Donna Knight
FRO VOit's so crazy how the abbreviation for pound is lb and everyone is like yeah sure ok
Amber Tiffany@fro_vo Bloody Romans, making stuff confusing for modern day us since the Roman Empire was a thing.
Thomas Mayer@fro_vo Except when it is the currency, then it's a cursive L with a strike. Because, why not?
Christine Hall@fro_vo I thought about that a lot when I was a kid. When I grew up I got too busy thinking about other things, that I didn't really want to think about, but which capitalism would make me die if I didn't.
ShipScrewUnscrewer@fro_vo Another thing from those rotten romans https://www.britannica.com/science/libra-unit-of-weight
Libra | unit of weight
libra, the basic Roman unit of weight; after 268 bc it was about 5,076 English grains or equal to 0.722 pounds avoirdupois (0.329 kg). This pound was brought to Britain and other provinces where it became the standard for weighing gold and silver and for use in all commercial transactions. The abbreviation lb for pound is derived from libra. One-twelfth of the libra, the Roman uncia, is the ancestor of the English ounce. The libra is one of the nonmetric units of weight still used in Spain, Portugal, and several Spanish-speaking countries of the Americas. Most of the New World
mrjalco@fro_vo from the original Latin - “Libra pondo”. The lb is the short form of libra.
Dave Stephens
Denis 🌏
Toni Scott@ToniScott @fro_vo Good point! Improved:
"it's crazy how us idiots in the USA are still using pounds"
I have to look up how many ounces in a pound every time. Every. F*ing. Time. You'd think I could remember.
Soh Kam YungNow that you mention it, I got curious and found this: "The abbreviations lb., £ are from libra "pound," and reflect the medieval custom of keeping accounts in Latin"
Kee Hinckley@fro_vo Is it as crazy though, as “#” and “£” both being called “pound” because they both derive from “lb”?
drewbob
Ross of Ottawa@fro_vo but getting to call them lubbs makes it all worthwhile.
Cristiano Breuel@fro_vo it makes total sense for those of us who speak latinate languages, because we call it "libra" (even though it's a terrible unit that for some reason a small but influential portion of humanity insists on using)
Patty Kimura@fro_vo Some delivery kid once asked where the "Plainfield Pounds" was. He was delivering to the "Plainfield L(adies) B(enevolent) S(ociety)."
Go Sports & Music!@fro_vo lb. stood for “Little Bullshit” because it’s not very heavy, lbs. is “Loads of Bullshits” because there was much of it.
Hector Rodriguez@fro_vo Makes a lot more sense to Spanish speakers. Also why the sign for the British currency kinda looks like a cursive L.
June CasagrandeIt's my No. 1 issue.
Barefoot in kitchen feminist@fro_vo no, what’s crazy is that these medieval measures are still in use. There’s something deeply wrong with ppl.