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[Witherweaver]

Oh, yes, we have pints.  I've never known what a pint is, except some cups are the size of pints.  Oh, you never have cups that are the size of cups; that would be silly.

There are also quarts, which are a quarter of something.  I know these because they sometimes sell milk in them. 

[silverspawn]

I also don't know what a pint is.

[Witherweaver]

I also don't know what a pint is.

It depends where you are, and what you are measuring.  Just like any good unit of measurement.

[Seprix]

Goko is completely down.

There's supposed to be the open beta going to the public TODAY, so keep a Lookout for that.

[Awaclus]

Cooking measurements are the worst.  When you have a recipe in a country using the metric system, how to you measure everything?  We have things like teaspoons, tablespoons (why?  For the love of god, WHY???), cups, ounces (what is this?!?!?  I don't even know what fundamental property I'm measuring), and other things.

Oh, and naturally, things are denominated in fractions, generally based on powers of 2.  So you'd have, like, 1/2 tsp, 1/4 tsp, 1/8 tsp, etc.  "tsp" means "teaspoon", which means something but who knows what.  "tbsp" means "tablespoon" which means something bigger.  Like a bigger spoon.  I mean, you have spoons, too, but these are not standardized, because anyone can make a spoon.  But some spoons are special spoons, and some of them you use to drink tea, and the others you use to drink tables.  Okay it's probably bigger because it goes on the table to use for other things (e.g., soup, cereal).  I guess it's okay to use the same sized spoon for soup or cereal, but god forbid it goes near your teacup. 

We also have the cup.  Cups are also things that can contain liquid, but don't confuse cups with cups or you may end up with too much stuff. 

I honestly don't know how cooks don't go insane.

We also have teaspoons and tablespoons. A teaspoon is 5 ml, a tablespoon is 1 cl.

[Kirian]

Can you ask for drinks in drams in the US?  I thought it was all measured in ounces.  But the point is, you could still use it in your literature, just like you could use "thou art" and "wherefore".

It's "fluid ounces", and nobody, I mean nobody, knows what that means.*

Though you could measure fluid in ounces, it just wouldn't be the same amount as the same number fluid ounces.  Except for the ones with unit density in those units.  Unless you're using ounces to mean a volume based on some other standard density.

*Okay it must be something, like, the volume of one ounce of some liquid at some conditions (STP or something).  But is that ounce a unit of force or mass?  Who knows?  So maybe you have to specify that it's being done at a particular location relative to some heavy object (like, at sea level). 

This is one of the very few places the old system has a match for the metric system.  One fluid ounce of water has a weight of one ounce, and one pint of water has a weight of one pound.  (Both come from the same root word I believe).  With slight error depending on the temperature, of course, just as the density of water is not sure exactly 1000 kg/m3.

[Kirian]

Another bit of unit ridiculousness:  a pound of water weighs more than a pound of gold, but an ounce of gold weighs more than an ounce of water.

[Witherweaver]

Another bit of unit ridiculousness:  a pound of water weighs more than a pound of gold, but an ounce of gold weighs more than an ounce of water.

See, I have no idea what those words mean.

I actually can't determine whether "pound" means pound-mass or pound-force.  Well, okay, you're using mass there, but I mean in regular day use.  I always assumed pound-force.

[liopoil]

Pound never means mass. Pound is a unit of weight, which is Force.

[Witherweaver]

Pound never means mass. Pound is a unit of weight, which is Force.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pound_(mass)

YBW'd

(You've Been Wikipedia'd)

[liopoil]

Pound never means mass. Pound is a unit of weight, which is Force.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pound_(mass)

YBW'd

(You've Been Wikipedia'd)

That's stupid

[Seprix]

In other news, anyone can edit anything so that anyone can say anything in Wikipedia.

[liopoil]

In other news, anyone can edit anything so that anyone can say anything in Wikipedia.

Not even true though. Ugh, I hate when people say this.

[Voltaire]

In other news, anyone can edit anything so that anyone can say anything in Wikipedia.

for 0.3 seconds

[Teproc]

But, in another area, let's say volume, you have the liter in metric.  You put the same prefixes to make centiliters (which I've never heard of), milliliters, kiloliters, etc. 

Just FYI, centiliters are used pretty commonly, for example everyone knows that a soda can is 33cl and a small soda bottle is (generally) 50cl (whereas a big soda bottle is either a liter or 1.5 liter). Milliliters are sometimes used in cook books I think. I don't think I've ever used or seen used "kiloliter" in my life, though obviously I know what it is, since as you pointed out it's pretty easy to get.

