On 2009/03/08, at 4:53 AM, Norman & Nancy Werling wrote:
I haven't participated in these exchanges (arguments?) within the
USMA email list. However, I had never became conversant with the
terms just mentioned such as "fifth" even though I am now age 73. I
guess it meant a fifth of a gallon.
Anyway I just checked three cold bottles of wine in our refrigerator
and find that two are 750 ml and one is 1.5 L. There is absolutely
no reference to any fluid ounces, gallons, quarts, or any obsolete
measures from Imperial (so-called English) or equally antiquated
U.S. Customary volume.
Norman Werling
Dear Norman,
I think that the history of bottle sizes goes something like this:
* In the UK the bottle was designed and made to be a sixth of an
Imperial gallon. This made it possible and convenient to account for
beer or wine production in terms of two gallons to the dozen. Dozens
were, and are, a convenient packing format for bottles. One sixth of
an Imperial gallon works out as 26 2/3 fluid ounces (Imp) or 757.682
millilitres.
* When these bottles were exported to the USA the amount they
contained worked out to be 757.0824 millilitres or close to 1/5 of a
(wet USA) gallon and still containing 757.682 millilitres.
* As metrication became more common in the UK and in the USA, the
amount of the contents in wine or beer bottles was quietly rounded
down from 757.682 millilitres (UK) or 757.0824 millilitres (USA) to
750 millilitres.
* The current trend in downsizing is to round down the 750 mL to 700
mL. This is common in Australia for spirits like gin, whiskey, and
brandy but I don't know whether this trend has begun yet in the UK or
the USA.
* These days much beer is sold in a little under half the amount (375
mL) of the full size traditional large bottle (757.682 mL). Rounding
down in this size is currently to 355 mL and to 330 mL bottles and
cans. I suspect that the marketers have 300 mL in their sights as all
they need is an unregulated period when they can adjust bottle and can
sizes to suit themselves.
On another related issue, I have watched over the years a trend in the
UK and Australia to provide quantities of beer in glasses that can
only hold the advertised amount when filled to the brim of the glass.
This trend began in about the 1940s. Prior to that the practice was to
provide a glass that held about 10 % more than the advertised quantity
to allow for a 'head' of froth. I have an old beer glass that is
labelled 11 ounces (Imp) that was used in Australia to provide half a
pint of beer of 10 ounces (Imp). A current beginnings of a new trend
that I have seen in Australia and in Singapore is to provide beer in a
500 millilitre glass that can only hold 500 mL if filled to the brim.
These new pints (and yes I have seen them advertised as 'pints') mean
that the glass when filled to the brim hold about 440 millilitres of
beer and about 60 millilitres of froth to fill the 500 mL glass.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
Geelong, Australia
----- Original Message -----
From: Jeremiah MacGregor
To: U.S. Metric Association
Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 10:58 PM
Subject: [USMA:43395] RE: Mistaken blather from a correspondent on
another list
Sorry, I didn't think about the wine and spirits. Yet even though
they come in metric sizes I have never heard an average Joe refer to
them by their metric size. It wouldn't surprise me if the vast
majority of Americans who consume alcohol are totally unaware that
the sizes are metric. The standard 750 mL bottle is always referred
to as a fifth. So as far as the consumer is concerned, the metric
is hidden. Has anyone ever heard or seen the metric size used by
someone they encountered?
As far as consumables are concerned I believe I am correct when I
say that even though there is metric on the packaging, it is usually
in the 2-nd position and oblivious to the consumer. It would be an
interesting test to go into a super market and conduct a survey of
different shoppers. Hand them a package of any dual marked product
and ask them to read the contents stated on the label. Chances are
very high that they will read off only the English measures and
ignore the metric as if it was not there. Even with the long
existence of the 2 liter soda bottle it is highly likely the average
consumer has no idea that the liter is a unit of volume and in their
mind it is a description of the bottle shape.
The use of metric units by the federal government does not affect
consumers. Most people are unaware that the government operates in
metric and might even consider it un-patriotic if they found it to
be true.
A Pilot's job is not consumer related. But consumers do fly in the
planes and never on a domestic flight have I ever heard the use of
metric units by the flight crew when addressing the passengers. I
have on an occasion heard the pilot stutter when giving temperatures
figuring that he was quickly trying to convert the metric to
English. I don't think anyone else figured that out.
When the government adopts metric it is with the belief that the
general public is not ever to know.
Even with the American automobile industry fully metric, how many
Americans do you think actually know this and accept this?
Jerry
From: John M. Steele <[email protected]>
To: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]>;
[email protected]
Sent: Friday, March 6, 2009 10:15:56 PM
Subject: Re: [USMA:43389] RE: Mistaken blather from a correspondent
on another list
Well,
*The government forces the wine and spirit industries to use metric
sized bottles
*The government forces all foods and "consumables" to be dual
labelled in Customary and metric
*The government supposedly procures its supplies in metric and
requires construction of Federal buildings to be metric (I believe
there are significant loopholes that somewhat dilute this.)
*The government forces the airlines to accept a mixed mess of units
in the aviation weather product known as METAR. The temperature and
dewpoint are degrees C, but everything else is Customary.
On the other hand, they don't do much to finish the job, or ensure
children get an adequate metric education, and other government
agencies (EIA) refuse to supply information (energy usage) in metric
units to industries that have already voluntarily converted
(automotive).
--- On Fri, 3/6/09, Jeremiah MacGregor <[email protected]
> wrote:
> From: Jeremiah MacGregor <[email protected]>
> Subject: [USMA:43389] RE: Mistaken blather from a correspondent on
another list
> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
> Date: Friday, March 6, 2009, 9:03 PM
> But so far the government hasn't really become involved
> to a point that affects consumers. Whatever metric we
> encounter comes from the free choice of people. For
> example, did the government force any industry to go
> metric? Yet, there are those who have freely chosen to do
> so.
Pat Naughtin
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has
helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the
modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they
now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for
their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many
different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial
and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA.
Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST,
and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com
for more metrication information, contact Pat at [email protected]
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