The many questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread XIV

[Arakhor]

Cue an American to say that they use "Standard" measurements, because they're too good for the Imperial system.

 

[shadowplay]

Which, ironically, nobody but America uses anymore. Apparently you all hate freedom.

The British still use imperial measurements.

 

[Arakhor]

We're odd - we intersperse Imperial with Metric, leading to the crazy situation where the temperature is anything up to 20 or so Celsius, but after that, it somehow becomes Fahrenheit, because that sounds better.

(This is an exaggeration.)

 

[shadowplay]

We tend to mix it up a fair bit in Canada too. I don't know anyone who actually cites their height and weight in centimetres and kilograms, it's always feet + inches and pounds.

 

[Arakhor]

I'm 5'10" and maybe 10 stone. I have to think about my Metric stats (178 cm, 60ish kg).

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

What's a "stone"?

 

[W|M]

14 pounds = 1 stone.

I'm about 171cm (5'7'', I think) and about 62kg (9½-9¾ stone).

 

[Arakhor]

Good grief. Does nobody know what stones are? Next they'll be saying they don't know what rods, chains, pecks, gills, ells and fathoms are.

 

[shadowplay]

It's what the other children pelted me with in school.

 

[Arakhor]

Just remember, you are a special, unique and individual flower, just like everyone else.

 

[W|M]

Good grief. Does nobody know what stones are? Next they'll be saying they don't know what rods, chains, pecks, gills, ells and fathoms are.

I have no idea what any of them are! (except fathoms).

 

[madviking]

Not to mention furlongs (which are still around in horse racing...but like anyone cares).

 

[Arakhor]

That does lead to a great Two Ronnies joke, where a couple asked their diving instructor if it was possible to have sex in six feet of water and were told to fathom it out themselves.

 

[Ajidica]

Good grief. Does nobody know what stones are? Next they'll be saying they don't know what rods, chains, pecks, gills, ells and fathoms are.

I only know what fathoms are. 1 fathom is 6 feet, measured verticaly in water.

@Brits: Is one quid one pound? I've been watching Top Gear and they keep refering to prices in quid.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I thought a gill had something to do with liqueur.

 

[Arakhor]

The quid is our slang name for the pound sterling, yes, just like bucks and dollars.

(A fathom is six feet of water, incidentally, hence the joke.)

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Didnt "mind your Ps and Qs" come from bars, and units of measurements? Something about the barkeeper marking down how much they had and drunk people ordering too much.

 

[Arakhor]

Well, it might refer to Pints and Quarts and then would have been an aide memoire to the bartenders not to mess up their letters, but I don't think anyone knows for sure.

 

[ParkCungHee]

Fathoms, as we all know, are a unit of measurement to describe where monsters come from, similar to leagues, which describe how far you are under the sea.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

A quart is a lot of alcohol. All these different meashurements are confusing.