You also forgot the very rarely used hectometer/hectoliter etc. (one hectometer = 100 meters), which I just like the sound of.

[Teproc]

Thinking about it, I realized that we actually do use a semi-non-metric thing in France, the hectare. It actually is metric, because it is precisely 10.000 square meters, but it doesn't really fit in the system.

Clearly the metric system is thus hypocritical and should be dropped immediately.

[pacovf]

kilo, hecto, deca, (unit), deci, centi, milli. Everybody forgets about poor deca. And nobody says "kilogram", we all say "kilo". I guess back during the French revolution people only weighted food, and that's why we have such a small unit of mass?

I've seen cans both say 33cl and 330ml. Same for bottles.

Cooking instructions are just as bad in the metric countries.

Hectares exist in Spain too. I always thought it meant (hm)², but it turns out that it's actually h(are), where an "area" = 100m². They are only used to measure tracts of land (farms, forests, etc.).

Metric countries describe TV screen width in terms of inches, for some reason. Rulers usually have one side in cms and the other in inches. And in Spain, we call a square of chocolate an "ounce" ("onza"). Clearly we have to defend ourselves from American influence.

I am sure I am forgetting more cases were the metric system is not used as it should.

EDIT: A megagram (1000 kg) is always called a ton. 100 kg is called a quintal (this is regional, I think).

[eHalcyon]

But, in another area, let's say volume, you have the liter in metric.  You put the same prefixes to make centiliters (which I've never heard of), milliliters, kiloliters, etc. 

Just FYI, centiliters are used pretty commonly, for example everyone knows that a soda can is 33cl and a small soda bottle is (generally) 50cl (whereas a big soda bottle is either a liter or 1.5 liter). Milliliters are sometimes used in cook books I think. I don't think I've ever used or seen used "kiloliter" in my life, though obviously I know what it is, since as you pointed out it's pretty easy to get.

You also forgot the very rarely used hectometer/hectoliter etc. (one hectometer = 100 meters), which I just like the sound of.

Must be regional.  I've never seen cL used anywhere IRL.

[Kirian]

Pound never means mass. Pound is a unit of weight, which is Force.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pound_(mass)

YBW'd

(You've Been Wikipedia'd)

As someone who has an engineering degree and was forced to use pounds-mass as a unit all the time, I can say that we never used the pound as a unit of mass.  Pound was force only.

Another bit of unit ridiculousness:  a pound of water weighs more than a pound of gold, but an ounce of gold weighs more than an ounce of water.

See, I have no idea what those words mean.

I actually can't determine whether "pound" means pound-mass or pound-force.  Well, okay, you're using mass there, but I mean in regular day use.  I always assumed pound-force.

In this particular context, though, the distinction between force and mass doesn't matter.  The point was that we have a specific measurement system used for previous metal weights and nothing else... which is as dumb as it gets.  Yet if you go look up the price of gold, it'll be listed in Troy ounces, which have slightly more mass than Avoirdupois ounces.

[Teproc]

Oh yes, tons and quintals here too, thought quintals are very rarely used. And TV/computer screens in France are actually in "pouces" (=thumbs), which always confused the heck out of me. I understand 13 thumbs is bigger than 10, but I would have a lot of trouble converting that. I genuinely don't know how many thumbs the screen I'm writing on measures... in centimeters I'd guess somewhere between over 25 just looking at it ? *

We also use "kilo" for "kilogramme", never for kilometer (or any other one).

* after checking looks like 10 thumbs = 25.4 centimeters.

ETA : our rulers only have centi/millimeters on them though.

[qmech]

Oh yes, tons and quintals here too, thought quintals are very rarely used. And TV/computer screens in France are actually in "pouces" (=thumbs), which always confused the heck out of me. I understand 13 thumbs is bigger than 10, but I would have a lot of trouble converting that. I genuinely don't know how many thumbs the screen I'm writing on measures... in centimeters I'd guess somewhere between over 25 just looking at it ? *

We also use "kilo" for "kilogramme", never for kilometer (or any other one).

* after checking looks like 10 thumbs = 25.4 centimeters.

Then thumbs are inches, my continental friend.

[Seprix]

I haven't laughed so hard in such a long time...

[Witherweaver]

...
I haven't laughed so hard in such a long time...

I live in the city where that thing happens.

[pacovf]

So, Christopher Lee passed away today. Very sad news.

[Jimmmmm]

So, Christopher Lee passed away today. Very sad news.

It was actually on Sunday. But yes, very sad.