[RobG]

PS New measurements of volume invented by the news media include the olympic swimming pool and Sydney harbour. Apparently it's more relatable to say that the flood involved the equivalent of 500 olympic swimming pools or a quantity of Sydney harbours than to talk in millions of litres. I'm not sure how Sydney harbour is relatable for people who live in parts of Australia thousands of kilometres from Sydney and have never been there. It would be like telling someone in New York that the volume of water was equivalent of two San Francisco bays.

---------- Post added 18-07-19 at 09:07 AM ----------

Only for legal weights where the price is per tonne (not kg) and the buyer uses the metric system. Essentially, only for heavy bulk items like grain, construction materials and raw materials for manufacturing, and in the U.S. only for exports. Canada began the movement to metrification in 1970, but most grocery items are still marked in both kilograms and pounds and dimensional lumber is still sold in Imperial sizes. Farmers sell grain by the tonne, but talk about yields in bushels per acre. I'm old and grew up on a farm in a remote part of Western Canada and I have never in my life seen anyone use the Imperial ton for anything but a trivia question.

Interesting to hear about the Canadian experience, thanks! I have to say it was a relief driving into Canada from the USA and being able to make sense of distances again in terms of travel time.

The only reason for using any standard of weights and measurements is for buying and selling things, so if a particular unit is not used for commerce, it is not used for anything else.

Well, I can see your perspective but that's not necessarily true. The modern SI system is built for use by scientists, not for commerce. The original metric system was designed to simplify measurements for everyday use by aligning it with base 10, so in terms of the original purpose of metrication, I agree.

[RGlasel]

It's confusing that US measurements are different from imperial while using the same terms, especially the difference in gallons.

In Canada, for bragging rights, we use miles per Imperial gallon (for about a 12% advantage over the U.S. gallon), but the fuel economy posted in the windows of new vehicles is in metric units (along with on-board information displays). Originally (I was working for an automobile manufacturer at the time) advertised fuel economy was shown as litres/100 kilometers (where the smaller the number the better the fuel economy, which confuses everyone), but in the last decade that has started to change over to kilometers/litre. AFAIK, some manufacturers are still providing figures using the older system, so no one bothers to do proper comparisons. The advantage for people selling cars is that you can tell a prospective customer that this little beauty gets 50 miles to the gallon and no one will call your bluff because odometers and road signs read in kilometers and the pumps at gas stations dispense in litres.

[RobG]

In Canada, for bragging rights, we use miles per Imperial gallon (for about a 12% advantage over the U.S. gallon), but the fuel economy posted in the windows of new vehicles is in metric units (along with on-board information displays). Originally (I was working for an automobile manufacturer at the time) advertised fuel economy was shown as litres/100 kilometers (where the smaller the number the better the fuel economy, which confuses everyone), but in the last decade that has started to change over to kilometers/litre. AFAIK, some manufacturers are still providing figures using the older system, so no one bothers to do proper comparisons. The advantage for people selling cars is that you can tell a prospective customer that this little beauty gets 50 miles to the gallon and no one will call your bluff because odometers and road signs read in kilometers and the pumps at gas stations dispense in litres.

Interesting that not even all of Europe uses litres/100 km (although the vast majority does).

[SSGGeezer]

Interesting to hear about the Canadian experience, thanks! I have to say it was a relief driving into Canada from the USA and being able to make sense of distances again in terms of travel time.

Sometimes I change my GPS to KM just to remember my equivalencies from when I drove in Korea. I also think in Kilometers for distance from lots of map work while I was in the military. Does that make me Bi-lingual? Bi-measurement? Or maybe something else?

I just have to make sure the GPS is back in Miles if SWMBO needs to use it for travel!

[pete-tarmigan]

AFAIK, most of the World's countries use the metric version!

All except the U.S., Liberia and Burma, at least in official use,

[swanlefitte]

At least our usa cups, pints, quarts, gallons has a system. 1,2,4,16.
Now look at octane of gas/petro.
The USA has 87-96 octane. Europe has 98 and Japan can go over 100 octane. Yet octane is a different thing in different countries. RON, AKI, MON.
US Octane VS Other countries Octane Ratings | HondaSwap

[c.a.m]

A bit off the topic of tons, but related to measurements.

