A message from The Queen, to the Americans.

[Hover Fly]

When I started my French barn conversion I was used to Imperial measures. Now I can easily use both, sometimes at the same time, work in Fahrenheit of Celsius, drive on either side of the road according to which Channel side I am on and convert Km to Ms almost without thinking. Set in my ways? Moi? (Am still pretty basic at speaking foreign tho.)

one of the builders who does occasional repair jobs on Ch. Syrphe uses a rule marked in pouce and pied.

 

[tyred]

A wee mistake there: the UK has never really converted to metric, they have only been kidding the rest of the European Union, in an effort to fit in.
You didn't really believe on the continent we go about measuring stuff using the mm?

I'm happily bi-lingual in measurement units but I find the people who insist on imperial don't actually understand it anyway and couldn't tell you how many yards in a mile or pounds in a hundredweight.

Furthermore, I've seen people that would add something like 2'8" and 3'9" and come up with 6.7 rather than the correct answer of 6'5" because they apparently think there are 10" in a foot. There again,. I've seen people do this with hours and minutes as well so it must be a problem grasping basic maths.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I'm happily bi-lingual in measurement units but I find the people who insist on imperial don't actually understand it anyway and couldn't tell you how many yards in a mile or pounds in a hundredweight.

Furthermore, I've seen people that would add something like 2'8" and 3'9" and come up with 6.7 rather than the correct answer of 6'5" because they apparently think there are 10" in a foot. There again,. I've seen people do this with hours and minutes as well so it must be a problem grasping basic maths.

That's why metric is easier: 100 cm in a meter, 100 cl in a liter, 1000 gr in a kg ... what size is this foot you mention?

 

[colly]

Yebbut just to confuse the issue 1litre is actually 1.000028 decimeters cubed


Edit: You can blame the French for getting the density of water wrong when they set up the SI system in the 18th century.

 

[Profpointy]

Yebbut just to confuse the issue 1litre is actually 1.000028 decimeters cubed


Edit: You can blame the French for getting the density of water wrong when they set up the SI system in the 18th century.

Hasn't it been changed now though, so "new" litres are slightly short measure.

 

[colly]

Hasn't it been changed now though, so "new" litres are slightly short measure.

Outrageous !
I knew. I mean I just knew that last bottle of wine was short.