Measurements

From: Andrew Barton <AndrewBarton_at_compuserve.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 17:23:51 -0400

> I thought they were called 'english' measurements, or 'standard'
(a much more idiomatically American term, if I might say so).

I wouldn't be surprised if they were called 'English' units in the US (an 'English Muffin' was until recently completely unknown in England) but they aren't quite the same.

A US gallon is about six-sevenths of a UK gallon. AFAIK most of the other units are the same for all practical purposes, but there are some fine differences in the legal definitions.

Before the Romans came the British system was largely decimal (it's not an accident that a gallon of water weighs exactly ten pounds). Things started going wrong when the Romans put their foot in it.

Andrew

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