4 ms·

I am British! I haven't used imperial for at least 15 years apart from for speed limits, which I ignore anyway.

by meaty 14y ago

smiler 14y ago
Except you subconsciously have. All display sizes are sold in inches. The trip computer on your car will tell you miles per gallon. Even if you ignore speed limits, your speedometer gives you your speed in MPH :). If you've ever flown on a plane, altitude has been given as feet and distance in miles. So you do use both.
- nfg 14y ago
  > If you've ever flown on a plane, altitude has been given as feet and distance in miles. I've been on plenty of flights where displays and cockpit announcements were in metres (altitude) and kilometres (distance + velocity) - as well as Celsius for outside temperature.
- meaty 14y ago
  True with display sizes although I'm interested more in resolution than size. My trip computer does litres per 100km. I drive a Citroen C5 and it has kph on it as well as mph. My satnav usually reminds me if I'm driving too fast (in kmh which is handy) and that results only in me watching out for speed cameras and the fuzz :) I don't fly - I drive if needs be. I frequently drive around Europe as it's easier than dealing with flights and a damn sight more comfortable, reliable and cheaper than flying. I can drive to Leipzig from London in about 10-12 hours.
- lloeki 14y ago
  > If you've ever flown on a plane, altitude has been given as feet and distance in miles. If you fly a plane (not just on a plane), those are nautical miles, not land miles. And speed in knots. And rate of climb in ft/min.
- pretoriusB 14y ago
  >Except you subconsciously have. All display sizes are sold in inches. I'm in a country that uses the metric system, and have never cared about learning the exact equivalent of screen sizes. I just intuitively know, (from using and looking at them in the office or the store) what a 13", 15", 24", 40" etc screen is like -- and I never bothered to do the conversion at all. It wouldn't even really help, because even if a knew the measurement in metric units, it would mean very little to the actual feeling of the screen, especially considering the variety of aspect ratios and that the display size measures the diagonal. >The trip computer on your car will tell you miles per gallon. All trip computers I've even seen can be set to show metric units. >Even if you ignore speed limits, your speedometer gives you your speed in MPH :) Still no need to do any conversion. I've travelled thousands of miles in the US (Route 66 and coast to coast several times), and I never wondered "Hmm, how many km/h are 70 mph?". I just needed to keep an eye on the speed limit signs to keep below that, and drive as fast as the car/road called for. Intuitively, not by translating to metric units.
rjd 14y ago
Having growing up in a metric country and lived in Britain I must admit its very nice having 60miles per equalling 60 minutes of driving for long trips. Being able to say "I'm 45 miles away from X I'll be there in 45 minutes" without having to do recalculate each time you pass a road sign makes trips all the more pleasant.
- lutusp 14y ago
  The solution to that problem is simple -- drive at 60 KPH (37 MPH) instead of 60 MPH. :) This would save gas too.
  - meaty 14y ago
    Actually it wouldn't in my Citroen C5. The fuel efficiency peaks precisely at 60mph/100kph. Something to do with the power transmission ratio. I get 2.83l/100km or 83mpg in old money out of that if I don't drive like an asshat.
    - lutusp 14y ago
      Yes,okay, I've heard stories like this so I cannot discount them. I find it hard to believe that a car could deliver better gas mileage at 60 MPH than at 37 MPH, unless there was something very strange about the number of gears and how they related to road speeds. But ... there it is. There really are such cars out there.
      - meaty 14y ago
        It's more down to the sorts of roads. If you're doing 37mph it's usually in residential areas and extra-urban areas. These are notoriously full of traffic lights, other cars and humans which result in braking regularly and therefore costly energy sucking acceleration. Also engines are usually have peak energy transfer from fuel to distance at certain speeds due to gearing, revs, torque etc. This is by design. If you're doing 60mph, you're probably on a relatively obstruction free A-road where the only energy required is to offset friction to maintain speed. I have driven from London to Leeds (195 miles) with not one single change in speed (apart from to take a piss and get a Burger King at Leicester Forest services!) Also roads are a hell of a lot smoother and have less friction in Europe compared to the US. That makes one hell of a difference! For ref, my car is a 1.9l diesel as well. These Citroen engines are super-efficient which is why I own it. I also have low rolling resistance tyres which make a 2-5% difference. American cars are poorly designed guzzlers usually, even the ones they ship to Europe.
naz 14y ago
You don't intuitively measure your weight in stone?
- meaty 14y ago
  No - kilograms. Even my parents use Kg.

