Imperial or metric...

[pineapple stu]

Said I'd put this up seeing as it's pre-season and quiet...maybe make a poll out of it...Do you use imperial measures (i.e. feet, miles, pounds, etc.) or metric ones (i.e. metres, kilometres, grammes, etc.)?

Forced metrication has been going on in Ireland for a while now, and yet there's never been any discussion on it, which is strange (maybe I'm wrong, but can't remember any?). The Brits are going mad at it - one lad even successfully sued for damages when he damaged his car on a height barrier which was only measured in metres! Personally, I can't see the point of wasting millions on a new measurement system which (seemingly) very few associate with when we already have a perfectly good one with which everyone is comfortable.

So what's people's views? Will wait and see what turns up before commenting any further...

[Peadar]

Metric makes sense!
People talk yards in football all the time and I can never visualise the distance. I hate it here in England when they talk about the weather in fahrenheit. I don't know if I should wear sun block or a duffle coat.We're almost totally metric in Ireland except for the roads.
This is due to change soon, isn't it?
The sooner the better as far as I'm concerned.

[Aberdonian Stu]

Pineapple how dare you bring up this stupid argument here. It's bad enough having to put up with it in the Montrose while having PINTS :D but you shouldn't make the rest of foot.ie suffer your whining.

[eoinh]

They seem to have been doing the roads for the last 10 years though. Half are in metric , the other half imperial.

I find it harder to understand distances in kilometres but easier to visualise temp in centigrade.

But what Irishman could say " I am an imperialist"? :confused:

[Peadar]

I find it harder to understand distances in kilometres.

I had that problem when I was in school but started visualising it as 1,000 metre's rather than a kilometre, if that makes any sense!?

[pete]

For football yards are a disaster as have to kinda convert to metres based on a yard being 90cm as inches no use...

I hate Farenheit for temps & stick with Celcius all the way.

Kilometres for roads will take some getting used to & would be easier if speedmeters were primarily km instead of stuck inside the mph reading...

Gotta be metric & can see pint, pound etc... lasting a while yet but then again a pint of milk is virtually dead with 1/2 mitres & 1 & 2 litres.

I think the yanks invented the metric system but almost completed stuck on imperial :eek:

[Schumi]

I think the yanks invented the metric system but almost completed stuck on imperial :eek:
Metric was invented in France I think.

I'd use metric for nearly everything, only really heights and weights of people that I'd use imperial for.

[yur man]

im metric for most things except speed

i try and think in kph but its more of a second thought than a first one

i heard something about the speed limits being altered slightly (rounded up or down) for an easy life when the change does happen on all roads. eg 30mph changed to 50kph instead of 48.2kph etc.

is that right? it makes sense

as for the pub. mine is a 568ml

[Macy]

I use metric almost for everything. Imperial measurements are stoopid, especially when I think in metres and centimeters and the father in law in feet and inches and your in the middle of building a house :mad: :)

[dortie]

as for the pub. mine is a 568ml


Could I have 568ml of Guinness please :confused:

[dortie]

Imperial for me Im afraid.

[Macy]

Height and wieght of people is still imperial measurements to me (seeing as Six feet sounds better than 1.8288 metres....

A pint will always be a pint to me also.

Don't mind speeds or milage - seems like you're going faster in kph. :cool:

[pete]

I think it will be hard to beat the NASA (some Mars probe or something) feck up from the other year when 1 team were working imperial & other in metric so their calculations were a little bit off.

Would love to have seen the faces when they copped the error.

:eek:

[noby]

A pint will always be a pint to me also.


I ordered a pint of Erdinger the weekend, but only got 500ml :confused:

[pineapple stu]

Nice bit of debate going now! Makes a change with no football. Awful lot of wrong/silly points going around though...


Metric makes sense!

Imperial measurements are stoopid

Gotta be metric

Why? I hate these "arguments" - "Imperial is wrong because I can't work in it". At least have a (proper!) reason!


People talk yards in football all the time and I can never visualise the distance...We're almost totally metric in Ireland except for the roads.

