Metric or Imperial?

HypnodiscHypnodisc Posts: 22,728
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What do you tend to use and why?

I always find it strange that my mum doesn't understand Celsius.. and I'm always like 'wtf?' when people measure weight in pounds & stone or distance in yards.

I was educated in the 90's and 00's and never really learned the imperial systems (at all).. I learned weight in KG, distance in meters/CM, temp in Celsius and so forth.

People look at me strangely when I say I don't know what 1 lb (pound) is, but all I ever learned was kilos? :confused:

Do you only know 'one or the other', or are you a multi-measurer? :D What did you learn in school and what did you learn at home?

The only exception to the above is I use miles and MPH over kilometres and KPH but seeing as that's what is used on British roads, I have little choice :D
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Comments

  • FroodFrood Posts: 13,180
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    Either.

    But metric is easier and more sensible.

    I await the Luddites........
  • gomezzgomezz Posts: 44,507
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    You can't beat a metre of 2 by 4. :)
  • HypnodiscHypnodisc Posts: 22,728
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    Frood wrote: »
    Either.

    But metric is easier and more sensible.

    I await the Luddites........

    You're doing better than me anyway.. the annoying thing is I have no idea on most imperial measurements.. so if someone says 90 degrees F, 30 yards away or 27lb I simply wouldn't be able to visualise any of those.. I never learned them! :confused::eek:
  • CRTHDCRTHD Posts: 7,602
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    Think in imperial, communicate (after conversion) in metric.

    (or use which ever is closest to a whole or half no.):D
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,725
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    Have used both for a range of different things.
    I'm sure you've used imperial when buying drugs, unless you just ask for money quantity, or do you buy in grams?
  • HypnodiscHypnodisc Posts: 22,728
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    Have used both for a range of different things.
    I'm sure you've used imperial when buying drugs, unless you just ask for money quantity, or do you buy in grams?

    When buying weed you buy an '8th' which was, once upon a time an 8th of an ounce.. but that's just a colloquialism really.

    An '8th' is about 1.2g here.. so I'd say that I buy that in grams too :o
  • bspacebspace Posts: 14,303
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    Have used both for a range of different things.
    I'm sure you've used imperial when buying drugs, unless you just ask for money quantity, or do you buy in grams?

    as in

    how many quarters in a weight
  • Pugwash69Pugwash69 Posts: 3,787
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    Metric all the way, except for MPH on the bike and Miles on my sat nav.
    I guess it makes sense to use a measurement you can visualise.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 300
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    Hypnodisc wrote: »
    When buying weed you buy an '8th' which was, once upon a time an 8th of an ounce.. but that's just a colloquialism really.

    Do you know why ?

    A one penny piece weighs exactly 1/8 ounce. This means you can weigh it out exactly with penny, a ruler, and a pencil as a fulcrum.

    So I've been told
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,725
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    Hypnodisc wrote: »
    When buying weed you buy an '8th' which was, once upon a time an 8th of an ounce.. but that's just a colloquialism really.

    An '8th' is about 1.2g here.. so I'd say that I buy that in grams too :o

    1.2g? :eek: robbing bastards.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 14,589
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    For me it has to be imperial.
  • Bedsit BobBedsit Bob Posts: 24,344
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    I went to school in the 60s and 70s, and learned imperial, so I tend to use imperial.

    For the first 10 years of my life, I also used £-s-d.
  • 2shy20072shy2007 Posts: 52,577
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    Mostly imperial.
  • GlenGlen Posts: 12,076
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    Hypnodisc wrote: »
    The only exception to the above is I use miles and MPH over kilometres and KPH but seeing as that's what is used on British roads, I have little choice :D
    Kilo Pascal Hours?
    You may have learned metric units but you obviously weren't paying attention in the SI units lesson.
  • jarryhackjarryhack Posts: 5,076
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    At school in the 80's we learned both. I still use both now. I might measure something in inches and then something else is cms. I use celsius when its cold and farenheight when its warm...(don't ask me why, I have no idea!!) As for weight I ask for pounds etc then they weigh it in kgs!
  • HypnodiscHypnodisc Posts: 22,728
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    1.2g? :eek: robbing bastards.

    I hasten to add, 1.2g of skunk.. usually Amnesia Haze, Blueberry cheese or similar. You could get a 2g 8th around here but it probably would be very average stuff. It's more worth it buying smaller but stronger.

    Thanks to being close to London, being in a student town, as well as general inflation pushing things up and up it is a bit sucky really.

    No more 3.5g 8ths! :eek:
    Glen wrote: »
    Kilo Pascal Hours?
    You may have learned metric units but you obviously weren't paying attention in the SI units lesson.

    I would have assumed it was obvious I was refering to Kilometres per hour.. :D
  • Pisces CloudPisces Cloud Posts: 30,239
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    Imperial here too.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 402
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    I'm mostly metric, although I use imperial when talking to the older generations. My biggest trouble is with yards, I've got no concept of what yards look like because I rarely have to deal with them.
  • TidoshoTidosho Posts: 3,727
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    The Imperial measurments weren't just arbitrary and may seem archaic but they were real world measurment before science needed precision.

    An acre is the amount a man and ox could plough in a day, fourlong, (220 yards), the length an ox could plough before needing a rest.

    An inch was the legth of a thumb, a foot the length of a........
    A mile, one thousand steps.
    I can and do use both but i still think in Imperial as do a lot of people even though they think they're metric, even that dumb blond who's 90-60-90...... what a figure!

    Try dividing and sharing food, 10 can only be divided by 1,2 and 5. 12 can be divided by 1,2,3, 4 and 6. Not the measurements of science but more handy on a day-to-day basis.
  • welwynrosewelwynrose Posts: 33,666
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    1.2g? :eek: robbing bastards.

    That's not even a "teenth" your looking at 3.5g for an 8th
  • EspressoEspresso Posts: 18,047
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    Depends on what the thing is.

    I give my height and weight in imperial and I drink pints of beer. And if anyone has a baby I can only imagine how big the babby is if they tell me the weight in imperial.

    Everything else is metric for me.
  • GlenGlen Posts: 12,076
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    Hypnodisc wrote: »
    I would have assumed it was obvious I was refering to Kilometres per hour.. :D
    The unit for which is km/h.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
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    I use none of them, I use an assortment of Kelvins, Barleycorns and Cubits.















    Only joking I tend to use metric really... :o:D
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 36,012
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    Imperial here too.

    And imperial sounds so much classy DF :)

    *five pound of spuds please* :p
  • Pablo DiabloPablo Diablo Posts: 5,892
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    I prefer SI units - there's a lot of imperial units I don't understand.
    But I'll use whichever is appropriate to the situation. Miles for long distances (or when driving), metres for short distances. Always measure things in (centi)metres and weigh things in (kilo)grams but I'll happily tell people my height and weight in feet/inches and stones. But temperatures in Fahrenheit? Weight in ounces? Not a clue.
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