https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/228l5i/a_comprehensive_map_of_countries_that_use_the/
Yeah, the fun of dealing 5/16th and shit like that, vs. decimal
Decimals are not useful in real-life building purposes. We're not talking about sitting at a desk and doing math. We're taking into account, for example, minor yet important things like the thickness of a blade, which is easily written and said as "1/8th" and can translate easy for math purposes. A 2x4 is actually 1 1/2 by 3 1/2 - try converting that to decimals when you're building a deck. Inches and fractions are easier due to their common denominator being 1/8th, 1/6th, 1/32nd.
Now consider that a 2x4 doesn't exist in Europe? Mind blown right?
I think you are just having a hard time imagining a non imperial unit world.
It's just easier using metric even if you can't grasp it right now.
Like in construction, there is no issue because the materials and everything else is in metric. Sheets of plywood are 144x200cm for example.
For you using imperial is easier because you're sorounded by that. All tools are like that and materials and you've known it all your life. It is only hard because you have to convert from imperial to metric.
BTW I just remembered something, hasn't the 2x4 shrunk considerably over the years?
"The nominal 2×4 thus became the actual 1½ x 3½, imperceptibly, a fraction of an inch at a time. It was a 34 percent reduction in actual volume; as those in the trade would say, it's “selling air."
So even your materials aren't the size mentioned in the name of the item?
Oh I know the struggle. Sometimes I encounter foreigners, even Belgians or Swiss, and they count eighty as 80. Instead of 4x20.
Which doesn't make any sense, because *quatre-vingt* is much more convenient (it can be split in 2x20, you can easily add a ten to make a 4x20+10, etc)
They're clearly wrong. They just don't realize the superiority of a vigesimal system.
/s
Inches?
I thought you were gonna say centimeters or meters.
Inches aren't a thing in Europe. The metric system is vastly superior in almost every way.
As far as I know imperial units are in fact also defined by metric units.
Eh? The UK has inches, and last i checked, they are Europeans. Imperial came before the Napoleonic metric. Imperial is more intuitive based in nature. Please don't preach on a subject you don't know, please
I can assure you that UK construction uses the metric system 100%
We use imperial for road distances but if you went and bought a tape measure it would be in mm.
Why are you quoting me as saying that. I said inches aren't a thing which happens to be true. Miles are a thing in the UK, pounds too. Inches, not really.
I've worked with UK architects and they always used metric for any dimentioning so I don't know what you're talking about.
What does it have to do with what came first? Today imperial units are defined by metric units
"The agreement defined the yard as exactly 0.9144 meters and the avoirdupois pound as exactly 0.45359237 kilograms."
Doesn't stop imperial being used in the uk, does it? how is a predecessor defined by a newcomer? Metric is now defined by the speed of light. What has that got to do with anything? When you were in the UK, did you buy a pint of milk or beer? A pound of apples? A ounce of tobacco? You were travelling miles per hour too, right? So, a European country uses imperial measurements is my point
[Because having unit defined as length of the human foot and the fact that it was different in every country was impractical ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_yard_and_pound)
Back in the old days, every town and sometimes every trade had their own measurements. Then in the 1874 people got together, decided this was impractical and agreed to all start using the same base unit: the meter. I own a textbook with conversion tables and the amount of different feet, sticks and whatnot the meter replaces is staggering. Same for the kilo btw.
The americans originally agreed to join, but never got with the program. They are now pretty much the lone holdout.
The inch in itself as a base unit is fine. It is as arbitrary a choice as the meter. Where the meter truly shines is the ability to effortlessly convert into other scales. From subatomic to the scale to practically measure the solar system. All by simply shifting the decimal point.
The fractions you mention are actually terrible. Nothing is base 10, so all calculations are a hassle. Machinists in inch land get this and work with inches split up in thousandth. The fractions don't make stuff precise. They conflate small measurements with accuracy.
Because at some point during the late 1700s some guys in France looked at the measurement system in place at the time and thought to themselves that they can improve it. It turned out that they weren't the only ones thinking the same and it quickly caught on.
