3 ms·
I find it fascinating that, even in countries that have used metric for centuries, humans still prefer non-decimal fractions of the base units: my mother would
by litoE 3y ago
I find it fascinating that, even in countries that have used metric for centuries, humans still prefer non-decimal fractions of the base units: my mother would buy 1/2 a kilo of ham or 1/4 kilo of butter for example. Her cooking recipes required a cup of milk, not 1/4 liter, and so on.
- robador 3y agoI live in a metric country, but when I go to the market we're still using 'pond' (pound) and 'ons' (ounce). They mean approximately 500 grams and 100 grams respectively.
- eythian 3y agoIt depends, but I don't know on what. Yesterday I went and got 100 grams of salami, 200 grams of cheese. I'd probably say 500 grams of whatever else in that context, I might say half a kilo, I'm not sure.
- mikhailfranco 3y agoA cup, yeah right, totally unmistakable. Is there a standard 'cup' somewhere in the basement of the Library of Congress?
- hiccuphippo 3y agoI don't think it's a matter of preferring non-decimal fractions. People use what they are used to, inertia is powerful. Where I live we use metric but gas and paint are still measured in gallons because they were measured in gallons in the not so distant past. Our cooking books do mix 1/4 liters with teaspoons.