this post was submitted on 01 Apr 2024
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[–] didnt_readit@lemmy.world 108 points 7 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…

[–] snooggums@midwest.social 36 points 7 months ago (1 children)

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

[–] didnt_readit@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago (2 children)

And don’t forget the 20oz bottles too!

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[–] cdf12345@lemm.ee 61 points 7 months ago (1 children)
[–] GreenPlasticSushiGrass@kbin.social 9 points 7 months ago (11 children)
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[–] spicytuna62@lemmy.world 56 points 7 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.

[–] oce@jlai.lu 26 points 7 months ago

Welcome to the modern times!

[–] snooggums@midwest.social 16 points 7 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.

[–] spicytuna62@lemmy.world 12 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 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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[–] alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml 51 points 7 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.

[–] strawberry@kbin.run 18 points 7 months ago (5 children)

then why is it called 556 if its actually 5.7?

[–] alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml 31 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 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.

[–] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 30 points 7 months ago (9 children)

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

[–] alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml 13 points 7 months ago
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[–] Everythingispenguins@lemmy.world 8 points 7 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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[–] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 40 points 7 months ago (1 children)

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

[–] capital@lemmy.world 11 points 7 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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[–] something_random_tho@lemmy.world 36 points 7 months ago (1 children)

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

[–] Rediphile@lemmy.ca 9 points 7 months ago

Only below 3ish grams or above 1000 grams though.

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 35 points 7 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!

[–] Glytch@lemmy.world 17 points 7 months ago

We also using when weighing drugs!

[–] GamingChairModel@lemmy.world 11 points 7 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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[–] gum_dragon@lemm.ee 33 points 7 months ago (3 children)

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

[–] SanicHegehog@lemm.ee 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Medicine, you say? Well explain THIS. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the "French" scale of measurement, used to denote the diameter of catheters. WHERE:

1 Fr = 1/3 mm

Sickening.

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[–] EchoCranium@lemmy.zip 31 points 7 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.

[–] saruwatarikooji@lemmy.world 10 points 7 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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[–] Anticorp@lemmy.world 25 points 7 months ago (2 children)

And only some of the bullets.

[–] AWistfulNihilist@lemmy.world 12 points 7 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!

[–] ikidd@lemmy.world 12 points 7 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@sh.itjust.works 12 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 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

[–] ikidd@lemmy.world 12 points 7 months ago (1 children)
[–] w2tpmf@sh.itjust.works 9 points 7 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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[–] TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world 24 points 7 months ago (4 children)

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

[–] LaVacaMariposa@mander.xyz 25 points 7 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

[–] t0fr@lemmy.ca 10 points 7 months ago
[–] ulterno@lemmy.kde.social 8 points 7 months ago

screen sizes

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

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[–] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 13 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 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.

[–] JK_Flip_Flop@lemmy.world 13 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 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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[–] Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca 20 points 7 months ago (4 children)

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

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[–] assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world 17 points 7 months ago

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

[–] FiFoFree@lemmy.world 15 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

We also use it for engine displacement.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 9 points 7 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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[–] Hikermick@lemmy.world 14 points 7 months ago (1 children)

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

[–] summerof69@lemm.ee 10 points 7 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.

[–] ornery_chemist@mander.xyz 10 points 7 months ago

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

[–] 15liam20@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago

Also, bullet holes.

[–] marduk@lemmy.sdf.org 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)

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

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