I am British! I haven't used imperial for at least 15 years apart from for speed limits, which I ignore anyway.

by meaty 14y ago

I am British! I haven't used imperial for at least 15 years apart from for speed limits, which I ignore anyway.

Except you subconsciously have. All display sizes are sold in inches. The trip computer on your car will tell you miles per gallon. Even if you ignore speed limits, your speedometer gives you your speed in MPH :). If you've ever flown on a plane, altitude has been given as feet and distance in miles. So you do use both.

nfg 14y ago
> If you've ever flown on a plane, altitude has been given as feet and distance in miles. I've been on plenty of flights where displays and cockpit announcements were in metres (altitude) and kilometres (distance + velocity) - as well as Celsius for outside temperature.
meaty 14y ago
True with display sizes although I'm interested more in resolution than size. My trip computer does litres per 100km. I drive a Citroen C5 and it has kph on it as well as mph. My satnav usually reminds me if I'm driving too fast (in kmh which is handy) and that results only in me watching out for speed cameras and the fuzz :) I don't fly - I drive if needs be. I frequently drive around Europe as it's easier than dealing with flights and a damn sight more comfortable, reliable and cheaper than flying. I can drive to Leipzig from London in about 10-12 hours.
lloeki 14y ago
> If you've ever flown on a plane, altitude has been given as feet and distance in miles. If you fly a plane (not just on a plane), those are nautical miles, not land miles. And speed in knots. And rate of climb in ft/min.
pretoriusB 14y ago
>Except you subconsciously have. All display sizes are sold in inches. I'm in a country that uses the metric system, and have never cared about learning the exact equivalent of screen sizes. I just intuitively know, (from using and looking at them in the office or the store) what a 13", 15", 24", 40" etc screen is like -- and I never bothered to do the conversion at all. It wouldn't even really help, because even if a knew the measurement in metric units, it would mean very little to the actual feeling of the screen, especially considering the variety of aspect ratios and that the display size measures the diagonal. >The trip computer on your car will tell you miles per gallon. All trip computers I've even seen can be set to show metric units. >Even if you ignore speed limits, your speedometer gives you your speed in MPH :) Still no need to do any conversion. I've travelled thousands of miles in the US (Route 66 and coast to coast several times), and I never wondered "Hmm, how many km/h are 70 mph?". I just needed to keep an eye on the speed limit signs to keep below that, and drive as fast as the car/road called for. Intuitively, not by translating to metric units.

rjd 14y ago

Having growing up in a metric country and lived in Britain I must admit its very nice having 60miles per equalling 60 minutes of driving for long trips. Being able to say "I'm 45 miles away from X I'll be there in 45 minutes" without having to do recalculate each time you pass a road sign makes trips all the more pleasant.

lutusp 14y ago
The solution to that problem is simple -- drive at 60 KPH (37 MPH) instead of 60 MPH. :) This would save gas too.
- meaty 14y ago
  Actually it wouldn't in my Citroen C5. The fuel efficiency peaks precisely at 60mph/100kph. Something to do with the power transmission ratio. I get 2.83l/100km or 83mpg in old money out of that if I don't drive like an asshat.
  - lutusp 14y ago
    Yes,okay, I've heard stories like this so I cannot discount them. I find it hard to believe that a car could deliver better gas mileage at 60 MPH than at 37 MPH, unless there was something very strange about the number of gears and how they related to road speeds. But ... there it is. There really are such cars out there.
    - meaty 14y ago
      It's more down to the sorts of roads. If you're doing 37mph it's usually in residential areas and extra-urban areas. These are notoriously full of traffic lights, other cars and humans which result in braking regularly and therefore costly energy sucking acceleration. Also engines are usually have peak energy transfer from fuel to distance at certain speeds due to gearing, revs, torque etc. This is by design. If you're doing 60mph, you're probably on a relatively obstruction free A-road where the only energy required is to offset friction to maintain speed. I have driven from London to Leeds (195 miles) with not one single change in speed (apart from to take a piss and get a Burger King at Leicester Forest services!) Also roads are a hell of a lot smoother and have less friction in Europe compared to the US. That makes one hell of a difference! For ref, my car is a 1.9l diesel as well. These Citroen engines are super-efficient which is why I own it. I also have low rolling resistance tyres which make a 2-5% difference. American cars are poorly designed guzzlers usually, even the ones they ship to Europe.

naz 14y ago

You don't intuitively measure your weight in stone?

meaty 14y ago
No - kilograms. Even my parents use Kg.