Pat, This may not be entirely true. From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pint_glass Despite this emphasis on accurately measured glasses, there is a practice of defining a pint of beer and lager as only 95 per cent liquid.[5] It is common for drinkers to be served less than a full pint of liquid[6] — either because too much of the glass is taken up by a foamy "head", or simply because the customer has been sold a short measure. This allows publicans to sell more pints of beer than the stated capacity of the cask or keg and hence save money. This practice may have consciously increased since the removal of a duty allowance on Ullage (wastage). To counter this the British Beer and Pub Association have issued guidelines for bar staff to respect a customer who asks for a 'top up' to a full pint.[7] If you take a pint glass as holding 570 mL, then 95 % of 570 is about 540 mL. If someone only received 500 mL (may be some pubs do only give that amount - short measure) that would be really cheating. As noted though, each patron has the right to ask for a top up and the pub has to oblige. If you as a customer did not get the full 570 mL, then it is your own fault if you did not ask. I also find it interesting that pint glasses aren't really true pints. A UK pint is 568 mL, but the glasses are designed for 570 mL and are advertised as such. This may have something to do with pint glasses now being made in metric countries. Just like the Chinese producing wood products in 1220 mm x 2440 mm instead of 1219.2 x 2438.4, glass makers in metric countries will produce to a rounded metric value, usually to the nearest 5 or 10 mm or mL. Whereas anti-metric types harp on precise non-metric equivalents, the people in metric countries have no problem producing the product to a rounded metric amount. http://www.polysafe.com.au/570mL%20Pint%20Glass.html http://beerpintglass.com/1-x-570ml-1-pint-tooheys-new-etched-glass-beer-stein/ Now it would be interesting to find out if the stamped pint mark is placed at 568 mL or 570 mL on the glass or is the difference covered up in the tolerance? ________________________________ From: Pat Naughtin <[email protected]> To: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]> Cc: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]> Sent: Thu, July 8, 2010 11:03:31 PM Subject: [USMA:48119] When is a nation metric? On 2010/07/09, at 02:36 , [email protected] wrote: In other words, how fully metric a country is, from completely metric with no old units ever used by anyone, to essentially old units only with only a bit of metric used. The indication would be useful if it sensed what the average person does and says in conversation, as it is assumed that scientists and others behind the scenes use metric. In that regard the USA would be quite to one side. > >Carleton Dear Carleton and All, It seems to me that all attempts at development of measuring methods have always contained a large drive toward honesty. Examples include all of the Biblical references to measurement, the Magna Carta, John Wilkins 'univeral measure' that became the metric system, Thomas Jefferson's decimal measures report to Congress in 1790, the French 'decimal metric system' of 1790 (later than Jefferson), and the CGPM International System of Units (SI) in 1960. See http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/MetricationTimeline.pdf and search for any of the above words. And, at the same time as these moves toward honesty were taking place, there were also resistance to any better measuring methods by those who, for whatever reasons, favored or support dishonesty. Examples include 'pints' of beer in the UK served in portions of 500 millilitres with a head of froth to fit into a nominal pint glass if filled to the brim, oil purportedly measured in 'barrels' that never existed to make it difficult to compare crude oil prices to be compared with pump prices, shoe sizes, bra sizes, clothing sizes of all kinds, etc. etc. etc. etc. Overall there are people who support honesty who also support the metric system. And there are those who support dishonesty! I suppose that a nation is truly metric when all transactions are transparently honest. Cheers, Pat Naughtin Author of the ebook, Metrication Leaders Guide, see http://metricationmatters.com/MetricationLeadersGuideInfo.html Hear Pat speak at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lshRAPvPZY 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. 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