this post was submitted on 01 Apr 2024
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[–] [email protected] 109 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Hold on, that’s not fair, we also use it to measure how much Coca Cola is in the bottle…hmm never mind that’s not helping… let me start over…we also use it for drugs! Wait, shit…

[–] [email protected] 36 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I love how soda comes in 12 oz cans and 2 liter bottles. Mix and match!

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago (2 children)

And don’t forget the 20oz bottles too!

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[–] [email protected] 61 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago (11 children)
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[–] [email protected] 56 points 8 months ago (3 children)

I recently converted all my recipes to metric and now I dump everything in a bowl on a scale. Total game changer.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 8 months ago

Welcome to the modern times!

[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 months ago (8 children)

That is because weight is more accurate than volume.

Volume was previously used because the measuring tools were cheaper and easier to use than a scale.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

It's more accurate, it dirties fewer dishes, it's easier to scale recipes for larger or smaller batches, and it's much easier to fine tune portions. Plus, I make a very consistent coffee. I found something I like a lot, and I want it to be extremely repeatable.

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[–] [email protected] 51 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Metric was too confusing for bullets, so we use both, and but neither of them are actually the diameter of the bullet, most of the time.

.223" is the same diameter as 5.56mm (which is 5.7mm across), but if you use 5.56 in a 223, it might kill you.

223 in 556 is fine, might fail to cycle.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 8 months ago (5 children)

then why is it called 556 if its actually 5.7?

[–] [email protected] 31 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

556 was the measure of the inner diameter of the rifling of a barrel of a gun that shot 556.

Metric is confusing. That's why for most shotguns, we measure the width by the number of lead spheres of that diameter that would equal one lb, eg a 12 gauge shotgun is the diameter of a 1/12lb sphere of lead.

Nobody knows how big 18.53 mm is, but everyone knows what a 12 gauge shell looks like.

Oh, and gun powder is measured in grains, maybe early smokeless pellets were about the same size as grains of wheat.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 8 months ago (9 children)

The problem is it's impossible to tell whether you're joking or being serious

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago
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[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Grains as a measure of weight comes from the Troy weight system, think Troy ounce of gold. It is a very old system that for a long time was mostly used by apothecaries and probably has its origins in Ancient Rome.

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[–] [email protected] 42 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Americans use the metric system.... to define the true values of the entirety of our customary measurements!

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago (2 children)

If the dollar is the reserve currency of the world, metric is the reserve system of measurement.

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 8 months ago (1 children)

That's not fair. We also use it to weigh drugs

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago

Only below 3ish grams or above 1000 grams though.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 8 months ago (3 children)

You must think us Americans are just really stupid because we still use imperial, and violent because we'll only modernize our units for weapons, but you're wrong.

We also use metric units for dispensing soda, and measuring engine displacement.

So we're fat and we're obsessed with cars too!

[–] [email protected] 17 points 8 months ago

We also using when weighing drugs!

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago (4 children)

dispensing soda

Only the 2 liter bottles. We still generally use 12 ounce cans and 20 ounce bottles. Our gas station/fast food fountain drinks are also measured in fluid ounces.

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 8 months ago (3 children)

That's not true. We also use it in medicine. To measure, in mm, our progress to universal healthcare.

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 8 months ago (3 children)

I wish the US had made the switch to metric back in the 70's. I remember having to learn it in grade school, and there seemed to be a push for it, but never went anywhere. I now work as a chemist where everything is done in metric, but then go back to US measures once I punch out for the day. Would be nice to have a single system instead.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago

In fairness... Most of the "behind the scenes" are done in metric so we kind of did convert to metric. It's mostly just the public that is imperial still.

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 8 months ago (2 children)

And only some of the bullets.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Some of them we disguise the metric cause it's anathema to us, 30 aught 6 for instance.

Look at what we've done just to not have to refer to millimeters!

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago (2 children)

30-06 is a 30 cal bullet which should be 300 thou but is really 308 thousandths of an inch and is commonly designated a 7.62 mm NATO which it isn't because that's measured at the inside of the lands, so its actually 7.82mm.

Simple.

[–] w2tpmf 12 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

7.62 NATO isn't the same thing as 30-06. 7.62 NATO refers to a specific cartridge, not the bullet projectile itself. It's the same as .308 Winchester. 7.62x51mm.

30-06 is 7.62x63mm

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] w2tpmf 9 points 8 months ago (6 children)

I did not expect that response when I saw a notification. I'm so used to the old place where dropping insightfull info is met with arguments.

😀

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 8 months ago (4 children)

Chad rest of the world: We only use imperial system to measure pizza, height, body waist and dicks.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 8 months ago (6 children)

What part of the rest of the world does that?

I'm from the rest of the world that would measure all those things in centimeters. I think only screen sizes and some tools would be in inches

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago
[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago

screen sizes

Where I'm from, even that has a cm rating right next to it.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

I guess also bike wheel sizes, screens sizes. Height and body waist? Are you talking about the UK? Europe only uses inches for products that have certain expected sizes.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (18 children)

(may be a bit of an off topic rant)

The cluster fuck that is the UK's measurement system can be easily summarised by looking at fueling a car.

You fill your car from a pump that sells you litres of fuel. Then your car reports its fuel economy in miles per gallon.

How the fuck am I supposed to relate the 40 litres of diesel that I just bought to the 35 MPG on my dashboard without a fucking calculator?

I fucking hate it here. It's the exact same British exceptionalism that brought us fucking Brexit.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 months ago (1 children)

If you're gonna start somewhere; it makes sense to start with the schools...

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

The US does in fact teach the Metric System in schools, it just doesn't get used for much outside of the Sciences, Firearms, Alcohol, illicit and Prescription Drugs, and Soda.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago

We see far more metric measurements than we actually notice every day. Almost every item in your grocery store shows both US Customary and Metric measurements right next to each other on the label. And we buy whisk(e)y in 750ml bottles.

But I would argue there is probably little reason to stop buying butter by the pound(454 grams) vs switching to selling butter in 500 gram packages. And no one misses buying whisk(e)y by the fifth rather than in 750mL bottles. Even when traveling no one really cares how many miles or kilometers it is from New York City to LA. All anyone really cares about is "how long" will it take to get there. Nor does matter if you measure your dick in inches or centimeters - it's still gonna be too short according to that woman you picked up at the club last weekend. I honestly suspect we are going to keep using a bastardized mixed system for a very long time for common everyday usage while doing "official" things metric.

The real question is: Where did all those 9/16" wrenches disappear to during the "good ol' days." And why can't I find that bloody damn 10mm socket today? What is up with that?

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 8 months ago

Hey we also use it in medicine to treat all those bullet wounds!

[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

We also use it for engine displacement.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago (8 children)

Basically all cars are all metric (for fasteners, etc.) these days. Even my '90s Ford is metric.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It's also used in measuring soft drinks like the 2 liter bottle

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago

I often see posts where people say that they weight like 260 liter bottles and lost 7 liter bottles over a week or something. Americans are crazy.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago

Also, bullet holes.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago

Nah, we just use it to define inches and pounds and the like.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago (1 children)

To be fair, we mostly just did that for the European bullets

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