK has. I've lived in both, that's inaccurate. The UK is mostly metric with exceptions (MpH, pints, pounds & stone for "people weight") but in all other ways it is metric, cooking is in metric (grams, liters/milliliters), parts are in metric, temperature is in metric (centigrade), and most measurements are metric (metres, cm, mm, etc). It is a metric country with a few leftovers. The US conversely is imperial with exceptions. Meaning most "day to day" activities are in imperial units with certain industries (like science) and activities (?) being metric. But if you go buy a cookbook in a US bookstore then good luck finding a metric one unless it is an international cookbook (it will be in "spoons" "cups" "ounces" and so on). You buy a new cookbook in the UK and it is almost certainly metric unless it is from a used book store. So, no, the UK has adopted metric much more thoroughly than the US. To use made up percentages, the UK is 65% metric, the US is 20% metric. Again, I've lived in both for a decent chunk of my life.

blakeyrat 10y ago
I guess everybody in the UK switched to metric, except the few who write the television shows.

aninhumer 10y ago

Other than miles, the UK doesn't use imperial measures for anything serious. Yes, some people talk about their weight in stone or their height in feet and inches, but almost anything official will be in metric. And yes beer is sold in pints, but in that context it's not really a comparative measure, it's just "a normal sized glass of beer". And bottled beer is usually 500ml these days.

JdeBP 10y ago
Herewith the part of the Weights And Measures Act (1985) (as amended) that tells you the only two remaining things (as of almost 17 years ago) that can be sold in pints: * http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/72/section/8 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/72/section/8
- aninhumer 10y ago
  Yes? I don't mean to say it's not exact. I'm just saying that when people order pints of beer, they're not thinking about exactly how much liquid that is, that's just what you order.
  - Symbiote 10y ago
    Exactly. "Pint" and "half" are the local version of "large" and "small". Bottled beer volumes can vary between 568mL (UK produced), whatever an American pint is for American exports, and 330mL (small bottles), 500mL (large bottles), and 750mL (huge bottles). The metric sizes are common for British produces, as well as the rest of the world -- presumably, standard sized glass bottles are cheaper.