Further to the posts by @RGlasel, we in Canada have to manage with all sorts of units:

• food recipes in imperial or metric or both: ounces, cups, teaspoons, litres, milliliters, grams. Baking temperatures in degrees C or F. Sometimes I have to convert from degrees C to F to set my oven temp.
• food products generally in metric, but meat and fish is commonly priced in both kg and pounds.
• Last week I bought a 473 ml jar of salsa and a 709 g box of breakfast oats. I assume the containers or the products themselves originated in the United States, having had round-number imperial measures.
• Building products with varied units: a 4x8 foot sheet of plywood, 12 mm thick.
• Weather temperature in Celsius; rainfall in mm (often also given in inches). Snowfall in cm.
• Human weight measured in kg or pounds. Height in cm or feet/inches.
• We buy petrol at the pump by the litre.
• Order a beer in a pub, and you'll certainly be offered choices in pints, half-pints, 20 ounces, or even quarts. No metric here!

- Craig

---

Last edited by c.a.m; 07-18-2019 at 06:26 PM.

[savoche]

In Norway we use litres/10 km - a Scandinavian "mile" being 10 km that would be read as "litres to the mile".

Fish is measured in hectolitres (in the industry, not in the shops!). It's a unit rarely used for anything else, I think.

Fluids tend to be measured in milli-, centi- and decilitres as well as litres, but you'll never see decalitres or kilolitres. Larger amounts than what's convenient to measure in litres will usually be measured in tonnes or cubic metres (which both are close enough to equivalent to 1,000 litres in daily life).

[RGlasel]

Building products with varied units: a 4x8 foot sheet of plywood, 12 mm thick.

You bring up a great example of how measurements get manipulated for commercial reasons. I have been puttering around with a hammer and saw for a long time and have gotten used to the difference between nominal and actual measurements, as far as I know, 1/2" thick plywood has always been slightly less than 0.500 inches thick. I have router bits that are 15/64", 31/64" and 19/32" so I can cut channels for plywood, but I haven't been able to determine yet if the availability of 12mm and 15mm thick plywood is a move towards truth in advertising or another attempt to shave logs just a tiny bit thinner.

[lesmore49]

Maybe because I'm an old Canadian guy, I still convert (in my head) metric to the old British Imperial system, which we in Canada used till the early '70's. I went through elementary and high school, finishing up in '68...before the metrication of Canada took place. I still use both Imperial system and Metric, but things make more sense (if that makes sense) to me in pints, quarts, oz. , gallons, inches, feet, yards...etc.

Being a long time motorcycle enthusiast I convert a 750cc to a 45 cubic inches...a 500cc to a 30.5 cubic inch engine, and so forth. Performance figures such as 0-100 Kph...make more sense as 0-60 mph, probably because most of the media I have read over the years is either American or British based. Quarter mile drag times used to be, and I think they still are measured in seconds and MPH...think they still are, although I haven't been to a drag strip in a few years.

My hand tools are a combination of SAE and Metric...and in addition I have quite a few Whitworth tools as I have an old English made Matchless motorcycle which uses the English Whitworth measurement fasteners.

When it comes to units of measurement I would say I'm a Renaissance man.

[RobG]

Sometimes I change my GPS to KM just to remember my equivalencies from when I drove in Korea. I also think in Kilometers for distance from lots of map work while I was in the military. Does that make me Bi-lingual? Bi-measurement? Or maybe something else?

Versatile? I just find that relating driving at 100 kmh to the time to drive somewhere is a whole lot simpler in your head than 60 miles an hour. But perhaps folks in the USA are able to think in base 12 better than me.

The USA has 87-96 octane. Europe has 98 and Japan can go over 100 octane. Yet octane is a different thing in different countries. RON, AKI, MON.

I didn't know that. We use RON in Australia, and frankly I have no idea what it means. I'm just glad that my current car doesn't require 98 octane.

Building products with varied units: a 4x8 foot sheet of plywood, 12 mm thick.

Wouldn't that be half an inch thick? (and yes, I know that an inch is 25.4mm)

Order a beer in a pub, and you'll certainly be offered choices in pints, half-pints, 20 ounces, or even quarts. No metric here!

"It comes in pints?"

