Inches or mm

[b_force]

Worst is going back to a right driving country while being in a left driving country for a long time 
I still struggle in some situations. (like total brain lock up )


I don't think there is wrong or right in this. It's about convenience.
But I guess some countries are simply too stubborn.

[IanB]

That is not a problem at all (at least for me when driving in Jakarta). The worst thing is that the indicators and light controls are on the wrong side as well. But I'd go with my own car anyway.

Oh? These days every car I have encountered has the indicator stalk on the left and the wiper stalk on the right.

[Zero999]

This discussion is pointless. Why not ask why the UK drives on the wrong side?
Would yield the same 20 pages of flaming.

I think that's totally different.

With imperial vs metric, it's easy to choose and both can easily be used, so long as the units are defined. As far as which side of the road to drive on is concerned: everyone on the same road network must do the same, otherwise chaos would ensue.

Why hasn't the UK changed to driving on the right hand side? Probably because it would be too costly and the sudden increase in accidents that would follow when people forget.

The UK changed to metric, as far as trade and industry are concerned, yet all the road signs are still in imperial, most likely for the same reason as above. I don't see why the US can't do the same, even if it is slowly phased in over a long period of time.

[tautech]

That is not a problem at all (at least for me when driving in Jakarta). The worst thing is that the indicators and light controls are on the wrong side as well. But I'd go with my own car anyway.

Oh? These days every car I have encountered has the indicator stalk on the left and the wiper stalk on the right.

Ha, most here are the opposite. Indicator right and wiper left, isn't that the correct way?  Most southern hemisphere built cars are this way and the first time I encountered the reverse was in a UK assembled Mk 2 Escort Sports I had for a while 30 yrs back. Previous to that I had a couple of locally assembled Mk 3 Cortina's and they both were indicator on the right.

[IanB]

Ha, most here are the opposite. Indicator right and wiper left, isn't that the correct way?  Most southern hemisphere built cars are this way...

Usually I would say the indicator stalk should be on the opposite side from the gear stick so you can operate the indicators while changing gear. So ideally, British cars would have the indicator on the right. However, since mainland Europe has the gear stick on the right the auto manufacturers seem to have standardized on putting the indicator stalk on the left for all markets. Presumably it is easier to manufacture the wheel assembly that way without needing to make two versions of it.

[zapta]

... My statement was:

Also, millimetres are inherently more accurate as an integer quantity

Let me guess, you specify all your capacitors in pf.

[Brumby]

In the range of 10^-12F to 10^-9F, yes.

Sometimes up to 10^-8F.


But you attempt at being 'clever' fails.


The straw man is really getting a workout...!

[Brumby]

Inches ? its a North American thing the world is now metric    A disaster investigation board reports that NASA’s Mars Climate Orbiter burned up in the Martian atmosphere because engineers failed to convert units from American to metric.

"American"?

Is the Imperial system now so on the outer that it's very name is fading from consciousness - and the system is now identified by it's minority user base?

[guido]

I once was in the west of Ireland on a short holiday trip after a course in Dublin (those were the days..). We went out with some french girls in the evening and there was no pub in the village we were staying. So we drove with them to the next village a few kilometers miles away in their little Peugot. About half way we decided it would probably be better to drive on the other side of the road    Luckily there is no traffic in those parts of Ireland.

Later i had a girlfriend for years from Dublin. She always talked about stones when she was talking about her weight (woman..). No idea at all what she was on about,  the numbers did not say anything to me.

By the way, they are going to change to right side driving in the UK too. Busses and lories first 

[zapta]

My metric drill bit set. Got it at a local hardware store.

[Brumby]

OK....  I'll pay that.

An interesting size selection.  That's the Imperial compatible set, isn't it?

[IanB]

Is the Imperial system now so on the outer that it's very name is fading from consciousness - and the system is now identified by it's minority user base?

The Imperial system of measurement is (was) used by the UK and by British Commonwealth countries. The USA uses the US Customary system of measurement. They are similar but not identical. For instance, one US ton is 2000 lb, but one Imperial ton is 2240 lb. One Imperial fluid ounce is equal to 0.96076 US fluid ounces. Not to mention that one Imperial pint is 20 fluid ounces, whereas one US pint is 16 fluid ounces.

