RossJul 20, 2023
Yassie > moved to 0w0.is

The UK uses metric in pretty much every avenue of life, except notably on the road, where yards and miles are used.

Except… Not really. The Dept for Transport measures distances in metres, but then changes the unit to yards. Not convert. Change. That is, a sign that says “roundabout 300 yards” has been measured at 300 metres, but the units simply switched to yards.

The UK also measures in fractions of miles (eg ½, ⅓)… Except those are done in metres too! ⅓ mi is defined as 500 m (reality: 533 m), ½ mi is 800 m (reality: 804 m) and ⅔ mi is defined at 1000 m (reality: 1070 m). The only unit that is actually imperial is 1 mile.

So the UK uses metric in distance markings, but then haphazardly converts them to a vaguely approximate imperial equivalent. Madness.

But now it gets even more strange. The UK does not use mile markers on motorways. It uses km markers, at 500 m intervals, with the number of km since the start/end of the motorway, but no units are given. But it’s in km. Not miles.

Jul 20, 2023 at 2:24pmWeb
Show threadYassie > moved to 0w0.isJul 20, 2023
I guess a handful of metres doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of it all, but it baffles me that we have fully metricated as a country, including in the road, but for some reason the Government chooses to keep it hidden away???? These roads are designed, built, and planned in metric units, but the Government literally hides them behind imperial measurements.
Show threadDemon Queen LucretiaJul 20, 2023
@yassie_j we need things to actually work but we also cannot risk angering the boomers by letting them know.
Show threadCullen McHaelJul 20, 2023
@rezzyreksya @yassie_j
Mood. God what a mood.
Show threadKris  Jul 20, 2023
@yassie_j but... but the blue passport!!!!!!!!!!!!1111 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇬🇧
Show threadAlanna 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️Jul 20, 2023
@yassie_j This is blatantly obvious when you drive into Northern Ireland in a car from Republic of Ireland in which the speedometer and odometer are in km. I was rather amused when I noticed, especially with the /// // // signs.
Show threadYassie > moved to 0w0.isJul 20, 2023
@kelpana yep. The countdown markers are rated in metres (100/200/300 m) but in the official highway code are stated as being 100/200/300 yards!
Show threadAlex, the Hearth FireJul 21, 2023

@yassie_j no. no no no. The UK does not need to be even more like the US.

(for reference, US imperial units are all defined in terms of metric ones now. Which, weirdly, makes our system more consistent than the British one? I think?)

Show threadTony KennickJul 21, 2023
@yassie_j willing to bet (that even if not specifically named) the options paper given to ministers says that because of the Express, Mail, Sun, Jeremy Clarkson and Nigel Farage changing the signage would be a "very courageous decision"
Show threadmoved servers ➡ @[email protected]Jul 20, 2023
@yassie_j
wow, I was just shitposting when I talked about the metric units but they really went and did it.
these are 'metric yards' and 'metric miles'
Show threadYassie > moved to 0w0.isJul 20, 2023
@smitten metric fractional miles! Although I would not be surprised if a mile was defined as 1500 m (but I’m definitely sure that 1 mi = 1600 m, it’s just that fractional amounts are in metres)
Show threadmoved servers ➡ @[email protected]Jul 20, 2023
@yassie_j is pi equal to 3 there?
Show threadYassie > moved to 0w0.isJul 20, 2023
@smitten only if you’re designing a road
Show threadAndrewJul 20, 2023
@smitten @yassie_j it was until the 70s, now pi is 10
Show threadDan HowellJul 20, 2023
@yassie_j @smitten You still occasionally hear our sports commentators call the 1500m athletics race "the metric mile".
Show threadMarjorieRJul 20, 2023
@yassie_j @smitten Pedantic correction: a mile is 1609 m.
Show thread🔻 aetios 🇪🇺Jul 20, 2023
@yassie_j WHAT
Show threadEnya12🔥 2: Electric Boogaloo   🚲Jul 20, 2023
@yassie_j what the fuck
Show thread  Jul 20, 2023
@[email protected] As a brit, I can confirm this and it goes even deeper. We will just switch between units for most things.

