Metric system dumbs us down.

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by K_V_B

Imaging everyone in the world having his own idea of what a Barrel is... That is why the metric system was devised.

The only reason there is no confusion on what the the meaning of "feet" and "inch" is, is that there is only one country left using those measures...

Yeah, right. "30 March 1791 – The French National Assembly accepts the proposal by the French Academy of Sciences that the new definition for the metre be equal to one ten-millionth of the length of a quadrant along the Earth's meridian through Paris, that is the distance from the equator to the north pole." The foregoing quote is from Wikipedia. What has a barrel got to do with that? Need I mention that French Academy of Sciences was not accurate in it measurement or other details and assumptions?

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by K_V_B

That prices for certain commodities are still being quoted in some old fashioned unit is not uncommon. It's just what we have always done...

For example, if I order firewood, the unit used for quoting the price is an old fashioned one called "stère".

However, outside of trading those units are not used. Sizes for tanker cars for example will be given in m3, not in barrels...

Even French butchers still use the livre which is 'half a kilo' or 'about a pound' and is equivilant to 0.0106644880174 quintals.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by carstenb

although if he were in europe he would need to write it:
1 meter per second = 1,944 knots.

Depends on what part of Europe. AFAIK, the UK is still part of Europe

[StuM]

Originally Posted by K_V_B

That prices for certain commodities are still being quoted in some old fashioned unit is not uncommon. It's just what we have always done...

For example, if I order firewood, the unit used for quoting the price is an old fashioned one called "stère".

However, outside of trading those units are not used. Sizes for tanker cars for example will be given in m3, not in barrels...

The last time I bought firewood (30+ years ago in NZ) it was measured in Cords.

[TrentePieds]

I think KVB is having us on - again :-)! Long ago, those Sons of Reason that mucked up the state of the world because they'd OD-ed on Descartes and Diderot got themselves so totally confused that they had to unconfuse themselves by referring to the cubic metre by the much older term "stère"

My former "homeland" [fascinating how connotations change over time :-0)!] despite being nominally on the metric system, still trades firewood in fathoms! One fathom ("favn") of firewood is 72 cubic feet("fod"), which is really nifty cos 72 is evenly divisible by 12. Nothing like a good old dozen sez I. How could you have greater perfection in numbers than one that can be factored by 2,3,4,and 6?

So a fathom ("en favn") of firewood equals one "stack", a "stack ("en stabel") being two rows ("rader") stacked with 2 foot pieces. The rows are set so the pieces in one row are end to end with the pieces in the other row. The stack is made "hip high", i.e. 3 feet ("fod") high, and 3 ells ("alen") long, or "as long as a man", i.e. 6 feet long. Voila! 4 x 3 x 6 = 72. What could be more apposite? Or easier? No French Son of Reason, no member of a French institut or académie, could possibly devise a more elegant system, or one easier to handle in "real life".

Not even the English speaking chord has such elegance. 128 is just a pain to factor. 2X8x8? 2x4x 16? 4x4x8? 8 is too long, being longer than a man is high. Let alone 16. 4 is good for width, 8 feet but for height? Damn awkward - and tiring!

Nah - be sensible! Eschew all things French, and since the chord is almost right anyway, let's just all agree to handle ("handle" (Da) = trade) our firewood in favne!

Cheers

TrentePieds

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by StuM

The last time I bought firewood (30+ years ago in NZ) it was measured in Cords.

Firewood locally is sold in tonnes (i.e. 1000Kg) but sometimes can be sourced in cubic metres. There is some fancy rule that determines the amount of airspace allowed per cubic metre but I don't know nor care about it. Likewise a tone of firewood should not be more than 12% moisture but again most don't worry too much. Of course green firewood might have 20% so that 10 tonnes of firewood I recently had delivered wood is really about 2 tonnes of moisture. 1 tonne which must disappear before it becomes useable

Now about the ton, why does the USA use the US ton when there is a perfectly good imperial ton.

Likewise the gallon.

It seems like the USA pretends to use imperial measurement and then goes and changes it - why ???

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Wotname

It seems like the USA pretends to use imperial measurement and then goes and changes it - why ???

It's the ' I'm the president and you're not' syndrome...

Did you know that central and south america drove on the left until 1945?

Same sort of issue.

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by Wotname

It seems like the USA pretends to use imperial measurement and then goes and changes it - why ???

That is such a silly question. It is to take advantage of these in the other, but less fortunate, former colonies. It works by selling them what they think is the same, but for less, when it is really less for more.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by StuM

Depends on what part of Europe. AFAIK, the UK is still part of Europe

True, but whenever a brit says he is going to travel to the continent, he (or she just to be non-sexist) invariably says he/she is going to europe (not the continent).

By the way, rmember the old tongue twister?

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers?

so does anyone now (no fair cheating by googling or wiki) know how big a peck is?

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by carstenb

True, but whenever a brit says he is going to travel to the continent, he (or she just to be non-sexist) invariably says he/she is going to europe (not the continent)........

No they don't.......

[StuM]

Originally Posted by carstenb

By the way, rmember the old tongue twister?

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers?

so does anyone now (no fair cheating by googling or wiki) know how big a peck is?

I used to, but I'd forgotten, so I looked it up.

Thanks for reminding me that my memory is going.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by StuM

I used to, but I'd forgotten, so I looked it up.

Thanks for reminding me that my memory is going.

well that's makes two of us whose memories are shot (what were we talking about?)

I have also forgotten how big peck is - how big is it?

EDIT - having looked, we can now discuss a "kenning" or a "firlot" for those who can't get enough of these types of things

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

No they don't.......

you must hang out with a better educated class of people than I do. (sigh)

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by carstenb

you must hang out with a better educated class of people than I do. (sigh)

Dunno 'bout that but upon my return to the land of my birth - after many years absence - in 1963 I used 'Europe' and was taken severely to task and told to mend me ways... never from that day to this have I heard a Pom say 'Europe' when they meant ' the Continent'.

The 'strayan and 'merkin use of 'England' when they mean 'Britain' is, however, very common.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Dunno 'bout that but upon my return to the land of my birth - after many years absence - in 1963 I used 'Europe' and was taken severely to task and told to mend me ways... never from that day to this have I heard a Pom say 'Europe' when they meant ' the Continent'.

The 'strayan and 'merkin use of 'England' when they mean 'Britain' is, however, very common.

yes, but

"There will always be an England" falls better on the ear than

"There will always be a Great Britain"

carsten