Miles & kilometres: why do so many people still reference miles?

hi5

BMJD wrote: »

I'll have 568ml of your finest porter, sir!

That doesn't sound right, does it?

In the early 80's they did bring out half litre glasses for beer, slightly less than a pint. it was nothing to do with harmonisation though and all to do with the fact that the pint went over the one pound price threshold.
They were popular enough too until the half litre went over the one pound price:(

purplepanda

Miles & Pounds for currency go back to Roman times & were introduced in Ireland before the Normans arrived! :pac:

As for yards & metres there's not much difference between them, 3" or 80mm or so? :rolleyes:

Carawaystick

A mile and a thousand are the same word in Irish and a mile was originally a thousand paces
There's probably a hibernoenglish reason to use miles still as a small factor

SpaceTime

CelticRambler wrote: »

There was no "European 'project' " when the French proposed it in 1799. For once in their history, they were way ahead of the rest, and I'm sure the anglophone Imperialist powers of the 19th and 20th centuries stuck to their weird and cumbersome system only because it was the French who came up with the idea that everything could be measured in multiples of ten.

Having said that, I'm glad the French abandonned the metric week. :cool:

Just that and the entire concept of a modern republic that inspired the American revolution and even our own republic (although we seem to get it a bit arseways and think it's a theocracy at times). Also a list of innovations that would take up pages and spans centuries!

Sheldons Brain

Carawaystick wrote: »

A mile and a thousand are the same word in Irish and a mile was originally a thousand paces
There's probably a hibernoenglish reason to use miles still as a small factor

If we were using Irish miles then perhaps there would be some reason, but if we are going to adopt somebody else's measurement then metric is the way to go.

rab!dmonkey

SpaceTime wrote: »

Just that and the entire concept of a modern republic that inspired the American revolution and even our own republic (although we seem to get it a bit arseways and think it's a theocracy at times). Also a list of innovations that would take up pages and spans centuries!

A list which includes time travel, apparently. Up until then, events generally had to occur before they could inspire others.

Sam Russell

Funny how video clips are refered to as 'footage', even when it is all digital.

I remember someone asking, when I was at college where everything was metric, for some 10mm plastic pipe for an experiment. 'How much do you need?' 'About six inches.'

We all see auctioneers talk about acres instead of hectares.

In Ireland, our plumbing is in imperial, but the UK in metric. This is a real problem with the likes of B&Q importing UK products tht do not work with our standard fittings - 15mm fittings do not fir half inch pipe and vice versa..

Buying milk in the UK is in loads of different imperial units, like gills, half pints, pints, quarts, half gallon, etc. while we have just a few - 500 mls, litre, 2 litres, and (oh yes) three litres - now there is a metric measure to savour.

The metric system was proposed in the British Parliament in the mid 1800s and resulted in the introduction of the Florin coin (1 tenth of a pound - two shillings) but the project was abandoned - do not know why.

nomdeboardie

I hate the Imperial systems with avengance, but still tend to speak of "miles" casually because:
-- I still think of specifc distances in miles, and it takes a little mental energy to convert
-- I spent a chunk of time in the UK and US overlapping during/after the Irish transition
-- It's so much quicker to say, and "kilometres" or "km" sort of sounds too 'precise' for non-technical conversation (though that wouldn't be the case if I grew up with them - yeah, I'm old :pac:) - I sort of feel self-conscious mouthing the metrics!

philstar

ardmacha wrote: »

Many people in Ireland are west Brits. You only have to see the continual reference to stones even in publicly financed ads by Safe Food and the like.

:rolleyes:

thats got nothing to do with it, people of a certain generation are just set in their ways when it comes to things like this

Judgement Day

philstar wrote: »

:rolleyes:

thats got nothing to do with it, people of a certain generation are just set in their ways when it comes to things like this

And in my case I'm a West Brit too.

vickers209

I have no problem in using kms or miles have come accustomed to both.
Weight i would use stone and pound more so than kilos:o

But the other day in work i was stumped when a old fella asked me how many gallons was in a can of oil:rolleyes: I had to break out my phone to get the answer lol

Deedsie

Judgement Day wrote: »

And in my case I'm a West Brit too.

