[Brian]

When trading stories with people in NZ I was surprised to hear a lot of them using imperial units - miles, feet, pounds, etc. I started out converting things to metric as I spoke but eventually stopped doing that and nobody seemed to mind. I've noticed the same thing talking to people from the UK. I'm not sure if they used the imperial units because it was what they always used or because they knew they were talking to an American.

So.. is the metric system still new enough that most people think in imperial units? Are they equally understood from a conversation point of view or is one preferable to the other? Am I likely to run into people who don't really understand feet/miles?

What about temperatures in C/F?

[xanctus]

hehehe Brian,
I had exactly the same dilema when I came to US 9 years ago. Where temperature here using F, whereas all around the world is using Celcious.

I know metrics for cars are using Km, instead of miles...
I believe US is the only country that using Farenheit for temperature, Miles for distance.

but check this website
http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/temperature

[wayne]

I think it will take a generation or so to finally go metric I teach steel fabrication at a college so we work entirely metric but when discussing jobs amongst ourselves its all feet'n'inches , some of our students workplaces only do imperial despite material being sold metric.
NZ is metric to a degree but people still speak of "gallons" and yards etc some of the older terms of measurement are gone now like chains, furlongs quarts etc .
the younger generation brought up on metric will have no concept of a yard , inch etc so I feel it will be a good few years until metric is known in its own right

[GeorgeM]

I have to say that I've not come across much usage of imperial measures, even from older people.

Perhaps in the over 60s age group these are used but no one where I work ever uses yards or miles when estimating distances, or pounds or stones when talking about weight. Except me!

Having said that, though, they still seem to use the 'cup' as a measure in cooking quite a lot, although the standard set we bought when we arrived (to make using NZ recipes easier) has metric quantities on the handles (I think that 1 cup = 60ml, but without checking I couldn't guarantee this).

[Simon & Emily]

Just a quick thought on the cooking front - is the NZ cup the same as an American cup? Or is it yet another thing to confuse us Brits who like the good old feet and inches?

Thanks,

Emily

[Carol]

I always always use metric............except when I'm cooking because I have a set of scales with brass weights in imperial.
I have to convert everything backwards to be able to weigh anything!!
:laugh :laugh

[GeorgeM]

I have a set of scales with brass weights in imperial.

We have a set of metric weights up to 500g and a set of imperial up to 2lb.

So if we have to weigh more than about 750g we end up having to use our 225g (8oz), 450g (1lb) and 900g (2lb) weights to make up the various quantities.

The kids think we're real cheapskates and should just get a set of bigger metric weights!

[sarahw]

Well I still use feet and inches to give heights & everyone seems to understand - I also give my weight in stones - sometimes people understand - sometimes they don't - haven't got a clue how heavy I am in kilos!!

I recently bought some jewellery from a NZ website & the measurements were in inches - I guess that's because their main market is the US though.

You soon get used to it - we grew up with degrees C and Farenheit, and feet and inches and cm and metres, and pounds & oz and kilos - seems we've gone metric now in the UK but for years there were some pretty messed up kids! We all learnt to measure in metres & cm's at school and then went out to buy houses which were measured in feet and inches! :? Same with buying food - they only made it law a few years ago to measure in Kilos.

Really can't get my head around Km's though - I still think in miles & convert the Kms back! Just remember the 'mileage' or 'K's' as its called here is in Km's - we nearly had heart attacks the first time we saw the K's on a car as we were thinking in miles!!

[wayne]

We call Km's Kwik Miles :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

[Brian]

We all learnt to measure in metres & cm's at school and then went out to buy houses which were measured in feet and inches!

A similar thing happened in the US.. there was a big push when I was in grade school to get the kids to understand metric because we were surely going to switch over soon. So, I learned all of that stuff and ignored all the pint/quart/cup stuff. I still don't really know those units.

I've been exposed to most metric units through jobs or hobbies over the years so I can convert reasonably well. Celcius could take me a while. I know -40=-40 (good for telling stories of Winter in Montana) and 0=32 but I can't do anything else in my head yet.

Sounds like I should count on using metric when I can.

[GeorgeM]

I know -40=-40 (good for telling stories of Winter in Montana) and 0=32 but I can't do anything else in my head yet.

