"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Football is the last global refuge of the imperial system - back 10 yards for a free kick, 12 yards from the penalty spot to the goal, which is eight yards wide and eight feet tall and lives in the 18 yard box!
Imperial units are used in horse racing - furlongs and miles.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
I daresay there are even Faragian yard-o-ale drinkers out there happy to have an extra 3+ inches imposed upon them.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
I must admit (at the age of 50) that I only know how long a yard is from being interested in athletics and hurdling - so its the 110M hurdles as it was originally a 120 yard standard to allow standard 10 hurdles . Being curious as a boy I looked up why it was 110 m not 100m . As a result I knew about yards. It was definitely not taught about yards in 1970s /80s schooling
Wahey! A PB classic. The imperial metric debate. What a load of old bollocks. Pointless.
It’s a stupid mess, impossible to untangle.
A 5.0l V8 car does 30mpg. 🤷♂️
So how far does it go on 10 litres of petrol?
It doesn’t, the battery is flat due to this damn lockdown.
Wa-hey, owned!
Actually, my problem is that the brakes are jamming on due to the handbrake being released insufficiently often. However, I’m planning to replace that car anyway.
More seriously, you do wonder how many people will have very flat batteries and problems with engines after this.
Referring to previous posts, I agree with @matthiasfromhamburg that the smart thing to do would be for schools to start the summer holidays early - say, June - and go back on the 1st August. There might need to be adjustments to the October half term given September-December is already a brutally long term, but I think as a one-off if it got us back in the classroom teachers would take it.
Particularly since it would mean an early end to online teaching, which is bloody hard work.
However, as it would be sensible it won’t happen.
It is not just sensible but blatantly obvious, even more so when you consider that the return of coughs and colds in the late autumn could help spread covid again and we might need another lockdown by Nov-Dec anyway.
The whole Keir Starmer clap story is fake news. He was just trying to collect his daughter, it's a non story. Even the daily mail article clarifies this. Cameraman involved has tweeted footage from a different angle
Of course it's just the usual stuff that every Labour leader gets. The fact that the Daily Mail has to scrape the barrel so ridiculously in its character assassination attempt is probably a good sign for Starmer.
But I guess they'll just go back to their tradition methods of just making stuff up.
Its the traditional whine by the left that the media are out to get them,....
it's the traditional whine by the right about facts being out to get them...
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
I must admit (at the age of 50) that I only know how long a yard is from being interested in athletics and hurdling - so its the 110M hurdles as it was a 120 yard standard to allow standard 10 hurdles . Being curious as a boy I looked up why it was 110 m not 100m . As a result I knew about yards. It was definitely not taught about yards in 1970s /80s schooling
His claim was ‘anyone.’ Which was a sweeping generalisation and like every other sweeping generalisation ever made, not true.
Except that one, obviously.
But I have to say, in my experience imperial is still the measurement most people use whatever their age. That’s probably a function of where I live, but it always exasperates me when metrication warriors extrapolate from themselves to the rest of the planet.
Imperial units are good slang. It is easier in most casual conversations to talk about pints and feet, but do any serious work you use the metric system. You avoid a lot of error prone nonsense. Above all, who in their right mind cares.
The whole Keir Starmer clap story is fake news. He was just trying to collect his daughter, it's a non story. Even the daily mail article clarifies this. Cameraman involved has tweeted footage from a different angle
Of course it's just the usual stuff that every Labour leader gets. The fact that the Daily Mail has to scrape the barrel so ridiculously in its character assassination attempt is probably a good sign for Starmer.
He's had a remarkable front page on today's Daily Telegraph. Their headline is:
Starmer: We owe it to VE Day generation to protect them from virus in care homes
Referring to previous posts, I agree with @matthiasfromhamburg that the smart thing to do would be for schools to start the summer holidays early - say, June - and go back on the 1st August. There might need to be adjustments to the October half term given September-December is already a brutally long term, but I think as a one-off if it got us back in the classroom teachers would take it.
Particularly since it would mean an early end to online teaching, which is bloody hard work.
However, as it would be sensible it won’t happen.
It is not just sensible but blatantly obvious, even more so when you consider that the return of coughs and colds in the late autumn could help spread covid again and we might need another lockdown by Nov-Dec anyway.
Yes.
I wouldn’t want it to set a precedent for a huge number of reasons, but it’s clearly the right thing to do at the moment.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Football is the last global refuge of the imperial system - back 10 yards for a free kick, 12 yards from the penalty spot to the goal, which is eight yards wide and eight feet tall and lives in the 18 yard box!
A Cricket pitch is 22yards in Bangalore, Brisbane, Barbados and Brechin.
Another terrible legacy of the British empire probably.
If football is the bastion of imperial then horse racing is the bastion of medieval - furlongs , winning my necks etc
Hands?
But really, outside of your metropolitan elites my experience is whatever their age most people continue to (a) either use imperial or (b) have no fucking clue about weights and measures anyway. If anything, I would say my generation is less metricated than my father’s is. He often uses metric, and prefers it. I can use it, but I tend not to.
Distances, lengths/heights and draught drinks being in imperial is the main reason.
Im a complete mish mash.
Driving - miles Running - kilometers Height - imperial Weight - metric Beer - imperial Other drinks - metric
etc
Dont know if its good to be able to just choose what feels right for the scenario or if it would have been better to just stick with one.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Football is the last global refuge of the imperial system - back 10 yards for a free kick, 12 yards from the penalty spot to the goal, which is eight yards wide and eight feet tall and lives in the 18 yard box!
A Cricket pitch is 22yards in Bangalore, Brisbane, Barbados and Brechin.
Another terrible legacy of the British empire probably.
If football is the bastion of imperial then horse racing is the bastion of medieval - furlongs , winning my necks etc
Hands?
But really, outside of your metropolitan elites my experience is whatever their age most people continue to (a) either use imperial or (b) have no fucking clue about weights and measures anyway. If anything, I would say my generation is less metricated than my father’s is. He often uses metric, and prefers it. I can use it, but I tend not to.
Distances, lengths/heights and draught drinks being in imperial is the main reason.
Im a complete mish mash.
Driving - miles Running - kilometers Height - imperial Weight - metric Beer - imperial Other drinks - metric
etc
Dont know if its good to be able to just choose what feels right for the scenario or if it would have been better to just stick with one.
The second is obviously the better option. (Although it’s actually not true that weight and ‘other drinks’ are metric. Milk is a particular sod as it is sold in both.)
The snag is that people on both sides can’t agree which one that is.
But TBH, it isn’t vitally important except in manufacturing and distribution. For most people if a government sneakily went fully metric by naming a gram an ounce, a centimetre an inch, a kilometre a mile etc, they would barely notice.
It’s also always amused me that a yard is strictly defined as 0.9144 metres.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
I must admit (at the age of 50) that I only know how long a yard is from being interested in athletics and hurdling - so its the 110M hurdles as it was a 120 yard standard to allow standard 10 hurdles . Being curious as a boy I looked up why it was 110 m not 100m . As a result I knew about yards. It was definitely not taught about yards in 1970s /80s schooling
His claim was ‘anyone.’ Which was a sweeping generalisation and like every other sweeping generalisation ever made, not true.
Except that one, obviously.
But I have to say, in my experience imperial is still the measurement most people use whatever their age. That’s probably a function of where I live, but it always exasperates me when metrication warriors extrapolate from themselves to the rest of the planet.
Its weird because I think i do have a more instinctive feel for a metre over a yard and Centimetre over an inch etc but oddly when suddenly pressed to give directions to a stranger asking (less and less now with SATNAV etc) I always say things like " you have to turn left in about 300 yards" If its a brit (any age) they seem not surprised but foreigners look at me as if I am weird! It would seem a bit wet somehow saying "you have to turn left in about 300metres"
I might try giving directions in furlongs next time!
