Super-Twat

[Kim]

I learned metric at school, and stubbornly decided to have as little to do with imperial units as possible on the basis they were at least as pointless as learning multiplication tables^[1].

It worked, in as much that I'd never deliberately use one to measure something in real life, other than to determine if an item was made in an imperial size.

Industry-Specific Units are an occupational hazard.  Speed limits, pin pitches, penis lengths, pint glasses and so on.  But you rarely have to mix them with anything else.  You also have to smile and nod when Old People talk about their weight, but that would also be a sound strategy if they were using kilograms.  USAnians can be safely ignored, if they're not the ones who habitually use metric they're probably wrong anyway.

Have never got head around the 'litres per 100km' thing though. Dunno why they didn't go for 'km per 10l'.

Distance per unit (litres, lbs, slices of CAKE, kWhs) seems more mental-arithmetic-friendly for fuel consumption.  Otherwise you might as well use square metres.



_{[1] Which, much to the annoyance of my parents and teachers, I refused to do.  I was right, in as much that at primary school age I was good enough at mental arithmetic that there was no benefit to rote-learning a lookup table.  By the end of secondary I'd rote-learned them anyway through repeated use.}

[Polar Bear]

I remember the swap as a seven or eight year old.  Suddenly we were counting in decimal and the weird quirkiness of imperial slipped away.   Would be thoroughly stupid to bring it back but hey, no telling what these people will do for "popularity".

[Diver300]

Specific industries or specific uses have odd imperial measurements, and there are occasional places where historic items in the English speaking world (so 10 years ago in USA) had metric measurement.

Cars have wheel diameters in inches*
Gas connections to the German DIN standard use a variety of inch-based BSP*** threads.
Electronics is often mounted in 19" racking. The height unit for those is 1 3/4"

Conversely, cars world-wide have used spark plugs with M14 x 1.25 mm threads**** for around a century.
Engine capacity has been in litres for a long time as well.
If films and TV are to be believed, illegal drugs in America are sold in kg.


* Tyre widths in mm**, obviously, to avoid confusion.

** Except for cross-ply tyres

*** British Standard Pipe (not used in America)

**** Thread length usually measure in inches

[TheLurker]

Engine capacity has been in litres for a long time as well.

Do you mind!  You know very well it's cc. 

[TimC]

Britain adopted the metric system in 1965.  We joined the EU in 1973.

And metric has been the primary system taught in schools since 1974, which fucked up the whole world for people of my generation - taught one thing at school, had to deal with another thing in real life...

My school went fully metric in its science subjects in around 1967, when it adopted ‘New Maths’ (I think it was under the Oxford exam board). By the time I started A-Level Physics in 1972, Imperial units were only encountered (by me) in sweet shops and petrol stations.

[Polar Bear]

Britain adopted the metric system in 1965.  We joined the EU in 1973.

And metric has been the primary system taught in schools since 1974, which fucked up the whole world for people of my generation - taught one thing at school, had to deal with another thing in real life...

My school went fully metric in its science subjects in around 1967, when it adopted ‘New Maths’ (I think it was under the Oxford exam board). By the time I started A-Level Physics in 1972, Imperial units were only encountered (by me) in sweet shops and petrol stations.

I started school in 1968.  It must have been 1971 or 1972 when suddenly we started to learn metric so in fact I was eight or nine, not seven or eight as I thought above.

[Beardy]

Entirely unsurprisingly, the 'crown' thing on pint glasses turns out to be an entire lie too, so say the manufacturers of said glasses.

I’ve been drinking beer for over 40 years, and consider myself something of a connoisseur, and do you know, the crown mark, or lack there of, on the side of the glass has never affected the drinking experience. Indeed, the only reason I know it’s not been there is because it was reported as a fact in the press.

[Wombat]

Entirely unsurprisingly, the 'crown' thing on pint glasses turns out to be an entire lie too, so say the manufacturers of said glasses.

I’ve been drinking beer for over 40 years, and consider myself something of a connoisseur, and do you know, the crown mark, or lack there of, on the side of the glass has never affected the drinking experience. Indeed, the only reason I know it’s not been there is because it was reported as a fact in the press.

Something being reported as a fact in the press suggests it almost certainly isn't true...

I must confess if I look at the glass each time I order my 568ml of beer, its to admire the graphics, and complain good naturedly to the landlord about why he's given me Three Tuns beer in a Woods glass.  Most of my beer is home consumed, and comes in 500ml bottles...

[Mr Larrington]

The BBC has noted that while the beastly bullying bureaucrats of Brussels did indeed say “Your glasses, Engleeesh, zey must 'ave ze CE mark on zem” they also said “but if you wanna 'ave ze leetle crowns on zem also, zis is up to you.  Jus' make-a sure she does not, 'ow you say, overlap ze CE one, for sure!”  Before going off to a bar to sup yummy Belgian BEER from a glass with all sorts of fancy graphic design plastered over it.

[Polar Bear]

I'm sorry, you must surely be mistaken.

It is completely inconceivable that our great and wondrous government brim full with honesty and integrity or their upright friends, the moral and independent citizens of the press should lie and weaponise a largely unimportant to most people crown on the side of a glass purely on a matter of fascist ideology...

[Mr Larrington]

Yes, well, with that sort of biased pinko reporting from the nest of unrepentant Trots that masquerades as an impartial broadcaster it’s little wonder that our glorious leadership wants to scrap the BBC Tax and flog the whole operation to Jeff fucking Bezos*.