In Norway we use litres/10 km - a Scandinavian "mile" being 10 km that would be read as "litres to the mile". Fish is measured in hectolitres (in the industry, not in the shops!). It's a unit rarely used for anything else, I think. Fluids tend to be measured in milli-, centi- and decilitres as well as litres, but you'll never see decalitres or kilolitres. Larger amounts than what's convenient to measure in litres will usually be measured in tonnes or cubic metres (which both are close enough to equivalent to 1,000 litres in daily life).

Lots of measurements which I never see in Australia. The only situation I've seen where "hecto" is used is for atmospheric pressure in hectopascals which equates closely to millibars.

When it comes to units of measurement I would say I'm a Renaissance man.

Referring above, extremely versatile! On the other hand I'm glad I don't have to worry so much about non-metric measurements anymore unless I want to fly a plane. Or drive in the USA. Or try to get my head around the weight of a Saturn V.

[MarkJerling]

Is the ton ever used as a measurement in the USA?.

Only in Walmart dressing rooms.

[pschlute]

In the UK our food is all supplied in grams and kilos but we order our beer in pints in the pub.

We fill our cars up at the pumps in litres but measure our usage in miles per gallon.

Our measurements are overwhelmingly all in metric except if you are travelling anywhere when it is all in miles.

There is one area where the Imperial system still holds strong, aviation. With the exception of Russia* and China the whole world flies to altitudes in feet. Speed is measured in Nautical miles per hour. Hour ! now there is something that could go metric


*I think even Russia uses feet for high altitude flight levels.

[lesmore49]

In the UK our food is all supplied in grams and kilos but we order our beer in pints in the pub.

We fill our cars up at the pumps in litres but measure our usage in miles per gallon.

Our measurements are overwhelmingly all in metric except if you are travelling anywhere when it is all in miles.

There is one area where the Imperial system still holds strong, aviation. With the exception of Russia* and China the whole world flies to altitudes in feet. Speed is measured in Nautical miles per hour. Hour ! now there is something that could go metric


*I think even Russia uses feet for high altitude flight levels.

The tale of the 'Gimli Glider' is a long story, but a fascinating one about when two measurement systems...British Imperial and Metric... get confused when it comes to refuelling a large commercial jet.

The plane somehow landed after all jet engines ran out of gas and it was able to glide an incredible distance.

It landed at WWll RCAF training facility for RCAF, US , British and Australian military pilots ..that had been converted to a racing facility...with a drag strip, a sportscar racing facility and a motorcycle roadracing track. I've been to all three types of races...where this adventure ended.


https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact..._iWph_xIR7BtTW

I live about 90 kilometres , which is about 55.9 miles away from Gimli.

[RobG]

In the UK our food is all supplied in grams and kilos but we order our beer in pints in the pub. We fill our cars up at the pumps in litres but measure our usage in miles per gallon. Our measurements are overwhelmingly all in metric except if you are travelling anywhere when it is all in miles. There is one area where the Imperial system still holds strong, aviation. With the exception of Russia* and China the whole world flies to altitudes in feet. Speed is measured in Nautical miles per hour. Hour ! now there is something that could go metric *I think even Russia uses feet for high altitude flight levels.

The use of nautical miles in aviation is to do with the historical definition of the nautical mile at 1/60 of a degree of latitude along any line of longitude (one minute). It's now defined as 1852 metres. With the USA and UK initially dominant in the aviation industry after WW2, speeds in knots, distances in nautical miles and flight levels in feet have been made the standard.

The tale of the 'Gimli Glider' is a long story, but a fascinating one about when two measurement systems...British Imperial and Metric... get confused when it comes to refuelling a large commercial jet. The plane somehow landed after all jet engines ran out of gas and it was able to glide an incredible distance. I live about 90 kilometres , which is about 55.9 miles away from Gimli.

Yes, the pilot essentially had half the amount of fuel because one measurement was in kilos while another was in pounds, and the units hadn't been recorded when the figures were provided. The part which is in my opinion criminal is that the aircraft didn't have an operational fuel gauge yet was allowed to fly. The pilot had actually flown out of Gimli while in the military, and had also flown gliders. The aircraft would have crashed except for those two factors. Gimli was the only airstrip (uknown to him now a dragstrip) which they could reach, and his experience with gliding meant he had some experience with side-slipping to bleed off speed. That was probably the only time a commercial jet has ever been side-slipped. The aircraft landed safely. There were some minor injuries because the front wheel collapsed, and the slides at the back of the aircraft were too high. But the aircraft was repaired and I believe it is still flying.