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Football is the last global refuge of the imperial system - back 10 yards for a free kick, 12 yards from the penalty spot to the goal, which is eight yards wide and eight feet tall and lives in the 18 yard box!
A Cricket pitch is 22yards in Bangalore, Brisbane, Barbados and Brechin.
Another terrible legacy of the British empire probably.
If football is the bastion of imperial then horse racing is the bastion of medieval - furlongs , winning my necks etc
Hands?
But really, outside of your metropolitan elites my experience is whatever their age most people continue to (a) either use imperial or (b) have no fucking clue about weights and measures anyway. If anything, I would say my generation is less metricated than my father’s is. He often uses metric, and prefers it. I can use it, but I tend not to.
Distances, lengths/heights and draught drinks being in imperial is the main reason.
Im a complete mish mash.
Driving - miles Running - kilometers Height - imperial Weight - metric Beer - imperial Other drinks - metric
etc
Dont know if its good to be able to just choose what feels right for the scenario or if it would have been better to just stick with one.
The second is obviously the better option. (Although it’s actually not true that weight and ‘other drinks’ are metric. Milk is a particular sod as it is sold in both.)
The snag is that people on both sides can’t agree which one that is.
But TBH, it isn’t vitally important except in manufacturing and distribution. For most people if a government sneakily went fully metric by naming a gram an ounce, a centimetre an inch, a kilometre a mile etc, they would barely notice.
It’s also always amused me that a yard is strictly defined as 0.9144 metres.
Those links were mine, I wasnt suggesting everyone uses them. I would look to buy 1 litre of milk not 2 pints (I would then buy whatever the shop had closest to what I wanted - Im not even aware which it is I am getting at different shops).
I am grateful for decimalisation of currency before I was born. At primary school they still had one or two old maths books hanging around with £sd. Utterly bonkers system.
Metric measures are good for scientific calculations (brilliant, in fact) but they're not very human and a bit boring.
Imperial measures of yards, feet and inches are better for estimating as their origins relate to the human body itself, and they are also far more interesting.
I am grateful for decimalisation of currency before I was born. At primary school they still had one or two old maths books hanging around with £sd. Utterly bonkers system.
Anyone for Rod, Pole and Perch? Furlong is still in use.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
I must admit (at the age of 50) that I only know how long a yard is from being interested in athletics and hurdling - so its the 110M hurdles as it was originally a 120 yard standard to allow standard 10 hurdles . Being curious as a boy I looked up why it was 110 m not 100m . As a result I knew about yards. It was definitely not taught about yards in 1970s /80s schooling
The metre is a block of metal held somewhere in Paris???. I have no idea how they calibrate it is as metal expands and contract under different temperature conditions.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Football is the last global refuge of the imperial system - back 10 yards for a free kick, 12 yards from the penalty spot to the goal, which is eight yards wide and eight feet tall and lives in the 18 yard box!
A Cricket pitch is 22yards in Bangalore, Brisbane, Barbados and Brechin.
Another terrible legacy of the British empire probably.
If football is the bastion of imperial then horse racing is the bastion of medieval - furlongs , winning my necks etc
Hands?
But really, outside of your metropolitan elites my experience is whatever their age most people continue to (a) either use imperial or (b) have no fucking clue about weights and measures anyway. If anything, I would say my generation is less metricated than my father’s is. He often uses metric, and prefers it. I can use it, but I tend not to.
Distances, lengths/heights and draught drinks being in imperial is the main reason.
Im a complete mish mash.
Driving - miles Running - kilometers Height - imperial Weight - metric Beer - imperial Other drinks - metric
etc
Dont know if its good to be able to just choose what feels right for the scenario or if it would have been better to just stick with one.
If you are a runner the longer you run you have to stick to miles (it sounds more epic) but shorter runs stick to kilometres as it sounds more trendy .. So 5K (over 3 miles) but 10 miles over 16K etc .
Imperial units are good slang. It is easier in most casual conversations to talk about pints and feet, but do any serious work you use the metric system. You avoid a lot of error prone nonsense. Above all, who in their right mind cares.
That's not a bad summary.
I might be pretty niche but actually use fluid ounces and teaspoons and tablespoons in cooking a lot, because absolute precision is rarely relevant and it's easier for me to judge and estimate quantities using rule of thumb measures when I'm trying to cook quickly.
Metric measures are good for scientific calculations (brilliant, in fact) but they're not very human and a bit boring.
Imperial measures of yards, feet and inches are better for estimating as their origins relate to the human body itself, and they are also far more interesting.
Horses for courses.
I love the way they are all messed up. Cars are generally imperial, until you have to change a nut or talk about engine capacity, which has generally been in cc or litres. 🤷♂️
What I find interesting from my own experience of the lockdown is that those most at risk ie the over 60s are pretty meh about the whole thing while the 20somethings seem paralysed by fear.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
I must admit (at the age of 50) that I only know how long a yard is from being interested in athletics and hurdling - so its the 110M hurdles as it was originally a 120 yard standard to allow standard 10 hurdles . Being curious as a boy I looked up why it was 110 m not 100m . As a result I knew about yards. It was definitely not taught about yards in 1970s /80s schooling
The metre is a block of metal held somewhere in Paris???. I have no idea how they calibrate it is as metal expands and contract under different temperature conditions.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
I must admit (at the age of 50) that I only know how long a yard is from being interested in athletics and hurdling - so its the 110M hurdles as it was originally a 120 yard standard to allow standard 10 hurdles . Being curious as a boy I looked up why it was 110 m not 100m . As a result I knew about yards. It was definitely not taught about yards in 1970s /80s schooling
The metre is a block of metal held somewhere in Paris???. I have no idea how they calibrate it is as metal expands and contract under different temperature conditions.
Officially, it’s the distance light travels in a given time (a very, very small fraction of a second). Goodness knows why that is considered clever.
In the real world, it was defined by the French as one forty millionth of the circumference of the world (which isn’t actually that hard to calculate - Eratosthenes came very close despite several false assumptions).
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
I must admit (at the age of 50) that I only know how long a yard is from being interested in athletics and hurdling - so its the 110M hurdles as it was originally a 120 yard standard to allow standard 10 hurdles . Being curious as a boy I looked up why it was 110 m not 100m . As a result I knew about yards. It was definitely not taught about yards in 1970s /80s schooling
The metre is a block of metal held somewhere in Paris???. I have no idea how they calibrate it is as metal expands and contract under different temperature conditions.
Officially, it’s the distance light travels in a given time (a very, very small fraction of a second). Goodness knows why that is considered clever.
In the real world, it was defined by the French as one forty millionth of the circumference of the world (which isn’t actually that hard to calculate - Eratosthenes came very close despite several false assumptions).
Metric measures are good for scientific calculations (brilliant, in fact) but they're not very human and a bit boring.
Imperial measures of yards, feet and inches are better for estimating as their origins relate to the human body itself, and they are also far more interesting.
Horses for courses.
I love the way they are all messed up. Cars are generally imperial, until you have to change a nut or talk about engine capacity, which has generally been in cc or litres. 🤷♂️
Speaking of changing nuts, that Top Gear video of Johnson is brilliant.
But why didn’t he stick to stand up? He would have been our finest comedian since Arthur Askey. The gain to both entertainment and public life would have been incalculable.
The best of it is that wonderful admission at the start.
