UK vs US use of imperial measures

[alpg88]

It is a line from Pulp fiction movie, i wonder if this burger really exists/

 

[bykfixer]

cuz they use metric system, lol

The Meaning Behind The Song: Royale with Cheese (Dialogue) by John Travolta - Old-time music

The Story Behind “Royale with Cheese” When we talk about Quentin Tarantino’s classic 1994 movie, Pulp Fiction, we can never forget one of the most memorable scenes of the film, the one where Vincent Vega (played by John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (played by Samuel L. Jackson) are having a...

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[Chauncey Gardiner]

I mean, they got the same s… over there that they got here but it's just there, it's a little different.

 

[TPA]

Oddly, when Canada was metricated (metrified?) decades ago, some regulations came in to specify retail food weights in metric though does not preclude the old imperial values. You can get pork chops for $2.99 per pound or $6.59 per kilogram.

Now that you mention that, IIRC Florida only allows beer to be sold in specific sizes, all standard US-units.

 

[Toulouse42]

The UK was indeed metricated but some was useful and some was by compulsion. When metric money came in (100 pence to the pound), it was a relatively easy change as some of the basic coins were the same. Most people just accepted it. We insisted on keeping miles and gallons and pints for beer, but the metric system of weights and measures was introduced. People were punished for selling groceries by the pound (The Metric Martyrs). This is really ironic of course as many goods are still sold in odd numbers of grams or millilitres that are actually the equivalent to imperial sizes. For example lots of food is sold in packs of 454 grams which is actually 1 pound.

Also we calculate fuel consumption in miles per gallon but buy gasoline in litres.

 

[troutpool]

Interstate 19, which runs from Tucson, Arizona, to Nogales, Arizona, on the border with Mexico, is marked along its whole length in kilometers and meters. It used to be the only US highway marked entirely in metric.

I embrace the change to BCE and CE, and I use them.

 

[letschat7]

A pint of Guinness in a pub here has more liquid than a pint of West Virginia beer(Mothman), Ohio beer(Pioneer Blonde Ale) or Pennsylvania beer(Yuengling.) I used to only drink European or local.

 

[Lowglow]

Cheers for the input. It's really interesting to read. Good point about UK fuel Toulouse, I forgot that one. Its really nuts to know your cars MPG yet buy in litres with a MPG display in the car. Miles per litre would be more appropriate!

Another one is hammers. In the UK hammers are always in ounces 16 or 20 ounces being most popular. Also beer in cans was always 500ml....but now I'm seeing pint cans as well. I never thought I'd see those! For temperature my wall thermometer also shows degrees Ré which is another scale that was was used in the UK at the end of the 1800's (mostly used in Europe). Photo below.

Here's a question for 100% metric members. Are your car tyres still measured in inches like 16" or do they convert to cm?

 

[letschat7]

Some old rifles floating around where I live use some old Russian measurement for calibre. Three lines means 7.62 mm.

 

[fulee9999]

just to add to the UK - US metrics, when you do electrical, it's sometimes AWG, sometimes mm² ( 16 AWG or 1.5 wire ), but at least in both countries the use of conduit ( which is also pretty standard elsewhere ) is basically non-existent if it's not a surface mount

 

[fulee9999]

Here's a question for 100% metric members. Are your car tyres still measured in inches like 16" or do they convert to cm?

inches, stirctly. Never even heard of a metric tire size. Same goes for plumbing, for water lines it's 3/8" for faucets and such, 1/2" basically anywhere else and 3/4" for hoses ( but for wastewater it's always mm, 40mm for basins and such, 50mm for tub drains ).

 

[Galane]

AFAIK everyone uses vehicle wheel diameters in inches, unless China has enough of a home market of vehicle production and tire production of models they never export.