Another couple of easy ones are 16C=61F and 28C=82F

[sarahw]

Just know if the C is down at 0 - that's freezing & anywhere in single figures is cold, 18 onwards is warm & low 20's - nice - high 20's or anywhere in the 30's - hot!!! & if it gets to 40 - you're in the Middle East! ;)

[jonSE]

NZ seems to be a bit Bipolar about metric.

Buy a car and it will be advertised as "Mileage - 97,000 kms"

Mileage has become a word for how far "it" has travelled, not just
poor English for how far it has travelled in miles.

Perhaps because I work in the Engineering/Building industry even the recent kiwi graduates I work with do understand imperial units - can visualise feet and inches etc.

As someone who grew up through metrication in the UK I have the unfortunate symptom of thinking of different distances/forces/weights in different units.

eg. very small is in thousands of an inch, bigger in mm, bigger in inches, then feet, then metres, - hundreds of metres then miles. Only when sailing do I use neither imperial or metric - happy with nautical miles or cables.

Jon (Bimetrical)

[selchie]

I also remember during the 1970s being told that the US would be using metric by the time I grew up. Hasn't happened yet, but then I'm dragging my feet on the growing up bit. The US is still very isolationist when it comes to adjusting to the rest of the world. I've heard some people complain that metric is "just too hard to learn". Hello? How about converting from teaspoons to tablespoons to ounces to cups to gallons? Some people - hmph.

Fortunately I got a good exposure to metric while studying science, and can convert fairly well. Although I do have trouble knowing immediately that 16C is comfy (I live on the foggy coast), I do a quickie conversion: take Celsius, double it and add 30. It gets me in the ballpark.

[acisman]

Well I am only in my 50s and I still use imperial for everything. I can convert in my head, very slowly.
On the subject of metric v imperial, anyone notice that in UK whenever petrol goes up 1p per litre, the media always tell us about the 5p per gallon rise !! Scaremongers as usual.


Pam & Dave

[Carol]

I go through life reciting any one of the following at the appropriate moment:

A litre of water's a pint and three quarters.

Two and a quarter pounds of jam weigh about a kilogram.

and
A meter measures three foot three it's longer than a yard you see.

I DO like the kwikmiles though!
:cool

[StevieD]

But true nonetheless :laugh Like that garage I saw yesterday charging 89.9p for a litre of unleaded. And you know what, I still haven't managed to find one of those 0.9p coins in my change!! How do they get away with it!!! :wah :eek :eek

[cpgrant]

I also remember during the 1970s being told that the US would be using metric by the time I grew up. Hasn't happened yet...

Except for 2 liters! To me it is very, very odd but we buy beverages in 2 liter bottles... but that's the only metric size. I don't why or how that happened, but for some reason we buy our beverages in sizes of 12 oz, 16 oz, 20 oz, 32 oz, *2 liters*, 1 gallon, etc. Try to find a *2 quart* bottle of Coca Cola in the US - it can't be done! And the funny thing is that, because of the beverage bottlers, we are all very familiar with a volume of 2 liters but at the same time complain that the metric system is "too confusing".

Note - liquor and wine are also sold using metric volumes - but not beer. Wine comes in 750 ml and 1.5L bottles as do gin, vodka etc. Again, we don't even think about it, we all understand those sizes quite well, but still would shudder at the thought of the metric system. A very strange people...

[selchie]

Hadn't thought of liquid measures. It doesn't make sense to sell in litres, because businesses usually downsize to save/make money (e.g. a 14 oz. "pint" of beer). Ah well.

[Kenny]

Just a quick thought on the cooking front - is the NZ cup the same as an American cup? Or is it yet another thing to confuse us Brits who like the good old feet and inches?

Thanks,

Emily

No - Apparently the Americas cup is now the Swiss Cup :laugh :laugh :laugh (It used to be the NZ cup until Russell Cootes defected)

[Miffy]

I've found its pretty much metric in all things. still can't work out the timings of distances in KMs.

In fact a collegue at work said the other day that his teenage son which watching the rugby via one of the sky channels and got UK commentry how tall was 6ft6?
He had to really think about it as he hadn't usedimperial for years.

(its a bit weird as I feel as if my weight has changed as its now measure in kg not stones and pounds - not sure if I feel heavier or thinier!)

In the supermaket I do as I've always done and ask for xx slices of meat or 'some' bacon or a small box of coldslaw have no idea the weight I'm getting. :smile