Article and Review request – weight measurements

Oh, and cubic inches. I can't convert it to litres beyond except in units of 176, 202, 350/351 and 454.

Such measurements really should be provided in SI units. Especially since this is a geeky techie place.

Cubic inches are very OBNOXIOUS indeed.

Yes please.

Grew up on imperial units but the metric system is so much easier for this sort of thing.

We had a discussion in the forums some time ago in which we posed the question whether BPL should "go metric" and at that time the general consensus was that we should not. We leave it up to the individual authors to determine how they wish to disseminate measurements in their articles and you'll note that items in the gear shop have both English and Metric measurements supplied.

Just offer BOTH units. IMO, it would have to be mandated at an editorial level. Don't see how it could be much burden on contributors or editors. If it's a spreadsheet just add another column.

Even in the US, where I've spent most of my years, we tend to have both units available — look next time you're in the supermarket. Any remotely technical journal is going to give you SI units.

It also just looks bad. Like Americans who just assume everybody everywhere speaks English. (I'm American so I feel OK saying this.)

I learned imperial measures about 30 years ago thanks to Gary Gygax Dungeons and Dragons !

So only wonderful and magic gear is in ounces for me !

More seriously when i post i try to covert my SI units to imperials for easier reading, and i am thanful to those that take the time to do the reverse.

I agree it should be required at the editorial level (ie both imperial and metric) as a minimum. This means only one person needs to do the conversion, instead of the dozens or hundreds who have to get out their calculators if the conversion is not done in the article. We are a global community now more than ever. We should make the effort to accommodate both systems so long as the Americans hold fast to their units of measure. Hopefully this won't be forever!

Sam, thanks for the BPL comment. I'd like to ask you to review the issue again. I know that constant brackets (can sometimes) ruin the (general) flow of (otherwise enjoyable) articles, but most of the world lives, works and thinks in SI.

Ta, Jules

+1 on Julian's comment. It'd be a reasonable (not to mention courteous) policy to provide both units.

Acknowledging SI units is hardly a new thing in the US. We frequently buy soda (and Gatorade) in SI units, we have pack manufactures that provide SI volume clues in the product name (e.g. Flash 18, Atmos 50) and when did you last purchase a 2 quart nalgene or platy?

Besides, sometimes the world needs leadership from it's institutions regardless of opinions from a forum like this. And it isn't like BPL's staff isn't already international!

Aww c'mon. It's just a little mental exercise. I'm all for America keeping it's units. And it's not as if European manufacturers go to the trouble of providing Imperial conversions is it?

Long live diversity and pints!

Manufacturing specs have been metric for decades. Think the US auto industry were the last holdouts and that was a long time ago!

Rog has a point. Who wants to order 473 mls of beer when you can just ask for a pint??

It never occurred to me before that Americans giving up their imperial units would lead to reduced species diversity. I though we blamed all of that on global warming and loss of habitat! I am now enlightened :)

No one in the US complains about our money being metric, do they?

Couldn't a little piece of code just hunt down the offending measurements and and add in the SI conversion. Programmers?

yeah but diversity mean just that, not everyone adhering to one standard! Personally the only thing I find difficult are cubic inches, being a 50 year-old brit I grew up with inches, feet and pints, volume has always been cc and litres, photography wise I can deal in whole plate, half plate, 5×4 8×10, a4 etc 6x6cm 2.25inch by 2.25 inch, 35mm, dpi, ppi, tons tonnes fl oz cc ad nauseum. But please pack volumes in litres as well please, even though I'm planning my new system in ounces! But maybe I'm just confused!

>we posed the question whether BPL should "go metric" and at that time the general consensus was that we should not.

I was heavily involved in that debate as I was the member who originally posted the question 'should BPL go metric" and I came to a different conclusion, that a minority of very vocal members did not want to change and that a lot more members including US based members wanted to go metric.

I am old enough to have worked extensively in both systems and while it is very romantic to call a beer a pint, at the end of the day most people in this world use the metric system and the metric system is a much simpler and clearer system to use.

The only other countries who are not metric are Libya and Myanmar.

Tony

"…while it is very romantic to call a beer a pint…"

And it is only romantic…most US 'Pint Glasses' are 12 ounces!

In Australia a pint is 20 Imperial fluid ounces or 568ml.

Imperial ounces are different than US fluid ounces and I am often unsure when a poster talks about ounces if they mean weight ounce or US fluid ounce, metric does not have this problem

Chart of Australian beer glass sizes in each state.

Tony

And we think we have odd measurements in the US? That table might be useful for those traveling to Australia!

Since the majority of us here appear (note the caveat!) to be in the US, I suppose that non-metric (hardly "English") measurements might be appropriate. However, there are a significant number of readers from outside the US. And, as pointed out, the US is alone with Libya and Myanmar (lousy company!) in avoiding the metric system. Why not post both measurements? There are lots of easy conversion tables (there's one on the "dashboard" of my Mac), so it isn't that hard! I will certainly try to do so from now on!

For those trying to convert cubic inches to liters, a close-enough approximation is to divide by 60. Multiply by 60 if going the other direction. The exact number is 61.02, but 60 is close enough and easy to calculate in your head. Even we US folks have to do this with some pack brands advertised as xxxx cubic inches and others as xx liters!

Tony:

1 Imperial fluid ounce = 0.960760338 US fluid ounces

Close enough for government work as Americans say.

It's the pint that's different.

Fluid ounces are generally abbreviated "fl oz"

Anyway all the more reason to post the SI units in addition to any other units (ie "stone").

Keep the thread going. If it becomes a big enough PITA, then we may get the SI units! It's not like it's gonna be a big investment of time and energy on the part of BPL editors. In the meantime, use a widget. :)

Rog – is that US pints, or Imperial pints ?

Tony, thanks for the beer conversion table, great ! I solve that in interstate travel by simply asking for 'a beer' first few rounds. It's part of the surprises of travels wondering what you'll get served, and part of those funny things that differentiate the states. Like, Victorians and Queenslanders drink jugs much more than in NSW, and they are priced more attractively there too.

Don't get me started on the schmiddy.

I'm not saying don't use the US system, just that where it's used (or even in a table at the bottom of an article?) have an SI conversion.