[zapta]

OK....  I'll pay that.

An interesting size selection.  That's the Imperial compatible set, isn't it?

Hardware store here don't carry metric drill bits and 95% of the tape rulers are imperial only. Surprisingly enough, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the illegals metrics at the southern boarder keep flowing in.

[Brumby]

Is the Imperial system now so on the outer that it's very name is fading from consciousness - and the system is now identified by it's minority user base?

The Imperial system of measurement is (was) used by the UK and by British Commonwealth countries. The USA uses the US Customary system of measurement. They are similar but not identical. For instance, one US ton is 2000 lb, but one Imperial ton is 2240 lb. One Imperial fluid ounce is equal to 0.96076 US fluid ounces. Not to mention that one Imperial pint is 20 fluid ounces, whereas one US pint is 16 fluid ounces.

I was forgetting.

Thank you.  I stand corrected.

[Brumby]

OK....  I'll pay that.

An interesting size selection.  That's the Imperial compatible set, isn't it?

Hardware store here don't carry metric drill bits and 95% of the tape rulers are imperial only. Surprisingly enough, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the illegals metrics at the southern boarder keep flowing in.

There's no argument imperial measurements work - and for those familiar with them, to change might seem ridiculous - but I believe the metric system will eventually take over for all but some well established examples, such as altitude for aircraft.  Some places will take longer than others ... but it will happen.

[ivaylo]

The worst part of it: the stick is on the wrong side. You have to get an automatic rental. Which is expensive.

I could deal with that the few times I rented a car in the UK. Even the two lane, six way roundabouts could be navigated with a decent app and a watchful wife. Wasn't tempted to veer on the other side either. My biggest problem, I figured, on the narrow roads in Schottland (really, anything rural there is more like one lane) was that sitting on the wrong side I had no size perception for the opposite side of the vehicle. Kept missing the road, super scary... I thought myself an OK driver, never realized vehicle size perception could be so asymmetric.

[zapta]

... I believe the metric system will eventually take over for all but some well established examples, such as altitude for aircraft.  Some places will take longer than others ... but it will happen.

Any specific timeframe or is it an open ended prophesy?

[AntiProtonBoy]

Just look at this map. Not respecting the "metric advocates" actually means not respecting 94% of the worlds population.

Fucking penguins, man. 

[Brumby]

... I believe the metric system will eventually take over for all but some well established examples, such as altitude for aircraft.  Some places will take longer than others ... but it will happen.

Any specific timeframe or is it an open ended prophesy?

Putting a timeframe on it is a risky exercise - but I'll go with this....

2 generations after the last class on weights and measures has moved to metric.

[Jeroen3]

Isn't it part of the "make america great again" plan? They used metric to land people on the moon, now they rely on metricheskiy to get people to space.

^{this forum does not handle cyrillic very well:??}

[madires]

Fucking penguins, man. 

The map seems to be a tad outdated. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myanmar_units_of_measurement :

In October 2013, the Ministry of Commerce announced that Myanmar was preparing to adopt the International System of Units (SI System) as the country's official system of measurement.

[doobedoobedo]

Driving on the wrong side of the road is not a problem when driving abroad. However if you get a lift with someone it's hard not to head straight for the driver's seat.

Gallons seem to cause the most confusion for Europeans when talking to a Brit, they seem to be under the impression that a gallon is ~3.79l (US) when it is actually ~4.54l (imperial).

[poorchava]

Thing I wonder the most is why here in Poland and some neighboring countries (Czech Republic,  Slovakia etc) most plumbing dimensions are in inches (eg a common size for the pipe that connects toilet reservoir to the water supply is 1/2 or 3/8 of an inch)

Wys?ane z mojego HTC One M8s przy u?yciu Tapatalka

[madires]

You can blame Sir Joseph Whitworth for that.

[Brumby]

Hey! 

Sir Joseph was a good guy!!