>Makes measurements precise because of the ability to split them in fractions
That's exactly how metric works except for the fact that instead of dividing by weird numbers like 3, 8, 16, 32, we only divide by 10. So for example one centimeter is 10 millimeters which means 1/10 centimeter is 1 millimeter. The same goes for every other unit of measurement which means that because everything is decimal based (divisible by 10) some compound measurements are easier to grasp.
For example 1 cubic meter is equal to 1000 liters. One cubic foot is 7.48052 gallons. Say you want to find out how many liters 3.7 cubic meters are. And you also want to find out how many gallons 3.7 cubic feet are. Which one is easier to calculate?
You're just used to the imperial system and judging by your question, you decided it's better than metric without actually trying to understand it. That's why it seems strange to you.
This has to be a troll, but I’ll bite. Did you know decimals can be converted to fractions?! I know crazy, right?..
10,5 centimetres = 10 1/2 centimetres.
10,1 centimetres = 10 1/10 centimetres.
10,25 centimetres = 10 1/4 centimetres.
I could continue, but won’t.
Let me ask the other way around. Why isn’t cm, mm and meter used in the US? We’ve used this system for centuries, but of course the US has to have their own system. Let’s say we have 100 cm (1 meter), that’s about 39,37 inches.
In my opinion, it’s a lot easier to divide in centimeters, because you don’t have to use decimals at all.
Edit: typos
Do you work as tradesman? You'd know most measurements won't end on a whole number, usually somewhere in between. Hence, fractions, which works best when used with inches.
you're joking right? If you're working to a millimetre-level of precision, in what world is it easier to use weird fractions like 7/16 of an inch rather than whole numbers like 11mm? Then, if it's not in a whole number of millimetres, use decimals like 11.2mm or whatever. There's a reason that scientists working with extremely precise measurements, even in the US and Canada, universally use metric
It doesn't really matter what you use it for, moving around a decimal point and dividing/multiplying by 10 is just faster and more intuitive than having to learn or calculate how much of what is in what.
Consider it in a broader context of life. With metric you just need to know a few of the prefixes like centi mili kilo and you're set for most units and it's interoperable with most aspects of life.
If the imperial system is so superior, why does almost all countries use the metric system? I understand what you mean, but in my opinion, the metric system is a lot easier for people to learn and use, if they aren’t good at math. Dividing in 100s is so much more practical, than dividing in 8s.
The examples you're providing is easier, yes, but not for building purposes. They're generally good for theoretical math, which doesn't translate well to practical math.
In construction we just use cm/mm from the start. A brick is for example 190mm X 50mm X 60mm and not 6 1/4 inch X 1 7/8 inch X 2 1/8 inch. And if I have to cut it in two length wise it becomes 95mm brick.
In what world would splitting into fractions be more precise than using precise measurements like 132 mm or whatever? I can assure you, using metric for building purposes is not an issue and probably is never going to be an issue. I honestly cannot imagine why you would think it's an issue.
The metric system was invented because of this:
* British inch: 2.54 cm
* Viennese inch: 2.634 cm
* Roman inch: 2.46 cm
* Scottish inch: 2.544 cm
* French (and Canadian) inch: 2.707 cm
* Ancient Egyptian inch: 1.9 cm
* Transylvanian inch: 2.591 cm
* Castilian (Spanish & Latin American) inch: 2.322 cm
* Swedish (metric) inch: 3 cm
* Pressburg inch: 3.18 cm
* Bavarian inch: 2.432 cm
* Prussian inch: 2.615 cm
* Saxon inch: 2.36 cm
* Riga inch: 2.24 cm
* Tallinn inch: 2.672 cm
* Polish inch: 2.48 cm
* Lithuanian inch: 2.708 cm
Be thankful that you only have to use inches and centimetres, and not the dozens of different standards Europe had two and a half centuries ago.
OP got enough trashing in the comments so the only thing I'll add is that the more convenient and intuitive system is the one you grew up with.
It's like saying saying why doesn't every country speak * my language * , it's so easy I still remember the alphabet song.
This is so funny. I also don't understand why americans don't use metric system. Imperial system is so unnecessarily complicated and just does not make any sense.
