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The U.K. Left The EU, And Now It's Inching Away From The Metric System Too
NPR ^ | September 17, 2021 | Scott Neuman

Posted on 09/26/2021 9:11:55 AM PDT by billorites

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To: hanamizu

>>The gram is too small a mass to be all that useful for ‘weighing’ most things in daily life things, so the kilogram is the standard used which kind of goes against the philosophy of the metric system

There are tons of examples like this where Imperial units are just easier to deal with from an engineering standpoint.

For an example, 40 PSI is a common tire inflation pressure. Converts to 276 kilo-Pascals, kPA.


21 posted on 09/26/2021 10:02:41 AM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: billorites

My apologies to billorites but this may be redundant as all they have to do is fill the glass to the top, no matter what size it is, and let the pallet take it’s choice. Let’s face it, it isn’t the measurement of the amount, it’s what the amount does. The measurement is for creating a cost effective bottom line for the pub and it can be refilled hiding the same profit margin.

wy69


22 posted on 09/26/2021 10:06:01 AM PDT by whitney69
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To: billorites

Inching away??? Watch any F1 race on Sky sports or other British broadcasting- its always miles per hour never kilometers per hour.


23 posted on 09/26/2021 10:09:56 AM PDT by God luvs America (63.5 million pay no income tax and vote for DemoKrats...)
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To: billorites

I worked for the State of Alaska DOT for 25 years and in March of 1992, President George Bush I issued an executive order for all states to start using the metric system with their highway projects or lose funding from the FHWA.
For two years we had to put both English and metric dimensions on highway plans and right of way plats because the public would throw a fit over total metric on everything. Freeway signs would all be changed to kilometers also.
Fortunately, the pubbies got control of the house in 1994 and Newt Gingrich said we are bagging the metric system right now - and that’s the rest of the story.


24 posted on 09/26/2021 10:15:34 AM PDT by dainbramaged (John Cameron Swayze was my 4th cousin. )
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To: FreedomPoster

“For an example, 40 PSI is a common tire inflation pressure. Converts to 276 kilo-Pascals, kPA.”


Plus with ‘pounds per square inch’ a reasonably intelligent person can understand what is being measured. The metric system seems to insist upon creating a new unit for every time there is a ‘per’ in the measurement. So what is a Pascal? Oh it is one Newton per square meter. And what is a Newton? Why the force required to accelerate a kilogram to 1 meter per second squared. That is so much easier to understand what is going on when you inflate your tires to 276 kPA. /s

‘Cycles per second’ which is understandable, becomes Hertz, which you have to learn to understand.

Again, SI units are fine for science, but not so much for everyday life.


25 posted on 09/26/2021 10:26:22 AM PDT by hanamizu
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To: billorites

The metric system has never made any sense. The only thing going for it is that it’s a base 10 system. Other than that, it’s complete nonsense.


26 posted on 09/26/2021 10:26:54 AM PDT by AlaskaErik (In time of peace, prepare for war.)
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To: billorites

Only idiots buy gasoline by the liter.....


27 posted on 09/26/2021 10:28:05 AM PDT by farming pharmer (fork you :(){ :|:& };:)
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To: Archytekt

You mean there are only 10 kinds of countries in the world.

Just as there are only 10 kinds of people: those who know binary and those who don’t.


28 posted on 09/26/2021 10:30:57 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: FreedomPoster
There are tons of examples like this where Imperial units are just easier to deal with from an engineering standpoint.

Are those tons of examples American tons or Imperial tons or metric tons?

29 posted on 09/26/2021 10:33:40 AM PDT by AlaskaErik (In time of peace, prepare for war.)
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To: DIRTYSECRET

No. Accuracy and precision is dependent on the equipment not the unit of measurements.
And the argument that it is based the tens units is weak at best. Usually, you stay with one unit, ex kg m, you don’t switch back and forth. And when does anyone have to multiply numbers that are only tens; it is always mixed digits,ex 123x847.


30 posted on 09/26/2021 10:38:08 AM PDT by jimfr
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To: billorites

Welcome, Britain to our way of thinking. If people hate that you are going back to imperial measurement, F them...


31 posted on 09/26/2021 10:38:35 AM PDT by Deplorable American1776 (I'm the one trying to save American Democracy...Donald Trump 6/21 at the NCGOP convention)
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To: billorites

Will the UK go back to the Pound and shilling monetary system?


32 posted on 09/26/2021 10:44:07 AM PDT by 353FMG
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To: billorites

There was a GREAT opinion piece I ran across one time about why NOT to bother with metric, and why English units actually make more sense.

The ONLY advantage of metric is ease of conversion of prefixes. So what.

Otherwise, it’s born of French Rev reactionary-ism. Basically a pure childish backlash against anything “royal”.

The article also mentioned how relatable English units are. Approximate sizes of relatable objects. Etc.

Would have to try to search hard to find that.


33 posted on 09/26/2021 10:52:29 AM PDT by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Federal-run medical care is as good as state-run DMVs.)
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To: rightwingcrazy

Excellent point. Wonder why.

For all the belly-aching about “fractions” - and 12-base metrics - timing is still done based on 12 and 6 with day 24 hour-60 min-60 sec.


34 posted on 09/26/2021 10:54:46 AM PDT by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Federal-run medical care is as good as state-run DMVs.)
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To: rightwingcrazy

Metric system makes more sense to me from an analytical mind. But in the USA it’s hard to adopt. Everything from distance to socket-wrenches.

I was in the hospital last year. The nurse said she could not discharge me unless I could produce enough water. She said I had 800 ml of water in my bladder and needed to get it out. But they had me on meds that kept me, well, inhibited at the moment. I gave her 300 ml. She said I needed to give her more.

I told her there is no man who can’t hold a pint. Took her a couple of seconds.

Got home and I was like a racehorse who just ran 6 1/2 furlongs.


35 posted on 09/26/2021 10:55:05 AM PDT by monkeyshine (live and let live is dead)
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To: hanamizu

Totally agree.

But I don’t understand why some prefixes are NOT standard for some things.

Why do people insist on measuring their height in CENTImeters?

So bulky and awkward - lots of syllables. At least use DECImeters. one-hun-dred-six-ty-seven centimeters. six-teen-point-se-ven decimeters. Oh well. I don’t know. The whole system is “too small” - with words too big.


36 posted on 09/26/2021 11:05:15 AM PDT by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Federal-run medical care is as good as state-run DMVs.)
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To: 353FMG

Its kind of irelevent now anyway. A pound in 2021 basically has the same purchasing power as a shilling in 1970 just before decimalisation. The 10p coin (which was worth two shillings at the time of decimilisation) is about the lowest useful value coin you have (its been a long time since you could buy any single item with a 1p, 2p or even 5p coin).

What would be the point in subdividing 5p or 10p into 12 or 24 old pennies?


37 posted on 09/26/2021 11:08:09 AM PDT by sinsofsolarempirefan
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To: rightwingcrazy

And, “a liter’s a kilogram the world around” is not as euphonious as “A pint’s a pound the world around”.


38 posted on 09/26/2021 11:19:17 AM PDT by Jim Noble (The nation cannot be saved until the GOP is destroyed)
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To: billorites

Thank goodness ... when i was a girl they had miles, yards and inches, pounds and ozes, gallons etc ...

The ton is English (2.240 pounds) and the hundred weight (112 pounds)


39 posted on 09/26/2021 11:27:56 AM PDT by Tennessee Nana
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To: billorites

Oh and theres 20 CWT in a ton ...


40 posted on 09/26/2021 11:29:38 AM PDT by Tennessee Nana
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