And a Eurosceptic who hates the metric system. You must be constantly annoyed?

I am 100% for the metric system, If I don't know an imperial measurement I don't get embarrassed why would I? In school/college everything was done through the SI. It's a far more logical system.

A pint, footage etc these have just become part of our language. A large glass of Guinness just doesn't sound right.

We have loads of terms of measurement that don't fit any system... "Open the window a crack" "a heap of snow" "a can of coke" pint though it is a unit of measurement is basically a term of measurement in Ireland.

SpaceTime

The simplest solution to a pint would be to round it up to 600ml

That way everyone's happy.

marmurr1916

Judgement Day wrote: »

Or could it be that some of us refuse to be treated like sheep and lap up everything our European 'masters' throw at us? :rolleyes:

Yes, all truly independent minded Irish people use the British Imperial system of weights and measures. :rolleyes:

marmurr1916

Sam Russell wrote: »

Buying milk in the UK is in loads of different imperial units, like gills, half pints, pints, quarts, half gallon, etc. while we have just a few - 500 mls, litre, 2 litres, and (oh yes) three litres - now there is a metric measure to savour.

No it isn't. I live in England (having previously lived in Scotland) and milk here is sold in pints and multiples of pints. The most common containers you see in shops and supermarkets are plastic cartons with either 2 pints or 4 pints. Nobody uses gills or quarts to describe containers of milk. I guarantee you that if you went into a shop in Britain and asked for milk in gills or quarts you'd be looked at as if you had two heads.

The metric measurements and Imperial measurements are shown on containers (as they must be by EU law, which allows for products to be sold in non-metric units so long as the metric equivalent is shown on the packaging/shelf label). From this, I know that 4 pints of milk is about 2.27 litres and that 2 litres of milk is about 3.52 pints!

Fruit, veg, meat etc is always priced per kilogram (or sub-units of kilograms - e.g. per 100g) and traditional units, like a pound of butter, have the metric equivalent (454g) shown on the packaging.

Cans of soft drinks are usually 330ml (standard size, just like in Ireland) and marked as such, without any Imperial measurements shown, just like larger cans (500ml) and bottles of wine (usually 75cl/750ml).

Alcohol in pubs is sold in pints, half-pints and measures such as 1/2 gills (for whisky etc) and millilitres (for wine and bottled drinks).

Go to a chain pub (like Wetherspoons) and the measurements of all drinks (apart from draught beer) is given in metric on their menus.

Fuel is sold in litres, builders and tradesmen deal in metric units when measuring, property for sale/rent is usually described in square feet and measurements are usually given in feet and inches, or acres, as appropriate, but often their metric equivalents are given alongside.

Speed limits and distances are given in miles per hour and miles, and also yards (although warning signs are often placed metrically by roads departments, leading to signs saying 'Junction 220 yards ahead' etc, 218.72266 yards = 200 metres) and signs warning of height and width restrictions show metric and imperial.

Horse races are measured in sub-units of miles (furlongs - 1/8 of a mile) whereas almost all other races are measured in metric.

In short, the combined use of the metric and Imperial systems is as common in the UK as it is in Ireland and it's probably not going to change.

I don't see the harm in it.

It adds a tiny bit of cultural variety to an increasingly homogenised world and the ability to convert from Imperial to metric and vice versa is very useful for honing your mental arithmetic abilities.

SpaceTime

Selling milk in converted pints is one of the reasons why the British think the metric system is so complicated.

Bite the bullet and just change and use round numbers!

marmurr1916

Does this mean Irish fast-food outlets have to abolish quarter-pounder burgers?

Will Irish people still be able to order pizzas in inches or will they have to switch to centimetres?