Clarkson: Most politicians hide stupidity beneath a veneer of competence. You do it the other way around. Johnson: I think you should allow for the possibility that beneath this carefully crafted persona of a blithering idiot is, in fact, a blithering idiot.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
I must admit (at the age of 50) that I only know how long a yard is from being interested in athletics and hurdling - so its the 110M hurdles as it was originally a 120 yard standard to allow standard 10 hurdles . Being curious as a boy I looked up why it was 110 m not 100m . As a result I knew about yards. It was definitely not taught about yards in 1970s /80s schooling
The metre is a block of metal held somewhere in Paris???. I have no idea how they calibrate it is as metal expands and contract under different temperature conditions.
Officially, it’s the distance light travels in a given time (a very, very small fraction of a second). Goodness knows why that is considered clever.
In the real world, it was defined by the French as one forty millionth of the circumference of the world (which isn’t actually that hard to calculate - Eratosthenes came very close despite several false assumptions).
The speed of light is constant.
Well, unless Richard Burgon is in the way.
But the point is I can’t exactly measure it on a stopwatch, can I?
Wahey! A PB classic. The imperial metric debate. What a load of old bollocks. Pointless.
It’s a stupid mess, impossible to untangle.
A 5.0l V8 car does 30mpg. 🤷♂️
So how far does it go on 10 litres of petrol?
It doesn’t, the battery is flat due to this damn lockdown.
Wa-hey, owned!
Actually, my problem is that the brakes are jamming on due to the handbrake being released insufficiently often. However, I’m planning to replace that car anyway.
More seriously, you do wonder how many people will have very flat batteries and problems with engines after this.
O2 sensors fail if you don't regularly get heat into them. Or even if you do if you have a McLaren.
Metric measures are good for scientific calculations (brilliant, in fact) but they're not very human and a bit boring.
Imperial measures of yards, feet and inches are better for estimating as their origins relate to the human body itself, and they are also far more interesting.
Horses for courses.
I love the way they are all messed up. Cars are generally imperial, until you have to change a nut or talk about engine capacity, which has generally been in cc or litres. 🤷♂️
Speaking of changing nuts, that Top Gear video of Johnson is brilliant.
But why didn’t he stick to stand up? He would have been our finest comedian since Arthur Askey. The gain to both entertainment and public life would have been incalculable.
The best of it is that wonderful admission at the start.
Clarkson: Most politicians hide stupidity beneath a veneer of competence. You do it the other way around. Johnson: I think you should allow for the possibility that beneath this carefully crafted persona of a blithering idiot is, in fact, a blithering idiot.
The tragedy of Johnson is that he is a better game show host than prime minister. He will never fulfill his potential in his current role. He could have been the next Monkhouse before he threw it all away.
I am grateful for decimalisation of currency before I was born. At primary school they still had one or two old maths books hanging around with £sd. Utterly bonkers system.
Anyone for Rod, Pole and Perch? Furlong is still in use.
As is a chain in the sense it’s the length of a cricket pitich I believe.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
I must admit (at the age of 50) that I only know how long a yard is from being interested in athletics and hurdling - so its the 110M hurdles as it was originally a 120 yard standard to allow standard 10 hurdles . Being curious as a boy I looked up why it was 110 m not 100m . As a result I knew about yards. It was definitely not taught about yards in 1970s /80s schooling
The metre is a block of metal held somewhere in Paris???. I have no idea how they calibrate it is as metal expands and contract under different temperature conditions.
Officially, it’s the distance light travels in a given time (a very, very small fraction of a second). Goodness knows why that is considered clever.
In the real world, it was defined by the French as one forty millionth of the circumference of the world (which isn’t actually that hard to calculate - Eratosthenes came very close despite several false assumptions).
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
What percentage wouldnt know which is longer? Im guessing its over 10%?
In practice without any measurement devices, Id imagine a lot would use a big stride is about a metre and use exactly the same process to measure a yard.
Off the top of my head I couldn't say for certain what a yard is. I don't think I have never used yards in my life I only ever have used meters.
Feet and inches for body height, pounds for body weight, pints for beer and milk, miles for driving but everything else I use metric.
Metric measures are good for scientific calculations (brilliant, in fact) but they're not very human and a bit boring.
Imperial measures of yards, feet and inches are better for estimating as their origins relate to the human body itself, and they are also far more interesting.
Horses for courses.
I love the way they are all messed up. Cars are generally imperial, until you have to change a nut or talk about engine capacity, which has generally been in cc or litres. 🤷♂️
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
What percentage wouldnt know which is longer? Im guessing its over 10%?
In practice without any measurement devices, Id imagine a lot would use a big stride is about a metre and use exactly the same process to measure a yard.
Off the top of my head I couldn't say for certain what a yard is. I don't think I have never used yards in my life I only ever have used meters.
Feet and inches for body height, pounds for body weight, pints for beer and milk, miles for driving but everything else I use metric.
As if this lockdown as not been hard enough on the young without now allowing garden centres to be visited ! I used to f****** hate visiting garden centres that my parents dragged me round as a youth
FPT , Did anyone ever find out if Roger was OK, not having been around for a long time. Hopefully JACKW is OK as well, been a while since he has posted.
What I find interesting from my own experience of the lockdown is that those most at risk ie the over 60s are pretty meh about the whole thing while the 20somethings seem paralysed by fear.
Feeds into the snowflake narrative I guess
Depends what we're afraid of. I'm 30something but am afraid of getting the disease and passing it to others more than I'm afraid for myself.
Young people don't want to cause the deaths of their grandparents.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
What percentage wouldnt know which is longer? Im guessing its over 10%?
In practice without any measurement devices, Id imagine a lot would use a big stride is about a metre and use exactly the same process to measure a yard.
Off the top of my head I couldn't say for certain what a yard is. I don't think I have never used yards in my life I only ever have used meters.
Feet and inches for body height, pounds for body weight, pints for beer and milk, miles for driving but everything else I use metric.
Pints for cider in your pub, surely?
Fair point. I don't like cider, find it too sweet even for traditional let alone that sugar syrup purple dyed stuff people drink now, but think of it under beer.
Metric measures are good for scientific calculations (brilliant, in fact) but they're not very human and a bit boring.
Imperial measures of yards, feet and inches are better for estimating as their origins relate to the human body itself, and they are also far more interesting.
Horses for courses.
I love the way they are all messed up. Cars are generally imperial, until you have to change a nut or talk about engine capacity, which has generally been in cc or litres. 🤷♂️
And then you have horsepower.
Which.. err... is kinda pre-industrial.
...but 1 hp equals 14.9 average horses! Where are trading standards when you need them? Now where are my British Whitworth Standard spanners?
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
I must admit (at the age of 50) that I only know how long a yard is from being interested in athletics and hurdling - so its the 110M hurdles as it was originally a 120 yard standard to allow standard 10 hurdles . Being curious as a boy I looked up why it was 110 m not 100m . As a result I knew about yards. It was definitely not taught about yards in 1970s /80s schooling
The metre is a block of metal held somewhere in Paris???. I have no idea how they calibrate it is as metal expands and contract under different temperature conditions.
Officially, it’s the distance light travels in a given time (a very, very small fraction of a second). Goodness knows why that is considered clever.
In the real world, it was defined by the French as one forty millionth of the circumference of the world (which isn’t actually that hard to calculate - Eratosthenes came very close despite several false assumptions).
What i linked to does not correlate with your definition
It's no coincidence that the Government is going to announce a modest relaxation of lockdown restrictions on Sunday night in areas such as garden centres and tips so the retired can enjoy them at their leisure from Monday onwards. Funny how there have been howls of protest about those and potential restrictions on the over 70s for the rest of the year (now quietly dropped) whilst schools and nurseries barely warrant a mention.
