Do you think in metric or imperial?
Discussion
Hooli said:
37 here & Imperial all the way. I refuse to talk french 
I'm English, live in England & use English measurements. We're restoring a cottage at the moment & enjoying pissing off window suppliers etc by saying we want stuff 32" rather about the same in MM. It's an English cottage & it'll be rebuilt in English just like it started off in 1640ish.
The UK Parliament opted to go metric in the 60s (nothing to do with the EU as such). I'm English, live in England & use English measurements. We're restoring a cottage at the moment & enjoying pissing off window suppliers etc by saying we want stuff 32" rather about the same in MM. It's an English cottage & it'll be rebuilt in English just like it started off in 1640ish.The English way is metric.
Aircraft engineer so work in both. Small sizes, say up to 2" I can pretty much convert instantly in my head without thinking. Imperial drill sizes, clearance holes etc I can convert to metric without realising I'm doing it. Daily, I tend to think imperial, mph, gallons, even lbs and not KG. I just find it easier. I'm 37.
Hooli said:
37 here & Imperial all the way. I refuse to talk french I'm English, live in England & use English measurements. We're restoring a cottage at the moment & enjoying pissing off window suppliers etc by saying we want stuff 32" rather about the same in MM. It's an English cottage & it'll be rebuilt in English just like it started off in 1640ish.
Roman units, uncia (inch) and pes (foot) I'm English, live in England & use English measurements. We're restoring a cottage at the moment & enjoying pissing off window suppliers etc by saying we want stuff 32" rather about the same in MM. It's an English cottage & it'll be rebuilt in English just like it started off in 1640ish.Both. I was taught in Metric, I can't tell you how many inches there are in a foot, or feet in a yard (but I know a chain is 22 yards, a furlong is 10 chains, a mile is 8 furlongs and a league is 3 miles useless information - motorways are measured in chains)
My height is Feet & inches, I'll measure something in centimeters.
My weight is in stones, but I'll cook in both! I know a Ib is about 450 gms, but work in pints and oz for liquids
useless information - motorways are measured in chains)My height is Feet & inches, I'll measure something in centimeters.
My weight is in stones, but I'll cook in both! I know a Ib is about 450 gms, but work in pints and oz for liquids
I use both systems.
lb & oz for weight when fishing or when I get on the scales (very rarely in case I frighten myself), but Kg when referring to automotive stuff. Weights of my kids when born was lb & oz, even though they did say Kg too.
Miles for distance, HP rather than PS or KW. but use microns & mm rather than inches & thou'.
I prefer Deg C when talking temperature, but I have found myself doing this with temperature. Using deg C for temp which are low and deg F if it is a scorching hot sunny day. Bonkers I know.
Drinks come in Pints from a pub, but litres from a shop.
Fuel consumption is even crazier, bought in litres but converted to gallons for fuel economy.
Basically I use the good ol' Imerial metric system
lb & oz for weight when fishing or when I get on the scales (very rarely in case I frighten myself), but Kg when referring to automotive stuff. Weights of my kids when born was lb & oz, even though they did say Kg too.
Miles for distance, HP rather than PS or KW. but use microns & mm rather than inches & thou'.
I prefer Deg C when talking temperature, but I have found myself doing this with temperature. Using deg C for temp which are low and deg F if it is a scorching hot sunny day. Bonkers I know.
Drinks come in Pints from a pub, but litres from a shop.
Fuel consumption is even crazier, bought in litres but converted to gallons for fuel economy.
Basically I use the good ol' Imerial metric system
ManFromDelmonte said:
P-Jay said:
Have I been buying Yank pints?
You must have, I didn't even know they had their own pints. Never happy are they.My explain why, in my limited experience they can't hold their drink, they've been getting short measure all these years.
P-Jay said:
I only found out earlier - two pages back, seems their gallon are actually the same size as ours - 8 pints, it's the pints that are smaller? - Yay Imperial, clear as ever!
My explain why, in my limited experience they can't hold their drink, they've been getting short measure all these years.
My explain why, in my limited experience they can't hold their drink, they've been getting short measure all these years.
16 fl oz to a pint vs our 20 fl oz. Although our fl oz are slightly smaller. 
Bungleaio said:
I had a conversation with a electrician yesterday about some new light fittings they need to install into a car showroom. One line that I came out with:
"It's six meters floor to ceiling but there's about another 8 foot of void between the ceiling and roof"
I get that all the time at work, metric and imperial is mixed often in construction, its pretty normal, you have to be able to think and use both."It's six meters floor to ceiling but there's about another 8 foot of void between the ceiling and roof"
Ive found that people use metric when being accurate and foot for a rough estimate.
In the early seventies, I went into a hardware store and asked for a gross of inch and a half, No.8, countersunk woodscrews.
"We've gone metric."
"Ah, okay, I'll have a gross of forty millimetre, countersunk woodscrews in whatever No.8 is now."
"We've gone metric."
"What does that mean, exactly?"
"You can have a hundred inch and a half eights."
"We've gone metric."
"Ah, okay, I'll have a gross of forty millimetre, countersunk woodscrews in whatever No.8 is now."
"We've gone metric."
"What does that mean, exactly?"
"You can have a hundred inch and a half eights."
I find as a chippy, you have to set out using metric as all drawings are in metric.
but for say measuring say for studwork or roofwork imperial is so much quicker as to be honest 1 sixteeth of a inch
or 1 eight is as accuate as you need to be.
working in mm is just to small.
shouting out a measurement and marking out when on a roof when its getting dark.
85 n three eights = easy
2178 = easy to make a mistake.
but for say measuring say for studwork or roofwork imperial is so much quicker as to be honest 1 sixteeth of a inch
or 1 eight is as accuate as you need to be.
working in mm is just to small.
shouting out a measurement and marking out when on a roof when its getting dark.
85 n three eights = easy
2178 = easy to make a mistake.
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