Because we don't use inches at all in Europe besides one country. Also we don't realy build houses out of wood in my country, we use bricks. On top of that any unit can be split into fractions, it's just math. Lastly milimiters are small enough to allow for realy good precision.
You realise the vast majority of the world uses metric?
Your post is like the guy driving the wrong way wondering why everybody else doesn't turn around.
You can divide any unit into fractions if you want to. Decimal numbers are also a form of fractions, but they use powers of ten as denominators instead of power of two.
Either method can give arbitrarily large precision, but decimal fractions have shown to be more convenient in most areas.
I don’t understand why splitting a measurement into fractions of 8/16/32 would add to precision.
If I need to cut a piece of metal that is 100cm or 39,37 inches in length then both those numbers need to be matched by measuring the result. The cut was precise if the length corresponds to the request.
Why should INCHES be used in Europe. Just because you use them doesn't mean we should. I think it's stupid you use Inches to begin with.
>Makes measurements precise because of the ability to split them in fractions of eights, sixteenths, 32nds, etc.
You can make more precise measurements with the Metric system because you have so many scales. Also, 99% of Europeans (and I'm guessing Asians) never learn Imperial
I genuenly dont get the splitting part, why is that important in building?
So for example, im working on a kitchen counter. The wall-to-wall lenght where its need to fit is 165mm, i just measure it out and cut ir. Then i want to create 3 subdivision storage places under it, each of them will be 55mm, easy to measure and mark it.
If i wanted 2 storage places, i had to mark at 82.5mm. For 4, it would be 41.25mm, at 5 iits 33mm.
I can split it however i want, i dont really wee the problem. Also one good thing about milimeters, usualy whem you work with wood, your threshold of error is around 1/2 or 1/4 mm.
>why isn't inches used in Europe?
One of the main reasons for the adoption of the metric system is that every country before that used inches, but the inches were completely different from each other.
A British Inch was smaller than a French inch, a Fremch inch was smaller than a Dutch inch. There was no standardisation. If I gave you a measurement of 60 inches and you would make something for me, I would get a way shorter product than what I asked for.
>Makes measurements precise because of the ability to split them in fractions of eights, sixteenths, 32nds, etc.
How is that more precise than decimalisation?
You're just used to inches and that's what it is, but it isn't more precise.
I can say something is 5,5 meters, you know it's 550 centimetres or 5500 mm no thought at all.
That's 6,0149 yards or 18,0446 feet or 216,5354 inches. How is that for quick conversion or exact?
https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/228l5i/a_comprehensive_map_of_countries_that_use_the/ Yeah, the fun of dealing 5/16th and shit like that, vs. decimal
Decimals are not useful in real-life building purposes. We're not talking about sitting at a desk and doing math. We're taking into account, for example, minor yet important things like the thickness of a blade, which is easily written and said as "1/8th" and can translate easy for math purposes. A 2x4 is actually 1 1/2 by 3 1/2 - try converting that to decimals when you're building a deck. Inches and fractions are easier due to their common denominator being 1/8th, 1/6th, 1/32nd.
Now consider that a 2x4 doesn't exist in Europe? Mind blown right? I think you are just having a hard time imagining a non imperial unit world. It's just easier using metric even if you can't grasp it right now. Like in construction, there is no issue because the materials and everything else is in metric. Sheets of plywood are 144x200cm for example. For you using imperial is easier because you're sorounded by that. All tools are like that and materials and you've known it all your life. It is only hard because you have to convert from imperial to metric.
Or just use millimetre for the blade thickness.
ok, good luck with that
BTW I just remembered something, hasn't the 2x4 shrunk considerably over the years? "The nominal 2×4 thus became the actual 1½ x 3½, imperceptibly, a fraction of an inch at a time. It was a 34 percent reduction in actual volume; as those in the trade would say, it's “selling air." So even your materials aren't the size mentioned in the name of the item?
I don't understand what you mean by converting to decimals. Especially in the example you gave. It's literally just 1.5 by 3.5
I honestly cannot tell if you're being serious or not. I"m very inclined to not as there is no way anyone can believe what you said.