Meanwhile, hardworking and exhausted families with young children who have been working solidly for weeks are going to miss out on enjoying this lovely bank holiday weekend because the Government don't have the courage to let them have a socially distanced picnic or enjoy a bit of sun outside without the rozzers coming down on them.
Once again, this Government will be governing for their core vote: pensioners.
Metric measures are good for scientific calculations (brilliant, in fact) but they're not very human and a bit boring.
Imperial measures of yards, feet and inches are better for estimating as their origins relate to the human body itself, and they are also far more interesting.
Horses for courses.
I love the way they are all messed up. Cars are generally imperial, until you have to change a nut or talk about engine capacity, which has generally been in cc or litres. 🤷♂️
And then you have horsepower.
Which.. err... is kinda pre-industrial.
...but 1 hp equals 14.9 average horses! Where are trading standards when you need them? Now where are my British Whitworth Standard spanners?
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
I must admit (at the age of 50) that I only know how long a yard is from being interested in athletics and hurdling - so its the 110M hurdles as it was originally a 120 yard standard to allow standard 10 hurdles . Being curious as a boy I looked up why it was 110 m not 100m . As a result I knew about yards. It was definitely not taught about yards in 1970s /80s schooling
The metre is a block of metal held somewhere in Paris???. I have no idea how they calibrate it is as metal expands and contract under different temperature conditions.
Officially, it’s the distance light travels in a given time (a very, very small fraction of a second). Goodness knows why that is considered clever.
In the real world, it was defined by the French as one forty millionth of the circumference of the world (which isn’t actually that hard to calculate - Eratosthenes came very close despite several false assumptions).
What i linked to does not correlate with your definition
Metric measures are good for scientific calculations (brilliant, in fact) but they're not very human and a bit boring.
Imperial measures of yards, feet and inches are better for estimating as their origins relate to the human body itself, and they are also far more interesting.
Horses for courses.
I love the way they are all messed up. Cars are generally imperial, until you have to change a nut or talk about engine capacity, which has generally been in cc or litres. 🤷♂️
And then you have horsepower.
Which.. err... is kinda pre-industrial.
...but 1 hp equals 14.9 average horses! Where are trading standards when you need them? Now where are my British Whitworth Standard spanners?
I wouldn’t have thought 0.9 of a horse would have much hauling potential. In fact, arguably it would be negative.
Although it might depend on which 0.1 of it was missing.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
What percentage wouldnt know which is longer? Im guessing its over 10%?
In practice without any measurement devices, Id imagine a lot would use a big stride is about a metre and use exactly the same process to measure a yard.
Off the top of my head I couldn't say for certain what a yard is. I don't think I have never used yards in my life I only ever have used meters.
Feet and inches for body height, pounds for body weight, pints for beer and milk, miles for driving but everything else I use metric.
Pints for cider in your pub, surely?
Fair point. I don't like cider, find it too sweet even for traditional let alone that sugar syrup purple dyed stuff people drink now, but think of it under beer.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
What percentage wouldnt know which is longer? Im guessing its over 10%?
In practice without any measurement devices, Id imagine a lot would use a big stride is about a metre and use exactly the same process to measure a yard.
Off the top of my head I couldn't say for certain what a yard is. I don't think I have never used yards in my life I only ever have used meters.
Feet and inches for body height, pounds for body weight, pints for beer and milk, miles for driving but everything else I use metric.
Pints for cider in your pub, surely?
Fair point. I don't like cider, find it too sweet even for traditional let alone that sugar syrup purple dyed stuff people drink now, but think of it under beer.
It's no coincidence that the Government is going to announce a modest relaxation of lockdown restrictions on Sunday night in areas such as garden centres and tips so the retired can enjoy them at their leisure from Monday onwards. Funny how there have been howls of protest about those and potential restrictions on the over 70s for the rest of the year (now quietly dropped) whilst schools and nurseries barely warrant a mention.
Meanwhile, hardworking and exhausted families with young children who have been working solidly for weeks are going to miss out on enjoying this lovely bank holiday weekend because the Government don't have the courage to let them have a socially distanced picnic or enjoy a bit of sun outside without the rozzers coming down on them.
Once again, this Government will be governing for their core vote: pensioners.
It won't be forgotten.
Absolutely agreed Casino. The restrictions on family meeting up are causing huge damage, and for no real benefit. Boris needs to remove these as a priority. People in high risk groups and their families can make appropriate pragmatic decisions for themselves to minimise the risk.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
What percentage wouldnt know which is longer? Im guessing its over 10%?
In practice without any measurement devices, Id imagine a lot would use a big stride is about a metre and use exactly the same process to measure a yard.
Off the top of my head I couldn't say for certain what a yard is. I don't think I have never used yards in my life I only ever have used meters.
Feet and inches for body height, pounds for body weight, pints for beer and milk, miles for driving but everything else I use metric.
Pints for cider in your pub, surely?
Fair point. I don't like cider, find it too sweet even for traditional let alone that sugar syrup purple dyed stuff people drink now, but think of it under beer.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
What percentage wouldnt know which is longer? Im guessing its over 10%?
In practice without any measurement devices, Id imagine a lot would use a big stride is about a metre and use exactly the same process to measure a yard.
Off the top of my head I couldn't say for certain what a yard is. I don't think I have never used yards in my life I only ever have used meters.
Feet and inches for body height, pounds for body weight, pints for beer and milk, miles for driving but everything else I use metric.
Pints for cider in your pub, surely?
Fair point. I don't like cider, find it too sweet even for traditional let alone that sugar syrup purple dyed stuff people drink now, but think of it under beer.
Apple cider is great with roast pork.
It has to be the good stuff though, I agree.
Weston’s special reserve. Prefer the medium dry myself.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Football is the last global refuge of the imperial system - back 10 yards for a free kick, 12 yards from the penalty spot to the goal, which is eight yards wide and eight feet tall and lives in the 18 yard box!
A Cricket pitch is 22yards in Bangalore, Brisbane, Barbados and Brechin.
Another terrible legacy of the British empire probably.
If football is the bastion of imperial then horse racing is the bastion of medieval - furlongs , winning my necks etc
Hands?
But really, outside of your metropolitan elites my experience is whatever their age most people continue to (a) either use imperial or (b) have no fucking clue about weights and measures anyway. If anything, I would say my generation is less metricated than my father’s is. He often uses metric, and prefers it. I can use it, but I tend not to.
Distances, lengths/heights and draught drinks being in imperial is the main reason.
Im a complete mish mash.
Driving - miles Running - kilometers Height - imperial Weight - metric Beer - imperial Other drinks - metric
etc
Dont know if its good to be able to just choose what feels right for the scenario or if it would have been better to just stick with one.
I think most of us are, though I do find it a bit odd you don't weigh yourself in stones. What is the metric equivalent?
Metric measures are good for scientific calculations (brilliant, in fact) but they're not very human and a bit boring.
Imperial measures of yards, feet and inches are better for estimating as their origins relate to the human body itself, and they are also far more interesting.
Horses for courses.
I love the way they are all messed up. Cars are generally imperial, until you have to change a nut or talk about engine capacity, which has generally been in cc or litres. 🤷♂️
And then you have horsepower.
Which.. err... is kinda pre-industrial.
...but 1 hp equals 14.9 average horses! Where are trading standards when you need them? Now where are my British Whitworth Standard spanners?
Pferdestärke (PS) became the EU standard way of measuring engine power in a rare example of demetrification. However, manufacturers (eg Merc) are starting to ignore it and move back to kW.
You can gauge the relevance of the imperial system to modern life by that fact that it has no unit for electrical current.
Metric measures are good for scientific calculations (brilliant, in fact) but they're not very human and a bit boring.