Funny you pick the imperial measurement closest the equivalent metric measurement! You can visualise a metre, but not a yard? Sure they're practically the same! Hold your hand out. Your fingertips are a yard away from your face. Simple, isn't it? :)

We're no-where near going metric in Ireland. Particularly outside the Pale, butchers, dairies and greengrocers sell by the pound, many roadsigns are in miles, plumbers and repairmen work in feet and inches and buy 2 by 4s, babies are born weighing 8lb 7oz, people cook recipes using fluid ounces and tablespoons, people drink pints and shots, normal body temperature is 98.6F...


But what Irishman could say " I am an imperialist"?

I think the "imperial" refers to the Romans, not the Brits. The imperial system dates back that far at least (some of it - like the foot and the inch - go back to pre-history), which is why the abbreviation for pound is lb (libra), ounce is oz (onza) and pounds shiling and pence is £sd (librae, sisterci, denarii). Unfortunate name though, in the circumstances...


I...started visualising it (a kilometre) as 1,000 metres

How did you do that? How did you visualise exactly 1000 end-to-end? Are you sure there weren't only 973? Or 1018? Even the FF-er (I think? Don't bother with the political threads!) can see the absurdity in that!

Most people visualise a distance in terms of a common journey - like a mile being down the shops and back. It's silly to ask them to change the habit of a lifetime on a whim.


For football yards are a disaster as have to kinda convert to metres based on a yard being 90cm as inches no use...

But football was drawn up under the yard, so it's the metre that's the disaster! UEFA in particular often refer to the wall having to be back 9.15 metres - that's just stupid.

It was the French who invented the metric system - the Yanks have pretty much given up on metric. There was a lot of opposition to it when it came in, I think, and the imperial system still lingers there as far as I know - a pound (livre) is slang for 500g, a half-litre in Denmark is called a pintje (pint) and in Holland apparently, the standard length of timber has changed from a metre to 120cm (or 4 foot) for convenience...

The NASA thing was a collaboration between the Yanks and the Brits, I think. Yanks used imperial, Brits used metric, so it screwed up.

[noby]

the Yanks have pretty much given up on metric.


They also use 16 fl.oz for a pint whereas we use 20 fl.oz. 5 US Gallons = 4 'Imperial' Gallons
It can lead to confusion for me ( I homebrew, and often use US recipes ), so now I convert everything to metric for simplicity.

Most other stuff, I use Imperial, with the exception of small measurements (in work: mm, cm etc.)

[pineapple stu]

They also use 16 fl.oz for a pint whereas we use 20 fl.oz. 5 US Gallons = 4 'Imperial' Gallons

Aye, the Yanks have slightly different measurements in places. That was the big problem with the imperial system - France, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, England, Scotland, etc., etc. would all have slightly different definitions of "foot" or "inch", until the English came along and standardised everything (probably why the system is associated with them). Course, leave it to the Yanks to be awkward! :rolleyes: :)

[Aberdonian Stu]

The yanks don't use imperial they use, and yes being Americans they would use a stupid name, American imperial. A pint is 454ml (approx) is the most obvious difference I can think of.

[crc]

I am completely fed up of not being able to measure anything in the States. Almost every measurement they have is different to what I'm used to. I have no idea about Farenheit, Fluid ouces, pounds (lbs), yards, gallons, square feet, etc.

About the only one I'm familiar with is mph and miles, but even then I prefer km.

It also really annoys me that the Brits and the Yanks are the only countries in the developed world that persist with imperial units on a widespread basis.

And we're not going to start asking for 568ml of Guinness, or saying that we're 1.815682 m tall (do we currently say that we're 5 feet 10 inches and 3 sixteenths of an inch tall ???) I'm content to know that I'm 1m77, I don't need it to five decimal places for it to be a useful reference for me.

I also like to use the 24hr clock in certain situations (like organising itineraries), and I am truly astounded by how baffled Americans get when they confront it.

[Peadar]

Funny you pick the imperial measurement closest the equivalent metric measurement! You can visualise a metre, but not a yard? Sure they're practically the same! Hold your hand out. Your fingertips are a yard away from your face. Simple, isn't it? :)

I never learned what a yard was.