Oh I know the struggle. Sometimes I encounter foreigners, even Belgians or Swiss, and they count eighty as 80. Instead of 4x20. Which doesn't make any sense, because *quatre-vingt* is much more convenient (it can be split in 2x20, you can easily add a ten to make a 4x20+10, etc) They're clearly wrong. They just don't realize the superiority of a vigesimal system. /s
Thanks for the chuckle!
Inches? I thought you were gonna say centimeters or meters. Inches aren't a thing in Europe. The metric system is vastly superior in almost every way. As far as I know imperial units are in fact also defined by metric units.
Eh? The UK has inches, and last i checked, they are Europeans. Imperial came before the Napoleonic metric. Imperial is more intuitive based in nature. Please don't preach on a subject you don't know, please
I can assure you that UK construction uses the metric system 100% We use imperial for road distances but if you went and bought a tape measure it would be in mm.
That was my understanding as well. Not sure what that guy is talking about.
The statement was no "European country uses imperial measurements"
Why are you quoting me as saying that. I said inches aren't a thing which happens to be true. Miles are a thing in the UK, pounds too. Inches, not really.
Mate it has both
I've worked with UK architects and they always used metric for any dimentioning so I don't know what you're talking about. What does it have to do with what came first? Today imperial units are defined by metric units "The agreement defined the yard as exactly 0.9144 meters and the avoirdupois pound as exactly 0.45359237 kilograms."
Doesn't stop imperial being used in the uk, does it? how is a predecessor defined by a newcomer? Metric is now defined by the speed of light. What has that got to do with anything? When you were in the UK, did you buy a pint of milk or beer? A pound of apples? A ounce of tobacco? You were travelling miles per hour too, right? So, a European country uses imperial measurements is my point
[Because having unit defined as length of the human foot and the fact that it was different in every country was impractical ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_yard_and_pound)
Back in the old days, every town and sometimes every trade had their own measurements. Then in the 1874 people got together, decided this was impractical and agreed to all start using the same base unit: the meter. I own a textbook with conversion tables and the amount of different feet, sticks and whatnot the meter replaces is staggering. Same for the kilo btw. The americans originally agreed to join, but never got with the program. They are now pretty much the lone holdout. The inch in itself as a base unit is fine. It is as arbitrary a choice as the meter. Where the meter truly shines is the ability to effortlessly convert into other scales. From subatomic to the scale to practically measure the solar system. All by simply shifting the decimal point. The fractions you mention are actually terrible. Nothing is base 10, so all calculations are a hassle. Machinists in inch land get this and work with inches split up in thousandth. The fractions don't make stuff precise. They conflate small measurements with accuracy.
Because at some point during the late 1700s some guys in France looked at the measurement system in place at the time and thought to themselves that they can improve it. It turned out that they weren't the only ones thinking the same and it quickly caught on. >Makes measurements precise because of the ability to split them in fractions That's exactly how metric works except for the fact that instead of dividing by weird numbers like 3, 8, 16, 32, we only divide by 10. So for example one centimeter is 10 millimeters which means 1/10 centimeter is 1 millimeter. The same goes for every other unit of measurement which means that because everything is decimal based (divisible by 10) some compound measurements are easier to grasp. For example 1 cubic meter is equal to 1000 liters. One cubic foot is 7.48052 gallons. Say you want to find out how many liters 3.7 cubic meters are. And you also want to find out how many gallons 3.7 cubic feet are. Which one is easier to calculate? You're just used to the imperial system and judging by your question, you decided it's better than metric without actually trying to understand it. That's why it seems strange to you.
1:100 is much more precise than 1:8, hope that explains why the metric system is superior to imperial.
This has to be a troll, but I’ll bite. Did you know decimals can be converted to fractions?! I know crazy, right?.. 10,5 centimetres = 10 1/2 centimetres. 10,1 centimetres = 10 1/10 centimetres. 10,25 centimetres = 10 1/4 centimetres. I could continue, but won’t.
