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W∴ Balboos, GHB wrote: but metric just doesn't have any sort of poetic soul.
Totally agree; it was forced on us (badly) when we joined what was then the Common Market.
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No it wasn't forced on us, the UK began the adoption of the metric system in 1965 which was 8 years before joining he common market, but metric units had been legalised for UK trade since 1897.
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Tony Hill wrote: It wasn't forced on us
It pretty much was when it became illegal to sell bananas etc. by imperial weight.
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Richard MacCutchan wrote: It pretty much was when it became illegal to sell bananas etc. by imperial weight.
meters?
pestilence [ pes-tl-uh ns ] noun
1. a deadly or virulent epidemic disease. especially bubonic plague.
2. something that is considered harmful, destructive, or evil.
Synonyms: pest, plague, people
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lopatir wrote: meters?
Either that or Gigaparsecs.
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It was never illegal to sell bananas using only metric measures as we were allowed to use supplementary indications for a limited period which was extended several times due to public resistance to the metric units until 2009, in 2009 the requirement to ultimately cease use of traditional units alongside metric units was finally removed.
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W∴ Balboos, GHB wrote: Richard MacCutchan wrote: Well, ounces are measures of weight
And volume
That's fluid ounces (you have to say the word "fluid", or people might misunderstand).
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Well - I think that works both ways - but here's a trick: consider the context!
When someone say use an "eight ounce cup", I would imagine only a very very small portion of the population would imagine that meant that one should weigh the vessel to determine its appropriateness for use. They'd probably jump to the irrational conclusion that it must be the cup's measured volume which they need to ascertain.
And I was talking in relation to "pint" - which sort of clarifies everything to almost everyone.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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W∴ Balboos, GHB wrote: * much like a liter of water is very very nearly 1kg at STP, but metric just doesn't have any sort of poetic soul.
Oh yes it does: From the British Metrication Board (or some such quango) in the 1970s:
"A litre of water's a pint and three quarters"
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Ahhhh - but the volume units are superb.
ounce->gil->cup->pint->quart->gallon(->peck->bushel)
Buy the way - how much does a kilogram of beer go for these days ?
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Except there are five ounces to a gill. 
W∴ Balboos, GHB wrote: Buy the way - how much does a kilogram of beer go for these days ?
Way to much.
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As you can see, it's proof of yet another problem with the metric system.
You've changed the values for four and/or five.
Google[^]Quote: Although its capacity has varied with time and location, in the United States it is defined as half a cup, or four U.S. fluid ounces, . . .
I suspect yet another conspiracy by those metric-loving ghouls to discredit the rival system? !
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Well your mistake is obvious, is it not?
These are imperial units - for the UK - and they have been contaminated by their excessive exposure to the Common Market and then the EU. Of course they're stuff is a mess.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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W∴ Balboos, GHB wrote: Buy the way - how much does a kilogram of beer go for these days ?
If you know the cost of a pound of beer, just divide that by 0.45359237.
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I suppose most people know that historically, an "inch" was the length of the outer joint of you thumb. When people disagreed, the thumb of the king settled the disagreement. Different countries had kings with different kings, so when the inch (or "tomme" - the name of the thumb in Nordic languages is "tommel") was normalized, each country set its own standard. The Norwegian "tomme" was set to 26,2 mm (as opposed to the US 25,4 mm) - Norwegian kings had big hands!
In the 1970s, there was this Norwegian computer company, "Norsk Data", who had grown so large that they started buying components such as power supplies from other vendors. These were made to fit into 19 inch racks, and the Norsk Data guys had to put together their first racks. But they were so roomy - the power supplies were about to fall down!
It was soon discovered that those building the rack had made them 19 * 26.2 mm = 498 mm wide, rather than 19 * 25.4 = 483 mm wide.
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I just wish they were around for more countries and measure types.
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W∴ Balboos, GHB wrote: A pint's a pound the world 'round.
Doesn't that depend on which "pint" you're talking about?
Pint - Wikipedia[^]
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
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In informal Norwegian speech, "half a liter" can be used as a measure of time: "I have been sitting here for about two half liters" or "I've got only a half liter or time". It is rarely used outside the pubs, or when referring to pubs.
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err: Fluid ounce - Wikipedia[^]
pestilence [ pes-tl-uh ns ] noun
1. a deadly or virulent epidemic disease. especially bubonic plague.
2. something that is considered harmful, destructive, or evil.
Synonyms: pest, plague, people
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OP did not mention that he was talking about a fluid ounce. An ounce of coffee and a fluid ounce of coffee are not necessarily the same thing. 
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I suspect that if you use one ounce of coffee (beans) to brew one fluid ounce of cup of coffee, you'd notice the difference 
GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)
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