We're no-where near going metric in Ireland. Particularly outside the Pale, butchers, dairies and greengrocers sell by the pound, many roadsigns are in miles, plumbers and repairmen work in feet and inches and buy 2 by 4s, babies are born weighing 8lb 7oz, people cook recipes using fluid ounces and tablespoons, people drink pints and shots, normal body temperature is 98.6F...

We're much more advanced outside the Pale than you Jackeens are!
My dad works in the construction industry and even though he only learned imperial in school he always uses metric in his job. As do all his colleagues.
It's the insdutry standard.

Having grown up over 320Km from the Pale I can assure you that practically everything you buy from the butcher or grocer is sold in a metric weight.
You should consider stepping outside the Pale some time to see how the Irish really live.

Every baby's weight is recorded in metric as well as imperial.

You're a crusty student who lives on Pot Noodles, what do you know about cooking and recipies? I've two Chef's in the family and they dispute your point.
People drink pints because the pint is considered a national institution.
All spirits are measured in ml.

The next time you see roadworks and there's markings sprayed onto the road you'll see that the unit used is also metric.



How did you do that? How did you visualise exactly 1000 end-to-end?

You're just being plain moronic now.
I know what a metre looks like so I can visualise 1,000 of them just in the same way that someone like you tries to visualise what a mile looks like.
The old saying, "A country mile" springs to mind.
Want to have a discussion about how accurate someone thinking in imperial is over someone who thinks in metric? You've too much time on your hands.

[Aberdonian Stu]

Pineapple claims to be a from "outside the pale", so don't lump his backward opinions on the rest of us.

[Peadar]

Pineapple claims to be a from "outside the pale", so don't lump his backward opinions on the rest of us.

Sorry! ;)

[pete]

Yeah yanks are the biggest problem for keeping the imperial system.

Over yonder a gallon is 3.75 litres whereas its 4.5 litres in Europe.

[Aberdonian Stu]

Seeing as no-one else has posted it yet

"Who keeps the metric system down? Who controls the British Crown? We do! We do!"

And pineapple don't take the "We do" literally. I know you would!

[Macy]

Awful lot of wrong/silly points going around though...

Why? I hate these "arguments" - "Imperial is wrong because I can't work in it". At least have a (proper!) reason!

Metric is all divisible by 10, so therefore it is easier to understand, whereas imperial measurements it changes even within the same measurement type, let alone across the range - hence it's stoopid.
10mm = 1cm
100cm = 1m
1000m = 1km
1000mg = 1gram
1000g = 1kg
1000kg = 1 tonne
etc etc

12inches = 1 foot
3foot = 1 yard
1760 yards = 1 mile
There's no logic to it, so it is stoopid, so stick your pinapple up your arse :D

[Peadar]

Metric is all divisible by 10, so therefore it is easier to understand, whereas imperial measurements it changes even withing the same measurement type, let alone across the range - hence it's stoopid.


It's so stupid in fact that in order to measure small lengths they had to go metric.
i.e 1/100 of an Inch.

[noby]

It's so stupid in fact that in order to measure small lengths they had to go metric.
i.e 1/100 of an Inch.

I think you're confusing metric with fraction. What's a 1/4pounder so? Metric?

[Peadar]

I think you're confusing metric with fraction. What's a 1/4pounder so? Metric?

I meant that they divided it into 100.
What's a 1/4pounder? ;)

[Macy]

What's a 1/4pounder? ;)
Mines a Royale with Cheese if you're buying....

[pineapple stu]

We're much more advanced outside the Pale than you Jackeens are!

backward opinions
What's so backward about feet and inches, or so advanced about metric? Seriously? Just repeating the one, groundless, line doesn't make it in any meaningful...


I never learned what a yard was.
I honestly find that hard to believe. Even just by hearing it in coversation, you'd pick it up...


My dad works in the construction industry and even though he only learned imperial in school he always uses metric in his job.It's the industry standard. Having grown up over 320Km from the Pale I can assure you that practically everything you buy from the butcher or grocer is sold in a metric weight.
I never mentioned construction...? I know of plumbers who deal in imperial. I know of a company who sell machine-grade drill bits and the like who have an option for imperial or metric on their website. I've seen supermarkets in Tipp where all meat is prices by the pound with the metric in beside. I've been in butchers in Limerick where they weren't even priced in kilos. These are just examples (so don't bother pointing out that there's only four! I'm not going to list all I can think of!), so to say we're practically metric is nonsense.