Judgement Day

marmurr1916 wrote: »

Yes, all truly independent minded Irish people use the British Imperial system of weights and measures. :rolleyes:

Going off topic here but I think even the most ardent republican would have to admit that Britain and Ireland share a lot of common heritage and nothing with most of Europe.

L1011

Judgement Day wrote: »

Going off topic here but I think even the most ardent republican would have to admit that Britain and Ireland share a lot of common heritage and nothing with most of Europe.

However, traditional measurements weren't one of them - we had our own originally.

mackerski

I blame The Proclaimers.

hi5

marmurr1916 wrote: »

Does this mean Irish fast-food outlets have to abolish quarter-pounder burgers?

Yep:)

Deedsie

Judgement Day wrote: »

Going off topic here but I think even the most ardent republican would have to admit that Britain and Ireland share a lot of common heritage and nothing with most of Europe.

I agree but what has that got to do with best practice in 2014. The metric system is far more straightforward.

ardmacha

Deedsie wrote:

We have loads of terms of measurement that don't fit any system... "Open the window a crack" "a heap of snow" "a can of coke" pint though it is a unit of measurement is basically a term of measurement in Ireland.

Indeed, while advocating metric I wouldn't replace the tad.

Judgement Day wrote: »

Going off topic here but I think even the most ardent republican would have to admit that Britain and Ireland share a lot of common heritage and nothing with most of Europe.

The first part of that sentence is obviously true, we have more in common with our neighbours, Tobler's law and all that. However the second part, that we share "nothing" with most of Europe is nonsense.

purplepanda

MYOB wrote: »

However, traditional measurements weren't one of them - we had our own originally.

I'd bet that the english did as well before those pesky Normans arrived:eek:

Empire o de Sun

My experience

I learned to drive 16 years ago. Distance in km, speed in mph.
I never thought I thought in km for distance until I drove in the UK (before Ireland switch to km/h), and I remember noting distances on road signs, and then ten or fifteen minutes later I would see another distance sign, and thought "I've only done X miles?"
Also, road signs in miles were quite rare by 2000 and I haven't seen one for years.

I used stones as a child, but never pounds or stone & pounds.
When I went to the gym as a teenager, weight was always in kg. So I've always used them since I was late teens.

I think it is more common for women to use pounds as they are more exposed to media from the USA and UK (I'm open to correction here) regarding weight.

"Thinking" in km or miles is about using it. Just like learning a language. If you don't make yourself use it you'll never learn it.

Empire o de Sun

Judgement Day wrote: »

Going off topic here but I think even the most ardent republican would have to admit that Britain and Ireland share a lot of common heritage and nothing with most of Europe.

This is not unique to Ireland and the UK. Most neighbours share common heritage.

Empire o de Sun

MYOB wrote: »

Canada's worse - pint in a bar can be anything from about 400 to 600ml depending on where you are, what beer it is, etc.

I remember my first time in the UK, a while back now, and we bought some cans of beer, went to the flat and poured it into a glass and it was then I went into shock. The can was only 440 ml !!!

Empire o de Sun

marmurr1916 wrote: »

.....Alcohol in pubs is sold in pints, half-pints and measures such as 1/2 gills (for whisky etc) and millilitres (for wine and bottled drinks).

From recollection, a short in the UK is 25 ml, in Ireland it is 35 ml
1/2 a gil is 71 ml, are you drinking Irish doubles

formerly scottish paddy

I have thought for a long time that Ireland should formally make an "Irish Pint" = 500ml. It could of course still be called a pint, but it would in effect be a metric measure, (and cut down on drinking!)

PeterBrown1415

Some advantages of using Imperial units:

Base 12 could be better than base 10. You can divide 12 by 2, 3, 4 and 6. Ten can only be divided by 5 and 2. Our computers don't even use base 10.

How far is a foot? - about the length of my foot. Make it easy for me to estimate a distance by putting one foot in front of the other. (Where did I leave my meter stick?)

In inch used to be the width of a thumb, which is a handy measurement. Now it's the sensible 12th of a foot.