Imperial measures of yards, feet and inches are better for estimating as their origins relate to the human body itself, and they are also far more interesting.
Horses for courses.
I love the way they are all messed up. Cars are generally imperial, until you have to change a nut or talk about engine capacity, which has generally been in cc or litres. 🤷♂️
And then you have horsepower.
Which.. err... is kinda pre-industrial.
...but 1 hp equals 14.9 average horses! Where are trading standards when you need them? Now where are my British Whitworth Standard spanners?
I wouldn’t have thought 0.9 of a horse would have much hauling potential. In fact, arguably it would be negative.
Although it might depend on which 0.1 of it was missing.
Maybe my description of the conversion was inaccurate. How does 14 standard horses and a slightly smaller one sound?
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
I must admit (at the age of 50) that I only know how long a yard is from being interested in athletics and hurdling - so its the 110M hurdles as it was originally a 120 yard standard to allow standard 10 hurdles . Being curious as a boy I looked up why it was 110 m not 100m . As a result I knew about yards. It was definitely not taught about yards in 1970s /80s schooling
The metre is a block of metal held somewhere in Paris???. I have no idea how they calibrate it is as metal expands and contract under different temperature conditions.
The metre used to be defined by a standard object - a length of platinum alloy - held by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures in Paris. It was redefined by a physical constant, as were almost all of the other SI units, some time ago, because of the desire to establish a universal system and to eliminate the kinds of inaccuracies which you have identified.
However, the kilogram was still defined by a lump of metal (usually referred to as "le Grand K") right up until last year, when a revised definition based on the Planck constant was finally agreed. I know a little about this because my company used to manufacture iridium-platinum alloy for delivery to BIPM, which they would machine down to create new copies of le Grand K to send to the national laboratories of the various member states. I've handled these blanks myself.
The BIPM is based in a building on the outskirts of Paris and is protected by international treaty. It's considered so sacred that I seem to recall reading that, after the fall of France, German occupying troops were expressly forbidden from entering the grounds.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
I must admit (at the age of 50) that I only know how long a yard is from being interested in athletics and hurdling - so its the 110M hurdles as it was originally a 120 yard standard to allow standard 10 hurdles . Being curious as a boy I looked up why it was 110 m not 100m . As a result I knew about yards. It was definitely not taught about yards in 1970s /80s schooling
The metre is a block of metal held somewhere in Paris???. I have no idea how they calibrate it is as metal expands and contract under different temperature conditions.
Officially, it’s the distance light travels in a given time (a very, very small fraction of a second). Goodness knows why that is considered clever.
In the real world, it was defined by the French as one forty millionth of the circumference of the world (which isn’t actually that hard to calculate - Eratosthenes came very close despite several false assumptions).
What i linked to does not correlate with your definition
What link?
Ah, I see now.
But it does actually. One ten-millionth of a quarter of the circumference of the earth is the same as one forty millionth of the circumference of the whole lot.
And it does mention light waves in a fraction of a second, although it expresses it more elegantly and in more detail than I did.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
I must admit (at the age of 50) that I only know how long a yard is from being interested in athletics and hurdling - so its the 110M hurdles as it was originally a 120 yard standard to allow standard 10 hurdles . Being curious as a boy I looked up why it was 110 m not 100m . As a result I knew about yards. It was definitely not taught about yards in 1970s /80s schooling
The metre is a block of metal held somewhere in Paris???. I have no idea how they calibrate it is as metal expands and contract under different temperature conditions.
No it is not and hasn't been for 60 years. The measurement has been changed twice since then to make it more accurate. The metre is defined as the length of the path travelled by monochromatic light in a vacuum in 1/299 792 458 of a second.
Metric measures are good for scientific calculations (brilliant, in fact) but they're not very human and a bit boring.
Imperial measures of yards, feet and inches are better for estimating as their origins relate to the human body itself, and they are also far more interesting.
Horses for courses.
I love the way they are all messed up. Cars are generally imperial, until you have to change a nut or talk about engine capacity, which has generally been in cc or litres. 🤷♂️
And then you have horsepower.
Which.. err... is kinda pre-industrial.
...but 1 hp equals 14.9 average horses! Where are trading standards when you need them? Now where are my British Whitworth Standard spanners?
I wouldn’t have thought 0.9 of a horse would have much hauling potential. In fact, arguably it would be negative.
Although it might depend on which 0.1 of it was missing.
Maybe my description of the conversion was inaculate. How does 14 standard horses and a slightly smaller one sound?
Well, yes, that’s one of the drawbacks. When we say ‘horse,’ do we mean a shire horse or a Shetland pony?
Ydoethur , Looks like a good year for the turnips, we are now 37 out of 38 days sunshine since start of April.
You’re luckier than me then. It was very wet and cloudy last week. I even considered turning the central heating back on, although I didn’t because I’m a skinflint.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
I must admit (at the age of 50) that I only know how long a yard is from being interested in athletics and hurdling - so its the 110M hurdles as it was originally a 120 yard standard to allow standard 10 hurdles . Being curious as a boy I looked up why it was 110 m not 100m . As a result I knew about yards. It was definitely not taught about yards in 1970s /80s schooling
The metre is a block of metal held somewhere in Paris???. I have no idea how they calibrate it is as metal expands and contract under different temperature conditions.
No it is not and hasn't been for 60 years. The measurement has been changed twice since then to make it more accurate. The metre is defined as the length of the path travelled by monochromatic light in a vacuum in 1/299 792 458 of a second.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Football is the last global refuge of the imperial system - back 10 yards for a free kick, 12 yards from the penalty spot to the goal, which is eight yards wide and eight feet tall and lives in the 18 yard box!
A Cricket pitch is 22yards in Bangalore, Brisbane, Barbados and Brechin.
Another terrible legacy of the British empire probably.
If football is the bastion of imperial then horse racing is the bastion of medieval - furlongs , winning my necks etc
Hands?
But really, outside of your metropolitan elites my experience is whatever their age most people continue to (a) either use imperial or (b) have no fucking clue about weights and measures anyway. If anything, I would say my generation is less metricated than my father’s is. He often uses metric, and prefers it. I can use it, but I tend not to.
Distances, lengths/heights and draught drinks being in imperial is the main reason.
Im a complete mish mash.
Driving - miles Running - kilometers Height - imperial Weight - metric Beer - imperial Other drinks - metric
etc
Dont know if its good to be able to just choose what feels right for the scenario or if it would have been better to just stick with one.
I think most of us are, though I do find it a bit odd you don't weigh yourself in stones. What is the metric equivalent?
I am totally Imperial on all of above and if I could would be same for money, I often convert for comparisons from my youth.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
What percentage wouldnt know which is longer? Im guessing its over 10%?
In practice without any measurement devices, Id imagine a lot would use a big stride is about a metre and use exactly the same process to measure a yard.
Off the top of my head I couldn't say for certain what a yard is. I don't think I have never used yards in my life I only ever have used meters.
Feet and inches for body height, pounds for body weight, pints for beer and milk, miles for driving but everything else I use metric.
Pints for cider in your pub, surely?
Fair point. I don't like cider, find it too sweet even for traditional let alone that sugar syrup purple dyed stuff people drink now, but think of it under beer.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
What percentage wouldnt know which is longer? Im guessing its over 10%?
In practice without any measurement devices, Id imagine a lot would use a big stride is about a metre and use exactly the same process to measure a yard.
Off the top of my head I couldn't say for certain what a yard is. I don't think I have never used yards in my life I only ever have used meters.
Feet and inches for body height, pounds for body weight, pints for beer and milk, miles for driving but everything else I use metric.
Pints for cider in your pub, surely?