Every baby's weight is recorded in metric as well as imperial.
I can honestly say I've never heard of anyone referring to a 2kg baby (or whatever is normal). They might give the weight in metric, but no-one pays any attention to it.


You're a crusty student who lives on Pot Noodles, what do you know about cooking and recipies?
Oh, good point! :rolleyes: Actually, I'm a qualified accountant who has never touched Pot Noodles in my life. What does that say about your point now? Let's try and keep this in some way intelligent!


I've two chefs in the family and they dispute your point.
Fair enough. All the recipes in our house - and in the extended family, from what I've seen - are in imperial. I happened to pick up a cookery book only the other week with quantities in both measures, so I dispute your point.


The next time you see roadworks and there's markings sprayed onto the road you'll see that the unit used is also metric.
True, but not what I was talking about. If you look at the distance signs, you'll see a good many of them in miles still. More so in smaller towns than on motorways and the like.


I know what a metre looks like so I can visualise 1,000 of them just in the same way that someone like you tries to visualise what a mile looks like.
But how do you picture exactly a thousand? That's far more difficult than it sounds. And it's also completely different - not the same - as I picture a mile (to the shops and back).


It's so stupid in fact that in order to measure small lengths they had to go metric. i.e 1/100 of an Inch.
Not true - the standard is 1/64th of an inch. You'll see it on many precision tools. There's no reason you can't use 1/100th of an inch, but it's not that common.


Metric is all divisible by 10, so therefore it is easier to understand.
Is that true though? The reason you find metric easier is because you're used to it. The dodderiest aul wan can work in pounds and ounces without even thinking about it - are you saying she's more intelligent than you? ;) I think the supposed advantage of it is that it deals in smaller numbers (i.e. when you start getting to 20-odd ounces, you can switch to pounds, and then to stone, hundredweight, tonne, etc.), so it's easier to work with in your head.

I still don't see why we have to waste millions changing everything just because the youth of today don't have the cranial capacity to deal in anything other than factors of ten... :)


There's no logic to it, so it is stoopid, so stick your pinapple up your arse :D
...or even have the cranial capacity to make intelligent points! :D

[noby]

What's a 1/4pounder? ;)

Y'know. A Royale with cheese

[Peadar]

Mines a Royale with Cheese if you're buying....

You'll have a Spicy Tender Crisp and be happy with that!

*EDIT* Just for Pinhead, Spicy Tender Crisp sandwich sold in the UK is 5.2oz ;)

[pineapple stu]

Mine's a Royale with Cheese if you're buying....


Y'know. A Royale with cheese

Now that's scary! Within seconds of each other too! :eek: :D

[noby]

I know. Freaked me out too.

[Schumi]

Not true - the standard is 1/64th of an inch. You'll see it on many precision tools. There's no reason you can't use 1/100th of an inch, but it's not that common.
The milli-inch (I $hit you not!) is what the Yanks use for precision measurement, showing that metric methods are the best way to measure precise distances.

[Macy]

Is that true though? The reason you find metric easier is because you're used to it. The dodderiest aul wan can work in pounds and ounces without even thinking about it - are you saying she's more intelligent than you? ;) I think the supposed advantage of it is that it deals in smaller numbers (i.e. when you start getting to 20-odd ounces, you can switch to pounds, and then to stone, hundredweight, tonne, etc.), so it's easier to work with in your head.

I still don't see why we have to waste millions changing everything just because the youth of today don't have the cranial capacity to deal in anything other than factors of ten... :)


...or even have the cranial capacity to make intelligent points! :D
Certainly easier to learn metric, I agree, but then more time to give students a more rounded education rather than then by wrote all the different imperial measurements. Only a nerd would actually rather learn imperial measurements than the easy peasy metric.

[Peadar]

But how do you picture exactly a thousand? That's far more difficult than it sounds. And it's also completely different - not the same - as I picture a mile (to the shops and back).

There's nothing exact about it.
It's an approximate.

