[RobG]

It drives me a little crazy when I see the measurements of things in the USA given in "millions of pounds". Is the ton ever used as a measurement in the USA?
It feels like pounds are being used to make things sound bigger.

[Fcsnt54]

Yes we do in the states. It depends on the situation.

[DeadJohn]

USA checking in. I hear "tons" used far more often than "millions of pounds".

I like tons for internet usage because the US ton and the metric ton are only 10% different, so there's no need to worry much about where the reader is located.

[stevebrot]

Yep...2000 lbs/ton (so-called short ton) and know that my truck has maximum payload of 1/2 ton. I pay tonnage as part of my small truck license too. Rock products are bought by the ton as are many heavy things.


Steve

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Last edited by stevebrot; 07-16-2019 at 07:38 PM.

[gaweidert]

Millions just sound much more impressive than thousands. We do like to rate out nukes in kilotons. Air conditioning is measured in tons too.

[RobG]

Yes we do in the states. It depends on the situation.

OK, so how do you determine when to use tons and when to use pounds? Other than when something weighs less than one ton?

USA checking in. I hear "tons" used far more often than "millions of pounds". I like tons for internet usage because the US ton and the metric ton are only 10% different, so there's no need to worry much about where the reader is located.

Agreed. I knew that Imperial tons were close to Metric tonnes. Until now I was only vaguely aware that the Imperial (long) ton and the US (short) ton were different. I knew that UK and US gallons were different - very different. It seems bizarre to measure something as big as a Saturn V rocket or a 747 in pounds rather than tons. The whole idea of tons was to be able to use smaller numbers for bigger weights!

[5shot]

I'm not sure too many Millennials know what a Ton is, although it is used quite a bit in the states. I don't really concern myself too much with what measurement is used, so I could easily see myself saying 100,000 pounds as opposed to 50 Tons, and I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

[RobG]

Yep...2000 lbs/ton (so-called short ton) and know that my truck has maximum payload of 1/2 ton. I pay tonnage as part of my small truck license too. Rock products are bought by the ton as are many heavy things.

I think small trucks in Australia are still called "one tonne trucks". Note the metric tonne though. I guess 2000 pounds is an easier number to work with than 2,240 pounds, though at some point the fractions are going to get messy, and supposedly one of the advantages of the old imperial system was being able to divide without having fractions of smaller measurements. Thanks for the examples!

Millions just sound much more impressive than thousands. We do like to rate out nukes in kilotons. Air conditioning is measured in tons too.

And that's what I suspected - that pounds were used in some cases because it sounds cool to talk in millions. Talking about "megapounds of TNT" doesn't quite have the same ring. Is air-conditioning measure in the tons of air that it circulates?

---------- Post added 17-07-19 at 12:55 PM ----------

I'm not sure too many Millennials know what a Ton is, although it is used quite a bit in the states. I don't really concern myself too much with what measurement is used, so I could easily see myself saying 100,000 pounds as opposed to 50 Tons, and I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

So the tendency away from tons to pounds is something that has evolved over time? I wonder why?

[nosliwmit]

As an expat Yank I have a ton of questions about this thread...

[pres589]

Yes. My Capri weighed just over a ton.

[tduell]

Is air-conditioning measure in the tons of air that it circulates?

It's related to the amount of heat required to be extracted to make a ton of ice, with defined mass of water at defined temperature.

Cheers,
Terry

[RGlasel]

my truck has maximum payload of 1/2 ton.

That's an idiom, not anything close to what your truck's actual rated payload is. For 2019 F150, payload capacities range from 1640 lbs. to 3270 lbs. depending on wheelbase, cab configuration and powertrain.

Air conditioning is measured in tons too.

That's possibly the weirdest use of "ton" I've ever come across. 1 ton of air conditioning capacity is equal to 12,000 BTU/hour, which is a gross distortion of SI units. North of the 49th parallel, A/C units are rated in kilowatt hours or BTU/hr for those of us who had already started school when the Elder Trudeau implemented metrification.

It seems bizarre to measure something as big as a Saturn V rocket or a 747 in pounds rather than tons.

As gaweidert points out, millions is always more impressive than thousands.

so how do you determine when to use tons and when to use pounds?

This is a carryover from a time when people weren't so literally-minded and slaves to regulations. The idea is to communicate in a way that best conveys meaning, so if something has traditionally been measured in tons and you want to communicate with people who relate to tons in traditional terms, you use tons. No one expects a ton of something to be measured as accurately as in pounds or kilograms and to use tonnes in the U.S. tells people you can't spell and in Canada is a clear sign that you are from the government.

[gaweidert]

Use pounds when you want to make it sound more sensational. I do miss stones and hogsheads. Metric is too sterile a measuring system to be used in good literature.

[RobG]

As an expat Yank I have a ton of questions about this thread...

Ask away - I have no objection!

Yes. My Capri weighed just over a ton.

Ah, so cars are still weighed in tons not pounds.

It's related to the amount of heat required to be extracted to make a ton of ice, with defined mass of water at defined temperature.

Similar to the definitions for metric temperature related to the freezing and boiling points of water (but it's also scaled to coincide with the Kelvin scale).

That's an idiom, not anything close to what your truck's actual rated payload is. For 2019 F150, payload capacities range from 1640 lbs. to 3270 lbs. depending on wheelbase, cab configuration and powertrain.That's possibly the weirdest use of "ton" I've ever come across. 1 ton of air conditioning capacity is equal to 12,000 BTU/hour, which is a gross distortion of SI units. North of the 49th parallel, A/C units are rated in kilowatt hours or BTU/hr for those of us who had already started school when the Elder Trudeau implemented metrification.As gaweidert points out, millions is always more impressive than thousands.This is a carryover from a time when people weren't so literally-minded and slaves to regulations. The idea is to communicate in a way that best conveys meaning, so if something has traditionally been measured in tons and you want to communicate with people who relate to tons in traditional terms, you use tons. No one expects a ton of something to be measured as accurately as in pounds or kilograms and to use tonnes in the U.S. tells people you can't spell and in Canada is a clear sign that you are from the government.

An interesting collection! Don't tell the French that they don't know how to spell!

Use pounds when you want to make it sound more sensational. I do miss stones and hogsheads. Metric is too sterile a measuring system to be used in good literature.

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

[vonBaloney]

I hear "ton" all the time. As far as "millions of pounds", the only time I think I hear that is for cumulative weights of small things. Like you'd hear "millions of pounds of food are wasted each year" or something like that. And I guess if some big object (like a skyscraper) did weigh millions of pounds, they might say that because then you aren't doing math trying to figure out how heavy that is, whereas "ton" is probably more used when the things in question are between half a ton and 50 tons maybe. Once you start saying 1000+ tons, it kinda loses meaning.