Before retirement I used to have a customer with a colourful turn of phrase.
EG.
If a close clearance was required it was specified as "just a gnat's cock".
From the same source: "an Ickie" was a ( I think) universal unit of currency.
Bmblbzzz wrote: ↑24 Nov 2023, 9:50amI always do a calculation from litres to milage to get mpg too.
When I used to drive a lot (back way back in the 90s) I used to calculate it in miles per litre. It seemed by far the most logical unit to me, as the odometer was in miles and petrol sold by the litre.
Which reminds me: apart from the different units the Continental system for describing fuel consumption of road vehicles also works the other way round, in L/100 km.
Conversion of a value to the UK system of mpg then requires some sort of reciprocal, an enormously more difficult task for mental arithmetic than anything proportional.
Jonathan
MPG is another example of an inverted UK unit where smaller MPG means bigger fuel consumption. This would be fine if MPG were used as a measure of range, but it isn't: it is used as a measure of fuel economy and is thus an inverted concept.
I am NOT a cyclist. I enjoy riding a bike for utility, commuting, fitness and touring on tout terrain Rohloff, Brompton ML3 (2004) and Wester Ross 354 plus a Burley Travoy trailer.
Bmblbzzz wrote: ↑24 Nov 2023, 6:25pm
...
We all know about the millihelen (mH) don't we?
Is that the origin of Troy weight?
; - )
Jonathan
No, it's someone else called Henry I believe. You can prove this by induction.
I am NOT a cyclist. I enjoy riding a bike for utility, commuting, fitness and touring on tout terrain Rohloff, Brompton ML3 (2004) and Wester Ross 354 plus a Burley Travoy trailer.
Anyway... I have my Garmin set to Imperial because my pre-decimal mind thinks in terms of mph and I can see how I'm doing if I'm (rarely these days) riding some sort of timed event, or if I'm on a curfew and need to check on my pace, perhaps to cut short the route if I'm not pootling along quickly enough.
My Garmin Connect account displays data in Imperial, but my Strava account is set to km. I like to have it this way so that I can make an easy comparison between routes. For instance, on a 100km ride I can see how much elevation I have ridden. If it's more than 1km then I know it's a bit lumpy (for me and my area anyway).
drossall wrote: ↑24 Nov 2023, 7:06pm
On the original theme of this thread, did anyone see this on Facebook? Describes me exactly. Sorry if it's been posted already and I've missed it.
Stones and lbs for weight of people? Only really common among those in their 60s and older, I'd have said. There's regional variety too though.
drossall wrote: ↑24 Nov 2023, 7:06pm
On the original theme of this thread, did anyone see this on Facebook? Describes me exactly. Sorry if it's been posted already and I've missed it.
Stones and lbs for weight of people? Only really common among those in their 60s and older, I'd have said. There's regional variety too though.
I usually found that teenage students would profess to have no knowledge of imperial units.
When asked their height and weight the vast majority gave their weight in stones and pounds and height in feet and inches.
They usually didn't know the metric equivalent.