Fair point. I don't like cider, find it too sweet even for traditional let alone that sugar syrup purple dyed stuff people drink now, but think of it under beer.
Apple cider is great with roast pork.
It has to be the good stuff though, I agree.
Weston’s special reserve. Prefer the medium dry myself.
That's probably what I'd like if I tried it. I prefer dry drinks which is funny as I have a sweet tooth with food but can't stand sweet drinks. I like red wines but can't stand Rose like Zinfandel to which I feel like I might as well be drinking sugar. That's my issue with most ciders I've tried.
Metric measures are good for scientific calculations (brilliant, in fact) but they're not very human and a bit boring.
Imperial measures of yards, feet and inches are better for estimating as their origins relate to the human body itself, and they are also far more interesting.
Horses for courses.
I love the way they are all messed up. Cars are generally imperial, until you have to change a nut or talk about engine capacity, which has generally been in cc or litres. 🤷♂️
And then you have horsepower.
Which.. err... is kinda pre-industrial.
...but 1 hp equals 14.9 average horses! Where are trading standards when you need them? Now where are my British Whitworth Standard spanners?
Pferdestärke (PS) became the EU standard way of measuring engine power in a rare example of demetrification. However, manufacturers (eg Merc) are starting to ignore it and move back to kW.
You can gauge the relevance of the imperial system to modern life by that fact that it has no unit for electrical current.
Metric measures are good for scientific calculations (brilliant, in fact) but they're not very human and a bit boring.
Imperial measures of yards, feet and inches are better for estimating as their origins relate to the human body itself, and they are also far more interesting.
Horses for courses.
I love the way they are all messed up. Cars are generally imperial, until you have to change a nut or talk about engine capacity, which has generally been in cc or litres. 🤷♂️
And then you have horsepower.
Which.. err... is kinda pre-industrial.
...but 1 hp equals 14.9 average horses! Where are trading standards when you need them? Now where are my British Whitworth Standard spanners?
Pferdestärke (PS) became the EU standard way of measuring engine power in a rare example of demetrification. However, manufacturers (eg Merc) are starting to ignore it and move back to kW.
You can gauge the relevance of the imperial system to modern life by that fact that it has no unit for electrical current.
I think most European Car Manufacturers have used PS rather than BHP figures for a while in their data specs. It looks a little better too 100bhp or 101.387 ps. Take your pick.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Football is the last global refuge of the imperial system - back 10 yards for a free kick, 12 yards from the penalty spot to the goal, which is eight yards wide and eight feet tall and lives in the 18 yard box!
A Cricket pitch is 22yards in Bangalore, Brisbane, Barbados and Brechin.
Another terrible legacy of the British empire probably.
If football is the bastion of imperial then horse racing is the bastion of medieval - furlongs , winning my necks etc
Hands?
But really, outside of your metropolitan elites my experience is whatever their age most people continue to (a) either use imperial or (b) have no fucking clue about weights and measures anyway. If anything, I would say my generation is less metricated than my father’s is. He often uses metric, and prefers it. I can use it, but I tend not to.
Distances, lengths/heights and draught drinks being in imperial is the main reason.
Im a complete mish mash.
Driving - miles Running - kilometers Height - imperial Weight - metric Beer - imperial Other drinks - metric
etc
Dont know if its good to be able to just choose what feels right for the scenario or if it would have been better to just stick with one.
I think most of us are, though I do find it a bit odd you don't weigh yourself in stones. What is the metric equivalent?
Kilograms.
I've started weighing myself in just pounds rather than stone. Easier to make comparisons without prattling with two numbers and twice as easy to lose one pound than it is to lose a kg.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
What percentage wouldnt know which is longer? Im guessing its over 10%?
In practice without any measurement devices, Id imagine a lot would use a big stride is about a metre and use exactly the same process to measure a yard.
Off the top of my head I couldn't say for certain what a yard is. I don't think I have never used yards in my life I only ever have used meters.
Feet and inches for body height, pounds for body weight, pints for beer and milk, miles for driving but everything else I use metric.
Pints for cider in your pub, surely?
Fair point. I don't like cider, find it too sweet even for traditional let alone that sugar syrup purple dyed stuff people drink now, but think of it under beer.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Well, that certainly isn’t true.
What percentage wouldnt know which is longer? Im guessing its over 10%?
In practice without any measurement devices, Id imagine a lot would use a big stride is about a metre and use exactly the same process to measure a yard.
Off the top of my head I couldn't say for certain what a yard is. I don't think I have never used yards in my life I only ever have used meters.
Feet and inches for body height, pounds for body weight, pints for beer and milk, miles for driving but everything else I use metric.
Pints for cider in your pub, surely?
Fair point. I don't like cider, find it too sweet even for traditional let alone that sugar syrup purple dyed stuff people drink now, but think of it under beer.
Apple cider is great with roast pork.
It has to be the good stuff though, I agree.
Weston’s special reserve. Prefer the medium dry myself.
That's probably what I'd like if I tried it. I prefer dry drinks which is funny as I have a sweet tooth with food but can't stand sweet drinks. I like red wines but can't stand Rose like Zinfandel to which I feel like I might as well be drinking sugar. That's my issue with most ciders I've tried.
I’m the opposite. I don’t really like beer, because it’s sour. That said, I don’t like things to be too sweet either.
Still, would be a dull old world if we were all alike.
The only thing that is unacceptable to all right thinking people is...
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Football is the last global refuge of the imperial system - back 10 yards for a free kick, 12 yards from the penalty spot to the goal, which is eight yards wide and eight feet tall and lives in the 18 yard box!
A Cricket pitch is 22yards in Bangalore, Brisbane, Barbados and Brechin.
Another terrible legacy of the British empire probably.
If football is the bastion of imperial then horse racing is the bastion of medieval - furlongs , winning my necks etc
Hands?
But really, outside of your metropolitan elites my experience is whatever their age most people continue to (a) either use imperial or (b) have no fucking clue about weights and measures anyway. If anything, I would say my generation is less metricated than my father’s is. He often uses metric, and prefers it. I can use it, but I tend not to.
Distances, lengths/heights and draught drinks being in imperial is the main reason.
Im a complete mish mash.
Driving - miles Running - kilometers Height - imperial Weight - metric Beer - imperial Other drinks - metric
etc
Dont know if its good to be able to just choose what feels right for the scenario or if it would have been better to just stick with one.
I think most of us are, though I do find it a bit odd you don't weigh yourself in stones. What is the metric equivalent?
Kilograms.
I've started weighing myself in just pounds rather than stone. Easier to make comparisons without prattling with two numbers and twice as easy to lose one pound than it is to lose a kg.
Stones are a really annoying shambolic feature of Imperial and I abominable them.
But as I never weigh myself, it doesn’t matter which system I don’t use.
It's no coincidence that the Government is going to announce a modest relaxation of lockdown restrictions on Sunday night in areas such as garden centres and tips so the retired can enjoy them at their leisure from Monday onwards. Funny how there have been howls of protest about those and potential restrictions on the over 70s for the rest of the year (now quietly dropped) whilst schools and nurseries barely warrant a mention.
Meanwhile, hardworking and exhausted families with young children who have been working solidly for weeks are going to miss out on enjoying this lovely bank holiday weekend because the Government don't have the courage to let them have a socially distanced picnic or enjoy a bit of sun outside without the rozzers coming down on them.
Once again, this Government will be governing for their core vote: pensioners.
It won't be forgotten.
Absolutely agreed Casino. The restrictions on family meeting up are causing huge damage, and for no real benefit. Boris needs to remove these as a priority. People in high risk groups and their families can make appropriate pragmatic decisions for themselves to minimise the risk.
