General > General Technical Chat

UK back to "imperial" measurements ?

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Someone:

--- Quote from: vk6zgo on May 30, 2022, 12:20:28 pm ---
--- Quote from: themadhippy on May 30, 2022, 11:32:52 am ---brilliant news, i can order a pint of bitter and a pint of shandy instead of a pint of bitter and a large shandy
--- End quote ---
In Oz, we seem to have undergone a process of "Re-Imperialisation by stealth".

If I want to buy a "Pint" of Beer, I will travel to the "Old Dart"---- Oz beer was served by the "Pot", "Schooner", "Middy" or "Glass".
Such measures were so imbedded in the Australian psyche, that the Metrication Board even turned out a chart, specifying the quantities in Metric measures.
--- End quote ---
yet the states all disagreeing on the names:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_in_Australia#Beer_glasses

Plenty of themed places selling metric beers in 1l/500ml units.

vk6zgo:

--- Quote from: TimFox on May 30, 2022, 07:35:51 pm ---Before 1974, the price of gasoline in the US was well below $1.00 per US gallon.
With the oil shock, the price rose, but most gas-station pumps could not use a price above $1.00.
However, most could be set for liters, so Americans found themselves buying gasoline by the liter until the pumps could be replaced.
Now, the US retail price is above $1.00 per liter, but the electronic pump controls can handle much higher prices than that.

Similarly, wine and spirits used to be sold here by the "fifth", which was 1/5 gallon = 0.8 quart = 757.0 ml = 25.6 fl oz.
Taking advantage of the standard European size for spirits and wine bottles, we now buy them in 750 ml size = 25.4 fl oz.
We all know what happens to prices when units change.

--- End quote ---

Back around that time (actually, a bit earlier, in 1971), I was surprised that Brits asked for "so many gallons" if they ordered fuel.

In Oz, it was normal to just say "fill 'er up", or ask for say "$20 of super, or whatever", & that habit was carried over into self serve pumps.
After all, the amount you were paying was the important bit!

Someone:

--- Quote from: Benta on May 30, 2022, 08:11:57 pm ---
--- Quote from: TimFox on May 30, 2022, 08:07:59 pm ---Re:  Benta

Before 1959, the US legal definition was 1 meter = 39.37 inch (exactly), which is slightly different than the current legal definition (post-1959) that 1 inch = 2.54 cm (exactly).
This makes a difference for legal measurements of land tenure, which just got messed up again recently with the proposed abolition of the "US Survey Foot" that perpetuated the previous definition.
https://www.nist.gov/pml/us-surveyfoot

--- End quote ---
@TimFox:
which proves my point. If there's no common reference, you're deep in manure. Henry Ford and US industry were smarter. Imagine specifying a precision-cut 1/4" milled slot when the supplier doesn't have the same inch size as you.
--- End quote ---
Not many real world problems are put out by ppm discrepancies (which is the scale of that linked change). Which comes back around to the actual accuracy achievable in use:


--- Quote from: Benta on May 30, 2022, 09:09:18 pm ---
--- Quote from: TimFox on May 30, 2022, 08:53:55 pm ---It brags about measurement precision down to low millionths of an inch.
--- End quote ---
Yes. Those would be the reference Jo Blocks kept in a temperature-controlled safe.
The calibration blocks would be good to 1/1000 mm, the production blocks at around 5/1000 mm.
Normal practice.
--- End quote ---

sleemanj:

--- Quote from: Benta on May 30, 2022, 08:00:24 pm ---exception of the kilogram. That one's still being worked on.

--- End quote ---

The new definition of the kilogram was adopted in 2019

vk6zgo:

--- Quote from: Someone on May 31, 2022, 12:01:09 am ---
--- Quote from: vk6zgo on May 30, 2022, 12:20:28 pm ---
--- Quote from: themadhippy on May 30, 2022, 11:32:52 am ---brilliant news, i can order a pint of bitter and a pint of shandy instead of a pint of bitter and a large shandy
--- End quote ---
In Oz, we seem to have undergone a process of "Re-Imperialisation by stealth".

If I want to buy a "Pint" of Beer, I will travel to the "Old Dart"---- Oz beer was served by the "Pot", "Schooner", "Middy" or "Glass".
Such measures were so imbedded in the Australian psyche, that the Metrication Board even turned out a chart, specifying the quantities in Metric measures.
--- End quote ---
yet the states all disagreeing on the names:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_in_Australia#Beer_glasses

Plenty of themed places selling metric beers in 1l/500ml units.

--- End quote ---

I've never heard of "shetland" or "bobbie/six" in WA (maybe made up by the contributor to Wiki?).
Way back, our "middy" was a different size to the  container of that name in other States, & was "brought into line" with theirs, much to the disgust of many in WA-----this was well before Metrication.

Maybe some other States may have kept their original drink sizes, but "pints" seem to have been all-conquering in WA.
Interestingly, in my several later visits (post 2000) to Sydney & Melbourne, I never bought a beer, so my recent experience is all WA.

Another place where I would argue that there has been a resurgence of Imperial measures is in hardware supplies.

If you want to buy a few galvanised bolts in Bunnings, there are shelf after shelf of Imperial ones, but only a few of their Metric counterparts.
I put it down to India, which is a huge (& very inexpensive) supplier of such hardware, being still largely Imperial.
Of course, for most home projects it doesn't much matter.

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