What you're talking about with regard to the shops and back is not a mesurement at all. Just a statement. Back to what I said earlier about a "country mile."

You're on about how you see imperial in shops and butchers.
Fair enough, it still exists because we still have people alive who haven't learned metric. When they're dead we'll have a country full of people who think in metric.

[Risteard]

I always wondered about the clock.
Is there any reason (astrological or other) why there is 24 hours in the day?

[pineapple stu]

The milli-inch (I $hit you not!) is what the Yanks use for precision measurement, showing that metric methods are the best way to measure precise distances.

Ah, the Yanks! With their fine reputation for precision in bomb-building and the like! :D

[Schumi]

I always wondered about the clock.
Is there any reason (astrological or other) why there is 24 hours in the day?
The Babylonians liked their 6s I think, hence 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute.

[pineapple stu]

I always wondered about the clock.
Is there any reason (astrological or other) why there is 24 hours in the day?

Dates back to Egyptian times, I think. They initially had 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night, no matter what season it was. The Babylonians changed it so there were 24 hours in a day. Read a book on this a while back - will dig it out and see what it says exactly. 12 signs of the zodiac, twelve months of the year (though the French did try and metricise that and the days of the week as well...), I think it just all tied in. 12 also has more factors than 10 (2,3,4,6 compared to 2 and 5), which made it far easier to divide without getting into fractions, which I think is why you have the likes of 12 inches in a foot, 12 pence in a shilling, etc.

[Peadar]

I always wondered about the clock.
Is there any reason (astrological or other) why there is 24 hours in the day?


The Tweleve Apostles had a huge pizza and cut it into 12 slices.
Jesus had a pizza to himself.
It took him from dusk 'til dawn to eat his pizza so they decided that night was 12 pizza slices long.
They repeated this experiment during the day, with the same conclusion and therefore decided that one cycle was 24 pizza slices.

[noby]

The Tweleve Apostles had a huge pizza and cut it into 12 slices.
Jesus had a pizza to himself.
It took him from dusk 'til dawn to eat his pizza so they decided that night was 12 pizza slices long.
They repeated this experiment during the day, with the same conclusion and therefore decided that one cycle was 24 pizza slices.


But, by your logic, they're all dead now, So from tomorrow we'll have 10 hours, made up of 100 centihours.

Now, if there was an option for 'both' on the poll...

[Peadar]

But, by your logic, they're all dead now, So from tomorrow we'll have 10 hours, made up of 100 centihours.

Why would the word hours be used?
That makes no sense!

[SÓC]

The Americian millitary use metric in the main afaik

[crc]

12 is considered to be a more 'elegant' number than 10 as there are more factors (as pointed out by pineapple stu), that's why there are twelve stars on the European flag (a number which will never change).

Rather than decimalise time, we should convert our number system to base 12, which would be much easier to use :D We would need two other digits to represent the new 10 and 11. We would count like this: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, t, e, 10.

=====

Also, some people are confusing decimal with metric. Metric is something that is derived from the metre (kg, litre, etc) whereas decimal is something based on the factor of 10. Therefore 0.001 pounds (lb) is decimal, but not metric, and 1/2 kg is metric but not decimal (unless expressed as 0.5 kg).

[pineapple stu]

I always wondered about the clock.
Is there any reason (astrological or other) why there is 24 hours in the day?

Said I'd look it up...!

Time In History by GJ Whitrow (far more interesting than it sounds!) says...

"The end of the night was marked by the heliacal rising of a particular star. However,...different heliacal risings occur throughout the year...[To time their nightly services in their temples] the Egyptian priests made a fresh choice every ten days, a period of time known as a "decan". Since the...year contained 365 days, there were 36 decans in the year (plus the five extra days at the end of the year), and the sky was divided accordingly. During the summer, only twelve of the divisions of the sky can be seen rising during the hours of darkness, and it was this that gave rise to the twelve-hour division of the night."

This meant the hour varied in length over the course of the year, and it was the Greeks who fixed the length of the hour using the Babylonian numerical system (based on six), and divided it up into 60 "firsts", each of which contained 60 "seconds". So the 24 hours is pretty much completely by chance, it seems!

What this is doing on a football forum, God only knows!