If only the UK had done the same as several other countries and called 500 grams a pound - when absolute accuracy isn't required. Like buying some potatoes.
We first need to decide if the pound being discussed is mass or weight.
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Why the heck does America still use outdated measurement and date units?
- Thread starter garirry
- Start date
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We first need to decide if the pound being discussed is mass or weight.
Take that sum of money:
3 pounds, 15 shillings and 7 pence
Write it without the words:
7 15 3
Reverse the order:
3 15 7
Subtract the smaller value from the larger:
7 15 3
3 15 7
7 from 3, can’t do it, borrow a shilling (12 pennies), which gives 15 – 7 = 8
Pay back the shilling
16 from 15, can’t do it, borrow a pound (20 shillings), which gives 15 – 35 = 19
Pay back the pound
4 from 7 gives 3
Which gives:
3 19 8
Reverse the order:
8 19 3
Add them
8 19 3
3 19 8
8 + 3 = 11
19 + 19 = 38 = 1 pound and 18 shillings
Carry the pound
3 + 8 + 1 = 12
Result:
£12/18/11
Now repeat with any number of pounds, shillings and pence. (Number of pounds must not be the same as the number of pennies.) The answer is always the same.
Obviously, it is better when you write the answer on a piece of paper as a prediction. But it is getting difficult nowadays to find anyone who can add and subtract pounds, shillings and pence.
If you present this to people who have never used old money, they are usually utterly bewildered.
I just use an app on my phone to receive, and pay people. It will automatically switch between currencies
Are there any which handle £sd?I just use an app on my phone to receive, and pay people. It will automatically switch between currencies
The thing about the date first mentioned is a major pain and causes a lot of very expensive problems.
When you deal with the States you have to remember to turn it round but often your American colleagues turn it around for you so there are regularly problems and they can be very costly.
The thing about metric not mentioned anywhere that I can see is that it all links together so beautifully.
A litre of water weighs 1kg and forms a cube 10cm per side so a cubic metre weighs a tonne.
Weight, volume and length all related.
That's incredibly useful and of course all the atomic weights are based on grams.
Fahrenheit makes no sense at all being based on a water, ammonium chloride mix to set the 0 point and the average temperature of blood at the other end divided by 97.
Celsius is also based on water as are all the other metric measurements (although the Metre is a based on the circumference of the earth)
Once you convert to metric spanners you never want to go back (do you call them spanners or wrenches?)
In the old days if I wanted a 1/2" spanner I would have to know if was BS, Whitworth, AF, or ASA because they are all different.
The first time I bought a Nissan in the early 70s it came with a two ended spanner, a wheel wrench and a screwdriver which fitted every nut, bolt and screw on the car. I knew the British car industry was doomed the moment I saw it.
The UK went Metric in the early 70s and it was very painful and extremely inflationary.
Everything in the supermarket like a jar of coffee, was changed to the nearest metric measurement- always smaller-, but retained the same price so we saw a something like 17% price rise over night. Well, often it went down at the change but went straight up again afterwards.
People today still can't get used to it and I still buy fuel in litres but work out my car's consumption in miles per gallon (not a US gallon by the way).
When you deal with the States you have to remember to turn it round but often your American colleagues turn it around for you so there are regularly problems and they can be very costly.
The thing about metric not mentioned anywhere that I can see is that it all links together so beautifully.
A litre of water weighs 1kg and forms a cube 10cm per side so a cubic metre weighs a tonne.
Weight, volume and length all related.
That's incredibly useful and of course all the atomic weights are based on grams.
Fahrenheit makes no sense at all being based on a water, ammonium chloride mix to set the 0 point and the average temperature of blood at the other end divided by 97.
Celsius is also based on water as are all the other metric measurements (although the Metre is a based on the circumference of the earth)
Once you convert to metric spanners you never want to go back (do you call them spanners or wrenches?)
In the old days if I wanted a 1/2" spanner I would have to know if was BS, Whitworth, AF, or ASA because they are all different.
The first time I bought a Nissan in the early 70s it came with a two ended spanner, a wheel wrench and a screwdriver which fitted every nut, bolt and screw on the car. I knew the British car industry was doomed the moment I saw it.
The UK went Metric in the early 70s and it was very painful and extremely inflationary.
Everything in the supermarket like a jar of coffee, was changed to the nearest metric measurement- always smaller-, but retained the same price so we saw a something like 17% price rise over night. Well, often it went down at the change but went straight up again afterwards.
People today still can't get used to it and I still buy fuel in litres but work out my car's consumption in miles per gallon (not a US gallon by the way).
We call them wrenches in the US. The adjustable ones are 'crescent' wrenches, the locking kind are 'vise grips' and if it has an enclosed end it is a 'box' wrench. You torque your car's lug nuts with a torque wrench. There's also the 'socket' wrench, which we also call a 'ratchet'.