My room is about 3.5 meters wide, my desk is 6ft long. I'm 6ft3 and 11st but if I go to the doctors, I'd actually say I'm 193cm and 69kg. The drink I just had was about 550ml but if it was milk or beer, I would have just drank a pint of it.

There is no consistency here! ​​
Show threadjoshie 🏳️‍🌈Jul 20, 2023

@yassie_j here’s another fun one: car fuel economy

most of the world uses litres/100km, the UK and USA use miles per gallon

BUT an american gallon is about 20% smaller than a british gallon, so UK miles per gallon and US miles per gallon are slightly different 🙃

Show threadYassie > moved to 0w0.isJul 20, 2023
@6a62 we purchase petrol in litres, but fuel economy is still in mpg!!
Show threadOld Fen -> Now @[email protected]Jul 20, 2023
@yassie_j @6a62 miles per just a little less than four litres doesn't exactly roll off the tongue
Show threadAndy   #RIPYassieJul 20, 2023
@fen @6a62 @yassie_j rods to the hogshead.
Show threadgeobeckJul 20, 2023

@6a62 @yassie_j
About 15 years ago I had a discussion with someone about why I thought about MPG in US gallons (in Canada): because that's how the US manufacturers cite it.

He argued vehemently: "But we don't use US gallons in Canada!"

"No," I agreed," We've used liters since 1978."

He didn't have a response.

Show threadChloé RaccoonJul 20, 2023
@6a62 @yassie_j @VulpineAmethyst 3.8 litres is larger than 4.54? I think your maths are off
Show threadjoshie 🏳️‍🌈Jul 20, 2023
@chloeraccoon @yassie_j ah I might have it backwards, i was working off poor memory, not maths 
Show threadJames WoodJul 20, 2023
@6a62 @yassie_j The size of gallons is the other way round (because the ratios with the respective pints are the same).
Show thread~vala   Jul 20, 2023
@yassie_j this is madness 
Show threadgeobeckJul 20, 2023
@yassie_j
So the sign that says "roundabout 300 yards" isn't necessarily referring to a turn circle?
Show threadYassie > moved to 0w0.isJul 20, 2023
@geobeck huh? No, it’s referring to the distance TO the roundabout.
Show threadgeobeckJul 20, 2023
@yassie_j
I figured that, but it could be interpreted both ways!
Show threadDavid Weir Jul 20, 2023
@yassie_j The railways are at least honest-to-goodness imperial, with distances (except on the Channel Tunnel Rail LInk) measured in chains (one eightieth of a mile): https://www.railsigns.uk/sect28page2.html
Distance Markers

Show thread𝔻𝕒𝕟Jul 20, 2023
@davidjamesweir @[email protected] Except the new ETCS fitted in cab signalling systems use kilometres, but signalmen still use miles and chains like the rest of the railway. This means they have to use a funky spreadsheet to convert from one to the other when applying speed restrictions.
Show threadYassie > moved to 0w0.isJul 20, 2023
@Dan @davidjamesweir and of course, on the London Underground, DLR, and the various tram networks, the speeds are in km/h and distances are in metres! Except the Metrolink, where speeds are in mph but distances are… In metres.
Show thread𝔻𝕒𝕟Jul 21, 2023
@[email protected] @davidjamesweir Swiss cheese situation, let’s hope the holes don’t line up!
Show threadBen Lavery-GriffithsJul 21, 2023

@davidjamesweir @yassie_j

I’ve got a vague recollection that isn’t the case anymore on the Cambrian Line. When they switch to ETRMS I’m pretty sure they switched to metric for everything.
But I haven’t worked there for almost a decade, so may be misremembering!

