Why kms?

[Dayvo]

We ought to adopt the Cockney rhyming slang with regard to monetary terms. They ‘ad it well sussed!

The most widely recognised Cockney rhyming slang terms for money include 'pony' which is £25, a 'ton' is £100 and a 'monkey', which equals £500. Also used regularly is a 'score' which is £20, a 'bullseye' is £50, a 'grand' is £1,000 and a 'deep sea diver' which is £5 (a fiver).

 

[Kryton521]

Learned metric in school. Couldn't tell you how far it is, "to that over there" in feet/yards but it's xyz in metres.

We kept "imperial" measurement as England refused to meet with continental scientists to agree a universal measurement system. So Brexit has been in the making since 1816!!!

 

[icowden]

I always thought a fiver was a "Godiva" (lady)

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I have a 1:25000 map of Purbeck with the altitude in feet. This confused me as the 600m ascent seemed remarkably easy.

The 1:25,000 first series started in 1945 and were compiled from the six inch mapping. So used the original aerial spot heights, contours in feet. It wasn’t till the second series in 1974 that contours and spot heights in metres appeared.

I too remember first map reading using feet and then metres on 1:25,000 first series, subsequently second series.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Here you go, first series 1:25,000 sheet covering Kinder Scout and still using feet. First set of maps I learnt to navigate with.

 

[figbat]

IIRC there was an incident in Canada where an aircraft ran out of fuel mid-flight (the "Gimli Glider") due to an error where imperial units for fuel density were used instead of metric and the tank was only half filled.

Indeed - a great bit of flying averted a disaster there. Oddly, the units mistakenly used were a mix of avoirdupois and metric - pounds per litre.

The Mars Climate Orbiter was not so lucky, destroying itself on arrival at Mars thanks to a unit error.

 

[Once a Wheeler]

I suspect some of it is to do with distance data now being frequently related to other data sets such as biometry, meteorology, gearing and power output that are now most commonly expressed in metric units.

There is some jokingly quaint contrarian fun to be had in buying 5lbs 12oz of potatoes at four shillings and ninepence a pound; but for all practical purposes thoroughgoing metrication must be the better way.

 

[straas]

Because we use the metric system?

Miles are outdated and should be removed from use.

In my job I have to work in, miles, metres, yards and chains. It's infuriating. But at least I don't have to work in units of pounds for force like the americans.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Just to ensure we stay on topic: It's possible that if I went out for a ride with my Garmin mistakenly set to miles instead of km I could inadvertently destroy myself.

Well if you set out on a 200 kilometre winter ride, and it turned out to be 200 miles. You might be destroyed at the end of the latter but not the former.

 

[I like Skol]

Well if you set out on a 200 kilometre winter ride, and it turned out to be 200 miles. You might be destroyed at the end of the latter but not the former.

Or you might accidentally crash into Slough, and that would be disastrous

 

[Venod]

I suspect some of it is to do with distance data now being frequently related to other data sets such as biometry, meteorology, gearing and power output that are now most commonly expressed in metric units.

Gearing is an interesting one I am not anti metric but I always refer to Gearing in inch numbers.

 

[Once a Wheeler]

Gearing is an interesting one I am not anti metric but I always refer to Gearing in in inch numbers.

Your observation also agrees with my experience. However, the inch system is effectively a comparative index and not a true indication of the gear. The inch index is reasonably simple — high=>100, low=<40 — but a so-called 100" gear actually propels the bike forward by about 315", not 100". The equivalent metric usage — high=>8m, low=<4m — has the advantage of giving the real advance of the machine for each complete chainwheel rotation and is, I think, equally intuitive. Each to his or her own; but when the question is 'How many pedal strokes to a particular distance?' metric wins every time.

 

[classic33]

Your observation also agrees with my experience. However, the inch system is effectively a comparative index and not a true indication of the gear. The inch index is reasonably simple — high=>100, low=<40 — but a so-called 100" gear actually propels the bike forward by about 315", not 100". The equivalent metric usage — high=>8m, low=<4m — has the advantage of giving the real advance of the machine for each complete chainwheel rotation and is, I think, equally intuitive. Each to his or her own; but when the question is 'How many pedal strokes to a particular distance?' metric wins every time.

I freewheel downhill, thereby reducing the number of pedal strokes required

 

[Sharky]

We ought to adopt the Cockney rhyming slang with regard to monetary terms. They ‘ad it well sussed!

The most widely recognised Cockney rhyming slang terms for money include 'pony' which is £25, a 'ton' is £100 and a 'monkey', which equals £500. Also used regularly is a 'score' which is £20, a 'bullseye' is £50, a 'grand' is £1,000 and a 'deep sea diver' which is £5 (a fiver).

Pony is also slang for something else ...

e.g. That route you took us on was "pony"

 

[Dayvo]

Pony is also slang for something else ...

e.g. That route you took us on was "pony"

Yeah, from ’pony and trap’.
My grandmother was a Cockney - she toned it down as she got older.