The hexagonal wrenches with a bend in them are called 'Allen' wrenches. As a kid it took me a few years to realize they weren't named that after my dad's name. Very few people call them hex keys
But the wrenches that come in boxes like with build it yourself furniture are called 'L' wrenches (and not Allen wrenches). If it has a handle, it's a 'T' wrench. The wrenches you use to open Apple products (because of the special screws) are Torx wrenches.
My dad bought a used 1980 Datsun 210 (Sunny) in 1983 and that became 'my' car in 1986, although the title was still in his name. He sold it to my wife (then my girlfriend) in 1996 for $1.
That car had both US and metric bolts and screws. My family has owned Japanese cars exclusively since 1983 so I have both metric and standard wrenches. You learn to identify by sight what is a '10', '11' or '12' metric. I've never bothered to figure out what the numbers stand for, although I assume it's mm.
It's kind of interesting at the store/gas station. Americans buy milk and gas (petrol) in gallons and soda in 1 and 2 liter bottles. Because it's soda, not very many people have any problems with figuring out the volume of a 2 liter. But, if you're buying juice or other drinks, it's fluid ounces.
My profession is as a graphic designer, so I deal in decimal inches and letter and tabloid sized paper (not A4, etc). I set golf yardage books and scorecards, so there is the odd golf course that has it's distances measured in meters. But strangely enough, most golf courses world-wide seem to be measured in yards.
My son prefers to deal with measurements solely with the metric system. I am often corrected when I speak to him in feet and inches.
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You claim we use "outdated" units, yet America leads the world in mathematics, arts, sciences, and military capabilities.
All fields that heavily rely on units of some kind.
All fields that heavily rely on units of some kind.
I think America works with other countries on those things to be honest but largely funds them.
Sciences and the military in the USA use the metric system.
Sure the US has the most powerful military in the world, but without alliances with other countries it would be nothing.
As to the sciences, they exist in an international community. Use the metric system to join the party, or get left out in the cold.
The metric system is rational and quite nice. The imperial system is nonsense. Thats why science around the world uses metric. Seems pretty clear to me.
You could always write it this way, for example: March 5, 2022 (today's date). This is done when signing legal documents, among the few.
But it is difficult for the US to switch from one system to another. In this case, generations of Americans have been born and raised under this system.
Same in the rest of the world
Just start with the next generation. Update the education system and curriculum, be ready for silly local protest mainly in retail places where people demand using oz etc. But with some time this all goes away. Many other countries managed to do that succesfully.
In words, I'd tend to say 5th March, 2022. Whilst clear enough, use of the ordinal form does not work well across languages.
Alpha for the month is a problem for many who use different languages, especially if they also use different alphabets or characters.
I suggest that when we are being fairly formal, especially in computer systems, we use YYYY/MM/DD - all of us, everywhere.
Nicely sortable. And I'm not aware of anyone, anywhere, who uses YYYY/DD/MM to mess it up.
While we are at it, let's use the 24-hour clock?
It’s not like there are r already ISO standards for that including time and time zone 🤣 That way it is consistent and can be reformatted to display to anyones personal preference.
While we are at it, let's use the decimal clock?In words, I'd tend to say 5th March, 2022. Whilst clear enough, use of the ordinal form does not work well across languages.
Alpha for the month is a problem for many who use different languages, especially if they also use different alphabets or characters.
I suggest that when we are being fairly formal, especially in computer systems, we use YYYY/MM/DD - all of us, everywhere.
Nicely sortable. And I'm not aware of anyone, anywhere, who uses YYYY/DD/MM to mess it up.
While we are at it, let's use the 24-hour clock?
(10 hrs / day, 100 minutes / hour, 100 seconds / minute).There, fixed that for you...
Plastic utensils? Dude, think of the environment. That is so bad.
There is a national shortage of single-use plastic cutlery in my country, Wales. They are banned! (I think since 2020.)
If each person takes their own, it would be negligible.
Aluminium cutlery is available...
Dude, some of the members of the family are proud of themselves when they remember to wear matching socks... expecting that many people to bring their own utensils is just a pipe-dream 😉
Aluminum cutlery isn't a thing here in the US. It's either stainless steel or plastic. And doing a search for Aluminum Utensils on Amazon yields zero results. I'm sure they can be found somewhere, but probably not in bulk, and probably more expensive than they're worth. It's just been the last few years that stainless steel multi-use straws have become "a thing" here in the US—which I actually like (I carry one or two in the car and another in my backpack). We still can't get rid of the cruddy plastic bags for groceries at the store because people complain about having to provide their own bags.
:-
Looks like titanium is more easily found than aluminium in the obvious sector of camping cutlery.
Looks like titanium is more easily found than aluminium in the obvious sector of camping cutlery.
