I can switch it up with most things. Sometimes one system has an advantage over another. But the reality is my generation is probably the last (in Europe) that does a bit of both.
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I was also brought up F and the old imperial measurements, but, increasingly have used the metric system; actually, I interchangeably use both as needed.
Same. Probably because we are of a similar age. Mind you when I worked in engineering I got used to working in thousands of an inch! I doubt my eyes would be too good at those measurements now.
At least - thankfully - sterling adopted the metric system; I remember, as a very small child, the old system (twelve pennies in a shilling, twenty shillings in a pound, and so on).
Volume was no problem (pints or half litres), neither were miles/km, or temperature differences scales (I simply learned both off) as it is relatively easy to switch from ounces and pounds, to grams and kg, and whenever I landed in a new country, the first thing I would ascertain was the unit of exchange (depending on which currency we were paid in; some early missions it used to be dollars, more recently it is Euros) with the local currency and use that to multiply or divide mentally - it didn't have to be exact, a close approximation was sufficient.
@LizKat has written about measurements in recipes: While I have no problem in switching between European or British measurements, some American ones really floor me: A cup? What on earth is a cup? I know that in the context of US cuisine that this is a specific unit of measurement, but, every time I read it, I find myself mentally debating whether this cup that is called for is my coffee cup, or my tea cup.
Yes, @LizKat ’s recipes only include measurements of shot, splash, pony, and jiggers. 🤪
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But it’s the “humidity”. 😊
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Good morning SandboxGene
ral.
😝
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I come from a world that produces world class whiskey, hence "Splash", "shot" and "jiggers" are terms not unknown to me.
Now, my new word for today is "pony" (in the context of a measurement for liquid, that is; my mother worked with the agriculture ministry's section dedicated to equine matters, so I am unusually well versed in matters relating to ponies in the equine sense); this is a specific noun that I haven't come across.
Listening to an epic remix of Handel's Zadok The Priest. Yet, no one is crowning me... where's my kingdom?
Brilliant piece of music, sort of heroic and up-lifting at the same time.
I must say, it's a unique piece of music. I was very glad how well it was used in The Crown during the coronation scene.
Well, there's the expression "pony up," meaning to pay someone......
I, too, was unfamiliar with "pony" as a liquid measurement (1 fluid ounce) until just now, when I consulted good old Google and found the answer.
With a career in Aviation I was fluent in both F and C, and for temp, I still always converted it to F because F is much more expressive. I much prefer having a 20 degree spread from comfort to hot than a 10 degree spread.
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Where do you live? Sorry if I should know that. 🙃 Houston spends most of it’s summer in the 90s, unusual to spend much time at a stretch in the 100s.
If if it ironic that my weather is not much hotter than you, or DC where I grew up.
It's funny, I hear people talk about the heat in Florida, and how much cooler it is in X/Y/Z (to the north), and oftentimes those places are just as hot! Plus have -10˚ winters !
Well that 101F was quite rare for these parts. But being in the 90's is typical for the area.
My impression is that the difference is Houston has consistent 90 degree weather for 4+ months and maybe these other places get up there but are not consistently that hot over the same period. But this still represents a net heating of the Earth. The heartland appears to becoming an oven. It’s possible my proximity to the Gulf of Mexico moderates our temps a bit. Dallas is hotter.
"Pony up", I remember seeing, (and understanding how it is used), but as a unit of measurement for a liquid, (thank you, 1 fluid ounce), I hadn't come across it until today.
However, I always love learning new stuff, above all, new words, (or, fresh uses for old words).
8oz, half a pint officially.
Thanks.
I remember how my mother received a gift of a cookbook (not that it was frequently consulted) from an American friend, and, how I, as a child, reading this book, noticed this measurement in some recipes, and, knowing that Americans were kind of informal, just assumed that this informality stretched to measurements for cooking, whereas my mother, when baking, meticulously measured everything on a weighing scale, or in a jug with the measurements carefully calibrated on the side.
The reason Liberia uses the 'American' system, it was formed by the US sending back former slaves.
When ask by my United Nations mates the reason for not converting was simple, it would take enormous of money to change the US and taking into consideration it's large landmass.
Humidity plays a big role in perception of heat. I've been in Florida during the summer. It's a miserable experience. I've been in 115-120 F in the desert. The lack of humidity allows your perspiration to dry off faster and regulate your temperature whereas humid air makes it more difficult. I've golfed under 108 F weather at nice desert golf resorts and found it rather comfortable. Especially with cold beer delivery on the course.
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Not quite. That's a US pint. Imperial measurements are larger. An imperial pint is larger. Our pints are around 105-110 ml smaller. In most things it matters quite a bit to use the right measurement.8oz, half a pint officially.
If it comes to drinking... well, consider the extra fluid across the pond a small reward. It's like getting a free pint after drinking 3-4 pints of beer.
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I think that @Huntn was thoughtfully describing what the American unit of measurement defined as "a cup" actually is in terms that I might be able to understand.
Oh. Fun fact. Most mugs and cups, globally, either measure their volume to the very top or a certain ridge or designated point of a design for their volume capacity.
I've got some stoneware mugs I bought ages ago from a certain Scandinavian mass retailer that was quoted the mugs are 14 fl oz. That's if you fill them to the mid of the handle. They're really close to 20 fl oz if you fill them normally. 22 fl oz if you fill to the brim.
I suppose this isn't remotely a fun fact.