Sounds more like bollox, I am sure given the dearth of coppers, unless you are picnicking in the high street or a very public place you are highly unlikely to have any issues. If done discreetly and not walking up main street with shedload of picnic baskets etc. More whining and whinging, take a cue from VE day, think if they had been whinging about picnics rather than getting on with it , where would we be now.
As if this lockdown as not been hard enough on the young without now allowing garden centres to be visited ! I used to f****** hate visiting garden centres that my parents dragged me round as a youth
I use kgs for my weight precisely because most people don't have a handle on them. If I'm going to have to be revealing an unflattering truth, I don't want it understood.
Ydoethur , Looks like a good year for the turnips, we are now 37 out of 38 days sunshine since start of April.
You’re luckier than me then. It was very wet and cloudy last week. I even considered turning the central heating back on, although I didn’t because I’m a skinflint.
Still gets cool at night and first thing in morning mind you but has been excellent given we are stuck in the house.
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Football is the last global refuge of the imperial system - back 10 yards for a free kick, 12 yards from the penalty spot to the goal, which is eight yards wide and eight feet tall and lives in the 18 yard box!
A Cricket pitch is 22yards in Bangalore, Brisbane, Barbados and Brechin.
Another terrible legacy of the British empire probably.
If football is the bastion of imperial then horse racing is the bastion of medieval - furlongs , winning my necks etc
Hands?
But really, outside of your metropolitan elites my experience is whatever their age most people continue to (a) either use imperial or (b) have no fucking clue about weights and measures anyway. If anything, I would say my generation is less metricated than my father’s is. He often uses metric, and prefers it. I can use it, but I tend not to.
Distances, lengths/heights and draught drinks being in imperial is the main reason.
Im a complete mish mash.
Driving - miles Running - kilometers Height - imperial Weight - metric Beer - imperial Other drinks - metric
etc
Dont know if its good to be able to just choose what feels right for the scenario or if it would have been better to just stick with one.
I think most of us are, though I do find it a bit odd you don't weigh yourself in stones. What is the metric equivalent?
Kilograms.
I've started weighing myself in just pounds rather than stone. Easier to make comparisons without prattling with two numbers and twice as easy to lose one pound than it is to lose a kg.
Stones are a really annoying shambolic feature of Imperial and I abominable them.
But as I never weigh myself, it doesn’t matter which system I don’t use.
Was 80kg three weeks ago more like 70kg now will lend anybody the diet sheet,
"Prof Dingwall said he had been told by a senior public health specialist that "we knew it was one metre but we doubled it to two because we did not think the British population would understand what one metre was and we could not trust them to observe it so we doubled it to be on the safe side"."
They did not think the public would understand one metre and were too pig-headed to call it a yard, or three feet, or the length of a supermarket trolley.
Anyone under 50 knows what a metre is more than they know what a yard is.
Football is the last global refuge of the imperial system - back 10 yards for a free kick, 12 yards from the penalty spot to the goal, which is eight yards wide and eight feet tall and lives in the 18 yard box!
A Cricket pitch is 22yards in Bangalore, Brisbane, Barbados and Brechin.
Another terrible legacy of the British empire probably.
If football is the bastion of imperial then horse racing is the bastion of medieval - furlongs , winning my necks etc
Hands?
But really, outside of your metropolitan elites my experience is whatever their age most people continue to (a) either use imperial or (b) have no fucking clue about weights and measures anyway. If anything, I would say my generation is less metricated than my father’s is. He often uses metric, and prefers it. I can use it, but I tend not to.
Distances, lengths/heights and draught drinks being in imperial is the main reason.
Im a complete mish mash.
Driving - miles Running - kilometers Height - imperial Weight - metric Beer - imperial Other drinks - metric
etc
Dont know if its good to be able to just choose what feels right for the scenario or if it would have been better to just stick with one.
I think most of us are, though I do find it a bit odd you don't weigh yourself in stones. What is the metric equivalent?
Kilograms.
I've started weighing myself in just pounds rather than stone. Easier to make comparisons without prattling with two numbers and twice as easy to lose one pound than it is to lose a kg.
Stones are a really annoying shambolic feature of Imperial and I abominable them.
But as I never weigh myself, it doesn’t matter which system I don’t use.
Was 80kg three weeks ago more like 70kg now will lend anybody the diet sheet,
A generous offer, but if you’ve already eaten it I’m not interested thanks.
A question about testing - no doubt others have thought/asked the same. How come it is that we still have no little idea about how prevalent the virus is in the population. Why could the principles of scientific polling not apply to testing? Test a representative sample of 1500 people and extrapolate.
Basic rules of sampling that the important thing is not the size of the sample (above a certain level) but how representative it is. All the talk is of contact tracing and test, test, test. But surely a massive amount can be done and learned with far less resource intensitivity required? And in a far more pro-active way which means you’re not chasing your tail all the time?
Its not the most important issue but why has golf chosen a skins format for its first televised event since lockdown (a charity match between 4 pros) . Nobody understands this format and seems weird when the purpose is to engage a starving for sport audience
It's no coincidence that the Government is going to announce a modest relaxation of lockdown restrictions on Sunday night in areas such as garden centres and tips so the retired can enjoy them at their leisure from Monday onwards. Funny how there have been howls of protest about those and potential restrictions on the over 70s for the rest of the year (now quietly dropped) whilst schools and nurseries barely warrant a mention.
Meanwhile, hardworking and exhausted families with young children who have been working solidly for weeks are going to miss out on enjoying this lovely bank holiday weekend because the Government don't have the courage to let them have a socially distanced picnic or enjoy a bit of sun outside without the rozzers coming down on them.
Once again, this Government will be governing for their core vote: pensioners.
It won't be forgotten.
Absolutely agreed Casino. The restrictions on family meeting up are causing huge damage, and for no real benefit. Boris needs to remove these as a priority. People in high risk groups and their families can make appropriate pragmatic decisions for themselves to minimise the risk.
Sounds more like bollox, I am sure given the dearth of coppers, unless you are picnicking in the high street or a very public place you are highly unlikely to have any issues. If done discreetly and not walking up main street with shedload of picnic baskets etc. More whining and whinging, take a cue from VE day, think if they had been whinging about picnics rather than getting on with it , where would we be now.
Malcolm, of course we would have made further progress if Sturgeon and the Scottish executive hadn't messed it up in Scotland.
Do you think the cause of Scottish nationalism needs someone fresh say Jim Sillars?
Was Fahrenheit for body temperature until lockdown. Otherwise Celsius. Now Celsius all the way.
The great thing about Celsius, and the reason it has become standard, is because it’s simple and intuitive. Water boils at 100 degrees and freezes at 0 degrees (yes, I know it’s not as simple as that but in practice that’s the way we all think of it). Everyone can understand that.
Fahrenheit meanwhile is officially more confusing than Labour’s policy on private school taxation.
The disadvantage of other metric systems for ordinary people is that actually they neither look nor sound intuitive, and for all they are easy to multiply they’re a right bloody sod to divide.
Ultimately, that’s why I think they’ve never quite caught on. A mile a minute is a more useful and reasonable measurement than 1.66km a minute.
On a slightly less happy note the Courier reported yesterday that 62% of Covid deaths in Angus took place in care homes. And that almost certainly understates the issue since some residents of care homes will have been taken to hospital and died there. 62%. Its an absolute national disgrace.
"Susan Collins has held Maine for almost a quarter century."
That wretched (seemingly American) thing where prepositions are omitted. I'd rather listen to a ten hour recording of nails against a chalkboard, it'd be far more charming.