* Other megalomaniacal media moguls are available.

[Tim Hall]

The BBC has noted that while the beastly bullying bureaucrats of Brussels did indeed say “Your glasses, Engleeesh, zey must 'ave ze CE mark on zem” they also said “but if you wanna 'ave ze leetle crowns on zem also, zis is up to you.  Jus' make-a sure she does not, 'ow you say, overlap ze CE one, for sure!”  Before going off to a bar to sup yummy Belgian BEER from a glass with all sorts of fancy graphic design plastered over it.

Drifting slightly off topic (Hurrah!), I have a theory that Belgian breweries have over active marketing departments that dream up more and more ridiculous glasses from which their wares must be sampled. Pauwel  Kwak is a prime example.

[Giraffe]

My one-time favourite pub has Kwak; if I had time for only one pint that's what I had. Always had an ordinary glass though as the Kwak glass annoyed me.

[Jurek]

There's one of those in the kitchen at work.
I have to confess to thinking it was some sort of coffee filtering device .
*Doesn't drink coffee*

[citoyen]

Drifting slightly off topic (Hurrah!), I have a theory that Belgian breweries have over active marketing departments that dream up more and more ridiculous glasses from which their wares must be sampled. Pauwel  Kwak is a prime example.

Your theory is sound.

The official spiel for Kwak would have you believe they've been drinking it from those stupid glasses since the 18th century, but the beer itself was invented in the 1980s. 

[pumpkin]

Got to be the ST in the Lancaster area who apparently set one of his dogs on a cyclist after some interaction between her and some pedestrians. I've had a few moments with drivers etc but setting your dog onto someone?? I suppose if it had been the US he would have shot her and/or any cyclist within the area

[citoyen]

Got to be the ST in the Lancaster area who apparently set one of his dogs on a cyclist after some interaction between her and some pedestrians. I've had a few moments with drivers etc but setting your dog onto someone?? I suppose if it had been the US he would have shot her and/or any cyclist within the area

The internet is rife with clips of people in the US using their dogs as offensive weapons. Almost certainly a corollary with gun use.

[orraloon]

Dog vs gun, gun vs dog?  Faites vos jeux, mesdames messieurs.

[rafletcher]

Whoever at Ryanair thoiught up the wheeze to "test" South African (potential) passengers in Afrikaans to prove their identity in light of a large number for fake SA passports.  I understand that the airline is liable if they transport someone who gets denied entry, but I don't think this was thought through.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jun/06/ryanair-south-africans-afrikaans-test-nationality-passports

[PeteB99]

I gather that some minister (possibly Truss) has tweeted a comment about tiennman square and how we would never do anything like that.

Completely ignoring the bill her government has just passed that would have all the protestors arrested for making a noise if it happened here.

No link as people don't seem to like twitter links and I'm not a member anywy

[Mr Larrington]

Yes, Cheesoid has Tweeted on the Tiananmen Square anniversary: https://mobile.twitter.com/trussliz/status/1533206335113797633  Not a few responders have pointed out the “making a noise” thing.

[rafletcher]

Heather Wheeler, Conservative MP for South Derbyshire.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/10/tory-minister-calls-birmingham-and-blackpool-godawful

Doesn’t look the type to give a quid to a homeless person, despite her job title.

[Mr Larrington]

Paper-brained chipmunk and alleged Attorney-General Suella Braverman was on “The World At One” yesterday.

The Beeb: This Government keeps doing things that others judge to be illegal. We can go back to prorogation, Partygate, the Northern Ireland Protocol, deporting asylum seekers. I wonder how comfortable you feel with the reputation this Government has guilt up with regard to lawbreaking.

S Braverman: Well, with respect I think that’s a BBC view, if you don’t mind me saying, that the UK Government is somehow is always malevolent and the EU is always acting as the honest broker … when it comes to our international reputation, we only have to look to our partners in Ukraine.

No, you giant twatter.  That may well be “a BBC view” but it’s a BBC view echoing the findings of senior legal types.  As Attorney-General, the principal legal adviser to the Crown and the Government in England and Wales, you really ought to know that.

Suella Braverman: Super-Twat.

[ian]

I think we're back again with the 'are we the baddies?' sketch again.

[Polar Bear]

Paper-brained chipmunk and alleged Attorney-General Suella Braverman was on “The World At One” yesterday.

The Beeb: This Government keeps doing things that others judge to be illegal. We can go back to prorogation, Partygate, the Northern Ireland Protocol, deporting asylum seekers. I wonder how comfortable you feel with the reputation this Government has guilt up with regard to lawbreaking.

S Braverman: Well, with respect I think that’s a BBC view, if you don’t mind me saying, that the UK Government is somehow is always malevolent and the EU is always acting as the honest broker … when it comes to our international reputation, we only have to look to our partners in Ukraine.

No, you giant twatter.  That may well be “a BBC view” but it’s a BBC view echoing the findings of senior legal types.  As Attorney-General, the principal legal adviser to the Crown and the Government in England and Wales, you really ought to know that.

Suella Braverman: Super-Twat.

Typical tory lies and distraction.  Accuse others and blame your favourite victims: in this case the BBC and the EU.  Interesting that out of four items only the NI Protocol relates directly to the EU.  The other three are just Tory turds in the bathtub of distraction and hate.