Show threadmaiamaiaJul 20, 2023
@yassie_j they tried changing road signs in one hectare of Ireland & it cost a million pounds so they stopped, some experiment like that, back in the 70s
Show threadDJDarrenJul 20, 2023
LB: Can someone please tell me that this isn't true, because it's madness.
Show threadWaineJul 20, 2023
@DJDarren
I'd need to see a source on this too. Paragraph 2 I can buy (because does it really matter?). The last paragraph makes no sense though. There are no mile markers on Motorways. There are occasional distances, but they are actually in miles.
Show threadAlex MJul 20, 2023
@yassie_j I’m reminded of this
Show threadfilipa mvJul 21, 2023
@am2033 @yassie_j reminds me of this ol’ gem:
Show threadJoseph LordJul 22, 2023
@am2033 @yassie_j I think weighing people is drifting towards kilograms now although there may be an age split here. Stones and pounds definitely still used by many though.
Show threadVITIJul 20, 2023
@yassie_j I didn't know about the motorways measurement. You have destroyed me 🙈🙈
Show threadBytebro 🇬🇧 🇺🇦 🇬🇱Jul 20, 2023
@yassie_j I learned a thing! Thanks :)
Show thread𝕸𝖔𝖔𝖓𝖑𝖎𝖙 𝕺𝖓𝖎 ⛧Jul 20, 2023
@yassie_j @bubbline Yikes
Show threadMichaelJul 20, 2023
@yassie_j it all comes down to the British art of compromise. I'm old enough to remember the change over. !shock-horror!
Suddenly pint pots had an extra 1.5 cm added to take them up to 600 ml. I guess 568 ml wouldn't cut it. But if you are manufacturing jam jars you can get away with calling them 458ml or whatever, after all which home jam maker knows how much they will end up with? So the actual measure is sort of irrelevant. As I recall the roads in miles was an effort to avoid confusion.
Show threadDima Pasechnik 🇺🇦 🇳🇱Jul 20, 2023
@yassie_j reminds me of the Netherlands using "pond" (i.e. pound) to denote 0.5kg (originally pond was 0.48kg)
Show threadJonathan HillJul 20, 2023

@yassie_j I’m still puzzled by the way Americans measure their weight in pounds but not stone, which is like measuring height in inches but not feet.

But I do really like the American “cups” measuring system for cooking, because I can visualise those far more easily than either pounds or kg, and it’s very easy to scale up or down. Other than that I’d happily have everything in metric!

Show threadPeter LeeJul 20, 2023
@JonathanCR @yassie_j
I’m afraid I disagree about the cooking measurements: different things have different densities, so 1 cup of rice weighs less than a cup of pasta/grated cheese etc. I feel much more comfortable working in consistent measures.
I get that recipes might be written specifically for cups, but we can’t simply convert volume measures to weights.
(However, I’m happy to use teaspoons and tablespoons for small quantities!)
Show threadPhil Thane ✅Jul 20, 2023
@yassie_j a Since about 1980 new motorways had distance to junction markers at ⅔ and ⅓ miles so they could easily be changed to Km in future. Then they stopped doing that and went back to 1 and ½ mile. But recently the new A1M section near Huntingdon has signs at ⅔ and ⅓ miles. Is there plan or do contractors just make it up as they go?
Show threadNigel MetheringhamJul 20, 2023
@yassie_j I just wish they would go fully metric - if only to watch a certain type of person spontaneously combust
Show threadYassie > moved to 0w0.isJul 20, 2023
@nmeth watching boomers explode in rage
Show threadBasilJul 20, 2023
@nmeth @yassie_j
Show threadFr3dJul 20, 2023
@yassie_j What a mess !
Will Brexit reshuffle the cards ? 🤓
Show threadEdelruth, PBS Passport HolderJul 20, 2023

@yassie_j

This is insane!

Show threadBashStKidJul 20, 2023

@yassie_j

Save some bile for the multiple but slightly incompatible non-metric thread systems.
Whitworth or BSF or UNC? (Assuming you can’t read the shank code from a fifty-year old bolt you need to replace)

Show threadRachel GreenhamJul 20, 2023

@yassie_j @lisamelton i remember my dad telling me this (before he retired in 1998 he was a regional highways manager in Kent).

Hey, we should totally make sure the conservative nutjobs know about this whole eu distance conspiracy with our road signs so maybe they'll leave us #trans people alone for a bit… 😉

Show threadVulcanTourist [MOVED]Jul 20, 2023

@yassie_j

How do GPS navigation services handle this, I wonder?