Hi John

Imperial hasn’t been abandoned in the Uk. A casual conversation with a Brit 
will confirm this.

You are correct about the Caribbean though plus UK overseas territories and 
protectorates. On the Isle of Man they still serve shots in gills, for example


Sent from my iPhone

On 29 Oct 2019, at 10:04 pm, John Steele <[email protected]> wrote:


Sorry, Tom, but I have to disagree.

Customary is NOT Imperial, there are several differences.  Although the UK has 
largely abandoned Imperial, we have Caribbean trading partners who have not.  
Being clear on whether it is Customary or Imperial measure is important in that 
trade.  I wish it could all disappear and be replaced by SI, but giving it a 
silly name that confuses trading partners won't help. I have no problem 
reminding people that Customary is really left-over, abandoned British units 
from before the Revolutionary War, but the name we have given to the units we 
kept from that mess is Customary.  Our gallon and bushel were defined by 
British Parliament circa 1700 and in no way represent "freedom units."

In the metric side, I participate in some forums where people are very confused 
by and asking questions about what are the differences between metric, MKS, 
MKSA, CGS, etc. They are all obsolete. The SI, as defined by the current 
edition of the SI Brochure,  is the MODERN metric system; "there can be only 
one."  Introducing confusing terms leads to confusion, not clarity, not change. 
(and International might be better than French metric system, especially if we 
point out that the US was an original signatory of the 1875 Treaty of the 
Meter, and a participating and voting member of the BIPM and its governing 
committees.)

Since NIST (under the Secretary of Commerce) is responsible for interpreting 
both Customary and SI systems of weights and measures for the US, I believe I 
am more helpful to Americans with questions by using language consistent with 
NIST.

On Tuesday, October 29, 2019, 4:35:35 PM EDT, Tom Wade <[email protected]> 
wrote:


It's important not to call it "US <anything>".  Doing so only helps those who 
want to pitch the shambolic mix you have at the moment as "American" as opposed 
to the "foreign" system you are advocating.  That allows those who oppose 
metrication to wrap themselves in the flag of patriotism.  Call it "British 
Colonial Measure" (to distinguish it from the British Imperial system, that was 
a reform of 1824). That more accurately describes how and when it was imposed,  
and that it should  have been discarded long ago, along with monarchy, 
pounds-shillings-pence and titles.

Same reason to refer to "metric" rather than SI ("International" is the kiss of 
death here, despite its more modern accurate meaning).

The problem is there is a significant number of people that would prefer 
*anything* that is seen to be American, as opposed to foreign.  You have to be 
able to counter emotional as well as rational opposition.

One of the small pieces of fortune we had with metrication in Ireland, was that 
it was so hard for anyone to be openly in favor of something called the British 
Imperial System. ;-)


Tom Wade
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>


On 2019-10-29 12:26, Ressel, Howard R (DOT) wrote:

I never say US Standard, always US Customary sort of says its common usage but 
not the standard.



Howard



From: USMA 
<[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> On 
Behalf Of Paul Trusten
Sent: Monday, October 28, 2019 5:21 PM
To: USMA List Server <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]>
Subject: [USMA 1233] labeling



ATTENTION: This email came from an external source. Do not open attachments or 
click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails.

Ya know, even if the supplementary WOMBAT labeling is added to the wine 
bottles, isn’t it possible that the consumers will be much too drunk to care?

I am going to claim my seat as a party pooper on this “issue.” For too long 
now, I have wasted my time going after minor problems such as this, when the 
U.S. as a whole is suffering from a much, much greater stagnation regarding a 
standard of measurement. We even have people who support U.S. metrication who 
can’t stop using the phrase “U.S. standard!” I call feet, pounds, etc. “legacy 
units,” lending them no more dignity than a cubit or a league. There is only 
ONE true standard of measurement. It is the SI.

Let’s say the dual labels get put on the booze bottles. Have ‘y’all been 
looking at grocery store shelf tags lately? A few years ago, despite the round 
metric sizes of the beverage products, the sizes and their unit pricing are 
evaluated On those tags in terms of the fluid ounce. Despite the broad range of 
metric sizes for soft drinks (500 mL, 1 L, 1.25 L,  2 L, and 3 L), product 
metrication gets compromised in comparison shopping.  And, more important, in 
the absence of comprehensive metric education, much of the U.S. public isn’t 
able to appreciate the fact that a milliliter of soda pop is the same volume as 
a milliliter of medicine that they are dosing their children with, since the 
“Drug Facts” labeling is all metric now.

Just sayin’.

PAUL T.

<image001.jpg>





Paul Trusten
Midland, Texas
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>



Paul Trusten
Midland, Texas
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>

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