I cook in lbs and ozs and intuitively think of distances in miles (if a journey is 100 miles I know how far that is, if it's 100km I have to convert) but temperatures in degrees C. Odd! I've trained myself to weigh myself in kg because I find I can be more objective about it (x stone just seems enormous and hard to tackle).
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
There is a road near us that is about a mile long - a sign one end warning about a low bridge a mile away at the other end. That's how I measure distance x number of that road. I can visualise double decker buses as a measurement but not football pitches. The nail of my little finger is about a centimetre
I do house and garden measurements in metric but if I go to buy timber the labels have only just gone completely metric in the last couple of years so I would be being 4 x 4 posts for the garden but in metric lengths. I've been cooking in grams and centigrade since we moved to Belgium in 1991 unless it's a US or Oz recipe which measures in cups.
I do driving distances and speeds in kms now but can convert to miles when needed.
I do patchwork in inches as I do it by machine and all the best patchwork blocks, shortcuts and tutorials come from the USA, OZ and UK using imperial cutting rulers and calculation tables.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
The biggest problem I have with Jaffa Cakes is working out which pack option is the best value. Our Co-op will have single packs with 12, double packs with 20, and triple packs with 27, and/or variations on those numbers. I've seen offers of 2 x single packs for £2, double packs for £1.80 and triple packs for £2.50, all at the same time. Next time in the pricing will have changed, and they no longer seem to have the price per 100 grammes or similar on the price tag on the shelf. Fortunately I'm good at mental arithmetic, or i'd simply go mental trying to work things out.
Ahh, school maths lessons. If it takes three men two days to dig a trench 4’ deep, 5’ wide and 12’ long, how much would a white loaf cost? Or something like that.
what are these strange " ' " measurements? Metres surely?
Allotments are still measured in Rods or Poles (same thing) . I've probably said this before, but most old imperial measures were based on human sizes, so not as illogical as some people think. 1 foot = length of a man's size 8 boot, inch top joint of the thumb, etc etc.
Allotments are still measured in Rods or Poles (same thing) . I've probably said this before, but most old imperial measures were based on human sizes, so not as illogical as some people think. 1 foot = length of a man's size 8 boot, inch top joint of the thumb, etc etc.
I can't think of any imperial measurement which can be multiplied, divided etc with a calculator. Metric is SO more sensible
I try and explain that a lot @Allotment Boy, firstly to Belgian scientists when I was teachng English conversation and lately to ladies learning machine patchwork techniques. Imperial measurements are based on a human logic.
Napoleon introduced the metric system in France because they couldn't do sums based on 12s, 3s, 8s, 16s etc of anything - traditional RC church view that educating the masses leads to too many questions - and at least with metric they could use their fingers and toes.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
The biggest problem I have with Jaffa Cakes is working out which pack option is the best value. Our Co-op will have single packs with 12, double packs with 20, and triple packs with 27, and/or variations on those numbers. I've seen offers of 2 x single packs for £2, double packs for £1.80 and triple packs for £2.50, all at the same time. Next time in the pricing will have changed, and they no longer seem to have the price per 100 grammes or similar on the price tag on the shelf. Fortunately I'm good at mental arithmetic, or i'd simply go mental trying to work things out.
Ahh, school maths lessons. If it takes three men two days to dig a trench 4’ deep, 5’ wide and 12’ long, how much would a white loaf cost? Or something like that.
what are these strange " ' " measurements? Metres surely?
Allotments are still measured in Rods or Poles (same thing) . I've probably said this before, but most old imperial measures were based on human sizes, so not as illogical as some people think. 1 foot = length of a man's size 8 boot, inch top joint of the thumb, etc etc.
I can't think of any imperial measurement which can be multiplied, divided etc with a calculator. Metric is SO more sensible
I don't dispute that calculations using the metric system are easier. As a trainee quantity surveyor I had to calculate areas and volume with imperial measurements. It was easy at the time, but I don't have a clue now how I did it.
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I can visualise double decker buses as a measurement but not football pitches.
The nail of my little finger is about a centimetre
I do driving distances and speeds in kms now but can convert to miles when needed.
I do patchwork in inches as I do it by machine and all the best patchwork blocks, shortcuts and tutorials come from the USA, OZ and UK using imperial cutting rulers and calculation tables.
Metric is SO more sensible
Napoleon introduced the metric system in France because they couldn't do sums based on 12s, 3s, 8s, 16s etc of anything - traditional RC church view that educating the masses leads to too many questions - and at least with metric they could use their fingers and toes.
Absolutely.
I don't dispute that calculations using the metric system are easier. As a trainee quantity surveyor I had to calculate areas and volume with imperial measurements. It was easy at the time, but I don't have a clue now how I did it.