Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Metrics

The UK uses the metric system. Sort of. I started thinking about it after last night's ramble. We began going metric some considerable time ago, as a consequence of our E U membership. But with typical British eccentricity didn't quite make it all the way.

The metric system is the one taught in schools (and has been for somewhere between 25 & 30 years) unlike my school days where we still learnt the Imperial system with its many quaint measurements. As a result of that I not only know how many yards there are in a mile (1760 if anyone's interested) but I know what chains are, and furlongs, and cubits, and I still know how long a rod, pole or perch, is. My 20-year-old nephew doesn't - and he can't really picture a pound of apples. Half a kilo, yes. But a pound?? Nope.

Most of our measurements are metric. I buy petrol (gasoline), juice, oil, vinegar, paint, etc. in litres, (though draught beer in pubs is still sold by the pint. As, I believe, is milk delivered to the doorstep). Apples, potatoes, marge, plaster, concrete, etc are sold by the kilo, tins of beans, catfood, etc. by the gramme.

I measure my wallpaper and my doors by the centimetre, and I buy my wood by the metre. In fact when dealing with wood, plaster or any other work-related material I no longer think in Imperial - I can't - I'm so used to dealing in metric that I can visualise that I want a two-metre plank for that gap but I can't quite figure out what I would need in feet or inches. And when I give my weight (or when I used to give my dogs weights) I give them in kilos. I can only offer an approximate weight in Imperial. I know exactly what I weigh in kilos.

But when it comes to buying jeans my inside leg is 32. That's 32 inches. I have no idea what size that is in centimetres. That's the British for you. Weird.

Oh and while I'm on the subject - people who refer to a "metric ton" - No. Ton is Imperial. If it's metric it's a tonne, and you don't need the word "metric". Not that it matters because an Imperial ton, an American ton (American measurements are sometimes slightly different to Imperial even though they bear the same name. A US gallon is smaller than an Imperial gallon, for example) and a tonne are very nearly the same weight.

Know what I'm going to do now?? I'm going to let curiosity get the better of me and I'm going to measure my inside leg in centimetres. Because I want to know, damnit.

See you next week, goodnight and may you God/s go with you.

Ze

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