For tires and some other products used worldwide from back before metric got the upper hand, there's simply too much inertia from old product still in use. Despite the constant "drop off" of the oldest vehicles, the number of older vehicles still in use with inch wheels keeps the need going for inch tires. There's just too much out there to attempt to force a change. It would be crazy expensive for a majority of tire companies to have new molds made for metric wheel diameters while continuing production of inch diameter tires. It would take perhaps 20 years to reduce the number of vehicles with inch wheels to a number where most inch tire manufacture could stop.

In 1975 Michelin introduced a new low-profile tire and a new wheel design to go with it. Due to the way the tire fit onto the wheel being quite different from standard practice, they decided to use metric diameters of 315, 340, 365, 390, and 415 millimeters. A range of 12.4" to 16.3"

Avon, Continental, Goodyear, and Dunlop also made some sizes of TRX tires. Notably, Ford was the only American company to offer TRX wheels and tires as OEM equipment, with tires by Goodyear.

The TRX's goose was cooked by the mid 1980's as other companies improved their tire technology for standard wheels. By 2014 TRX tires were still available through Michelin Classic. Some time after that the molds were sold to Coker Tire. Their site says they have limited stock and future production is not guaranteed.

So if you have a 1975 to whenever car with TRX wheels, buy a new set of tires now because it may be the last new set you'll be able to get.

 

[alpg88]

Actually tire size always use both, millimeters for width, ratio for sidewall height, and inches for diameter.
my wheels are 265/45r20
265mm wide, sidewall is 45% of the width, radial, 20 inches rim diameter

 

[bykfixer]

Actually tire size always use both, millimeters for width, ratio for sidewall height, and inches for diameter.
my wheels are 265/45r20
265mm wide, sidewall is 45% of the width, radial, 20 inches rim diameter

I had some "mud" tires on a company truck that used all US numbers, no metric numbers like widths. 14"x8". The company would put regular all season on the front and those mud tires on the rear that rode like driving over a zipper would feel. They cupped within the first couple thousand miles too so then you had that whole egg shaped tire thing going. Once you got off road things were fine but driving on the interstate between town A and town B was really annoying.

 

[jabe1]

I remember many European cars taking 390 diameter. Working on imported cars got me doing most of my calculations in metric. I also had an old '77 dodge pickup, ex military (m880) that wore 16.5 inch tires; only Goodyear had replacements that I could find without having to order. They were also higher pressure, IIRC 65psi.

 

[letschat7]

Thanks for the history lesson Galane.

 

[Galane]

I remember many European cars taking 390 diameter. Working on imported cars got me doing most of my calculations in metric. I also had an old '77 dodge pickup, ex military (m880) that wore 16.5 inch tires; only Goodyear had replacements that I could find without having to order. They were also higher pressure, IIRC 65psi.

16.5" were split ring, with the odd size chosen to stop people from installing 16" tires on those wheels. IIRC near the end of use of 16.5" there were some drop center rims made for them, without the split ring. Much safer to use because the tire installer didn't have the ring to make sure was properly installed. These days finding new 16.5" tires can be quite difficult and expensive. It's usually more cost effective to find 16" or 17" wheels to fit the truck and buy new tires for those.

My father, before he was drafted into the Army in 1960, worked in the tire shop at a Montgomery Ward store. They did a lot of 16.5" truck tires. The tire machine had a cage to flip down whenever air was being put into a newly mounted 16.5, in case the ring popped off. The ceiling above the machine had several circles impressed into it from when someone didn't put the cage down and hadn't got the ring on properly.

Anyone caught putting air in a 16.5 with the cage up was instantly fired on the spot.

16.5" still lingers on with some older farm trucks. Military Hummers also used them. One soldier who Michael Moore put in one of his "documentaries" (he never gave approval for any part of his interview to be used) lost parts of both his arms when a 16.5 ring came loose while he was putting the wheel on a Hummer.

This video shows a man thrown into the air by an exploding 16.5. He foolishly has a foot resting on it while not having it in a cage.

 

[letschat7]

With Youtube being on the internet and the internet having everything why would they age restrict anything? This is as stupid as Surefire asking my age when I visit.