1. The Georgia special election seat is unlikely to be a Democratic pick-up (as Robert thinks) although Loeffler will very probably lose. They have an unusual jungle primary and run-off in Georgia, so November will be a fight between TWO serious Republicans and TWO serious Democrats. Polling suggests one of the Republicans (Doug Collins) is a shoo-in for the run-off and will probably win that (although it may be a battle royale on 5th January if the Senate hinges on it). It's possible, though less likely, that the run-off won't even involve a Democrat. The normal Georgia Senate election is possibly more competitive, although Republicans will probably hold on Presidential election turnout.
2. I don't think Doug Jones' vote for impeachment was "incomprehensible" at all. There was no realistic chance of Jones holding on in Alabama anyway on a Presidential election turnout when Trump will carry the state easily (he scored 62% in 2016). If Biden wins in November, there will be cabinet posts, plum ambassador roles etc to dole out. It's more important to polish his CV for that by not breaking ranks on impeachment than to shave a couple of percent off his margin of defeat. This is particularly true given he's a lawyer and the Attorney General job could be one he angles for - voting against impeachment would not only lose him favour generally but be completely disqualifying for that job.
Comments
A 5.0l V8 car does 30mpg. 🤷♂️
Edit - without using a calculator, I make it 66 miles or 106km.
Actually, my problem is that the brakes are jamming on due to the handbrake being released insufficiently often. However, I’m planning to replace that car anyway.
More seriously, you do wonder how many people will have very flat batteries and problems with engines after this.
Except that one, obviously.
But I have to say, in my experience imperial is still the measurement most people use whatever their age. That’s probably a function of where I live, but it always exasperates me when metrication warriors extrapolate from themselves to the rest of the planet.
I wouldn’t want it to set a precedent for a huge number of reasons, but it’s clearly the right thing to do at the moment.
Driving - miles
Running - kilometers
Height - imperial
Weight - metric
Beer - imperial
Other drinks - metric
etc
Dont know if its good to be able to just choose what feels right for the scenario or if it would have been better to just stick with one.
The snag is that people on both sides can’t agree which one that is.
But TBH, it isn’t vitally important except in manufacturing and distribution. For most people if a government sneakily went fully metric by naming a gram an ounce, a centimetre an inch, a kilometre a mile etc, they would barely notice.
It’s also always amused me that a yard is strictly defined as 0.9144 metres.
I might try giving directions in furlongs next time!
Metric measures are good for scientific calculations (brilliant, in fact) but they're not very human and a bit boring.
Imperial measures of yards, feet and inches are better for estimating as their origins relate to the human body itself, and they are also far more interesting.
Horses for courses.
Furlong is still in use.
You never hear a man boasting about his 2.44 metre horn, do you?
I might be pretty niche but actually use fluid ounces and teaspoons and tablespoons in cooking a lot, because absolute precision is rarely relevant and it's easier for me to judge and estimate quantities using rule of thumb measures when I'm trying to cook quickly.
Feeds into the snowflake narrative I guess
http://surveyhistory.org/the_standard_meter1.htm
In the real world, it was defined by the French as one forty millionth of the circumference of the world (which isn’t actually that hard to calculate - Eratosthenes came very close despite several false assumptions).
But why didn’t he stick to stand up? He would have been our finest comedian since Arthur Askey. The gain to both entertainment and public life would have been incalculable.
The best of it is that wonderful admission at the start.
Clarkson: Most politicians hide stupidity beneath a veneer of competence. You do it the other way around.
Johnson: I think you should allow for the possibility that beneath this carefully crafted persona of a blithering idiot is, in fact, a blithering idiot.
But the point is I can’t exactly measure it on a stopwatch, can I?
Feet and inches for body height, pounds for body weight, pints for beer and milk, miles for driving but everything else I use metric.
Which.. err... is kinda pre-industrial.
Young people don't want to cause the deaths of their grandparents.
Meanwhile, hardworking and exhausted families with young children who have been working solidly for weeks are going to miss out on enjoying this lovely bank holiday weekend because the Government don't have the courage to let them have a socially distanced picnic or enjoy a bit of sun outside without the rozzers coming down on them.
Once again, this Government will be governing for their core vote: pensioners.
It won't be forgotten.
Although it might depend on which 0.1 of it was missing.
It has to be the good stuff though, I agree.
You can gauge the relevance of the imperial system to modern life by that fact that it has no unit for electrical current.
However, the kilogram was still defined by a lump of metal (usually referred to as "le Grand K") right up until last year, when a revised definition based on the Planck constant was finally agreed. I know a little about this because my company used to manufacture iridium-platinum alloy for delivery to BIPM, which they would machine down to create new copies of le Grand K to send to the national laboratories of the various member states. I've handled these blanks myself.
The BIPM is based in a building on the outskirts of Paris and is protected by international treaty. It's considered so sacred that I seem to recall reading that, after the fall of France, German occupying troops were expressly forbidden from entering the grounds.
But it does actually. One ten-millionth of a quarter of the circumference of the earth is the same as one forty millionth of the circumference of the whole lot.
And it does mention light waves in a fraction of a second, although it expresses it more elegantly and in more detail than I did.
I've started weighing myself in just pounds rather than stone. Easier to make comparisons without prattling with two numbers and twice as easy to lose one pound than it is to lose a kg.
Still, would be a dull old world if we were all alike.
The only thing that is unacceptable to all right thinking people is...
But as I never weigh myself, it doesn’t matter which system I don’t use.
Basic rules of sampling that the important thing is not the size of the sample (above a certain level) but how representative it is. All the talk is of contact tracing and test, test, test. But surely a massive amount can be done and learned with far less resource intensitivity required? And in a far more pro-active way which means you’re not chasing your tail all the time?
https://twitter.com/DuncanWeldon/status/1258648395230720001?s=19
Was Fahrenheit for body temperature until lockdown. Otherwise Celsius. Now Celsius all the way.
https://twitter.com/pmdfoster/status/1258665220844720134?s=09
Do I hear "I told you so"?
Do you think the cause of Scottish nationalism needs someone fresh say Jim Sillars?
Fahrenheit meanwhile is officially more confusing than Labour’s policy on private school taxation.
The disadvantage of other metric systems for ordinary people is that actually they neither look nor sound intuitive, and for all they are easy to multiply they’re a right bloody sod to divide.
Ultimately, that’s why I think they’ve never quite caught on. A mile a minute is a more useful and reasonable measurement than 1.66km a minute.
That wretched (seemingly American) thing where prepositions are omitted. I'd rather listen to a ten hour recording of nails against a chalkboard, it'd be far more charming.
1. The Georgia special election seat is unlikely to be a Democratic pick-up (as Robert thinks) although Loeffler will very probably lose. They have an unusual jungle primary and run-off in Georgia, so November will be a fight between TWO serious Republicans and TWO serious Democrats. Polling suggests one of the Republicans (Doug Collins) is a shoo-in for the run-off and will probably win that (although it may be a battle royale on 5th January if the Senate hinges on it). It's possible, though less likely, that the run-off won't even involve a Democrat. The normal Georgia Senate election is possibly more competitive, although Republicans will probably hold on Presidential election turnout.
2. I don't think Doug Jones' vote for impeachment was "incomprehensible" at all. There was no realistic chance of Jones holding on in Alabama anyway on a Presidential election turnout when Trump will carry the state easily (he scored 62% in 2016). If Biden wins in November, there will be cabinet posts, plum ambassador roles etc to dole out. It's more important to polish his CV for that by not breaking ranks on impeachment than to shave a couple of percent off his margin of defeat. This is particularly true given he's a lawyer and the Attorney General job could be one he angles for - voting against impeachment would not only lose him favour generally but be completely disqualifying for that job.