SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the How-many-slugs-to-the-stone? dept.
AnonTechie writes:
"I have the following requests to members of this new forum:
1) Please use SI Units wherever possible. Alternative comparative units such as swimming pools, size of Florida, cars, libraries of congress, etc are also welcome ...
2) Please cover tech/science related stories from around the world. Please do not make this a US only website !!
Cheers and best wishes,
AnonTechie"
[ED Note: We as a community welcome submissions from around the world, as befits our international userbase. The Editorial team in particular is looking closely at including voices from outside the U.S. as we continue to grow. As for the units question in particular, stories will certainly arrive with a variety of units depending on the origin of the submission. We encourage, though do not require, submitters to include conversions where appropriate for clarity out of courtesy to your fellow readers. Though we try to use a light touch when making edits to story submissions, Editors may add these from time to time as well, should clarity demand and time permit.
Soylentils, does the current ad-hoc approach meet your needs, or do you favor a more formal approach from your news discussion site?]
(Score: 2, Interesting) by jalopezp on Monday February 24 2014, @11:27AM
I ruined a batch of homebrew after moving to London because of the difference between british and american pints. Idiotically, the british have bigger pints but smaller ounces than the americans. Nowadays when cooking and brewing, I insist on converting everything to metric, and if possible from volume to weight. As for standard use, I find people are familiar enough with kilos and centimetres for it not to be a problem.
As far as beer is concerned, recall Orwell's 1984: 'A 'alf litre ain't enough. It don't satisfy. And a 'ole litre's too much. It starts my bladder running. Let alone the price.' I agree with this statement very much. Nevertheless, a pint of beer is too close to a half litre (568mL) to make much of a difference. I would prefer to see barmen pull my beer into a 666mL glass. One day.
(Score: 1) by Nuke on Monday February 24 2014, @08:09PM
I read 1984 before I was familiar with the conversion (when it was still future in fact) and for years I assumed half a litre was about 0.6 pints because of it. Now, I am now puzzled by the guys' problem - the difference between half a litre and a pint is only 13%.
The reason people have stuck with pints for beer is that it goes with the Olde Worlde atmosphere of most UK pubs.