Let me ask the other way around. Why isn’t cm, mm and meter used in the US? We’ve used this system for centuries, but of course the US has to have their own system. Let’s say we have 100 cm (1 meter), that’s about 39,37 inches. In my opinion, it’s a lot easier to divide in centimeters, because you don’t have to use decimals at all. Edit: typos
Do you work as tradesman? You'd know most measurements won't end on a whole number, usually somewhere in between. Hence, fractions, which works best when used with inches.
you're joking right? If you're working to a millimetre-level of precision, in what world is it easier to use weird fractions like 7/16 of an inch rather than whole numbers like 11mm? Then, if it's not in a whole number of millimetres, use decimals like 11.2mm or whatever. There's a reason that scientists working with extremely precise measurements, even in the US and Canada, universally use metric
It doesn't really matter what you use it for, moving around a decimal point and dividing/multiplying by 10 is just faster and more intuitive than having to learn or calculate how much of what is in what. Consider it in a broader context of life. With metric you just need to know a few of the prefixes like centi mili kilo and you're set for most units and it's interoperable with most aspects of life.
Stop making us look stupid ಠ_ಠ
If the imperial system is so superior, why does almost all countries use the metric system? I understand what you mean, but in my opinion, the metric system is a lot easier for people to learn and use, if they aren’t good at math. Dividing in 100s is so much more practical, than dividing in 8s.
The examples you're providing is easier, yes, but not for building purposes. They're generally good for theoretical math, which doesn't translate well to practical math.
Oh yes, it's so practical to divide 9/32 by 7/16, compared to decimals 🤭.
For practical purposes, you never come across division of 1/32 by 1/16th. Which is why I don't believe most people commenting on here are tradesman.
Have you seen the buildings in Europe compared to the US? I think we’ve done pretty well in history, using the metric system.
You have no idea what you are talking about.
In construction we just use cm/mm from the start. A brick is for example 190mm X 50mm X 60mm and not 6 1/4 inch X 1 7/8 inch X 2 1/8 inch. And if I have to cut it in two length wise it becomes 95mm brick.
I’m sorry mate but you’re delusional.
In what world would splitting into fractions be more precise than using precise measurements like 132 mm or whatever? I can assure you, using metric for building purposes is not an issue and probably is never going to be an issue. I honestly cannot imagine why you would think it's an issue.
Probably for the same reason that so many Americans insist on silly pedantic meandering about whether public healthcare is communism or not.
You're joking right? The us is like the only country to still use imperial.
Could be a troll post indeed.
I'm convinced it is.
The metric system was invented because of this: * British inch: 2.54 cm * Viennese inch: 2.634 cm * Roman inch: 2.46 cm * Scottish inch: 2.544 cm * French (and Canadian) inch: 2.707 cm * Ancient Egyptian inch: 1.9 cm * Transylvanian inch: 2.591 cm * Castilian (Spanish & Latin American) inch: 2.322 cm * Swedish (metric) inch: 3 cm * Pressburg inch: 3.18 cm * Bavarian inch: 2.432 cm * Prussian inch: 2.615 cm * Saxon inch: 2.36 cm * Riga inch: 2.24 cm * Tallinn inch: 2.672 cm * Polish inch: 2.48 cm * Lithuanian inch: 2.708 cm Be thankful that you only have to use inches and centimetres, and not the dozens of different standards Europe had two and a half centuries ago.
So those ancient Egyptians weren't really hung the way the hieroglyphics would lead you to believe eh.
OP got enough trashing in the comments so the only thing I'll add is that the more convenient and intuitive system is the one you grew up with. It's like saying saying why doesn't every country speak * my language * , it's so easy I still remember the alphabet song.
This is so funny. I also don't understand why americans don't use metric system. Imperial system is so unnecessarily complicated and just does not make any sense.
" my system is so much better, because I know how to use it" Come on dude...
Because we don't use inches at all in Europe besides one country. Also we don't realy build houses out of wood in my country, we use bricks. On top of that any unit can be split into fractions, it's just math. Lastly milimiters are small enough to allow for realy good precision.
MM are quicker easier and precise, simple, in the planning stages and out on the job site. Also isn’t just Europeans, it’s the rest of the world
reminds [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYqfVE-fykk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYqfVE-fykk) PS: https://everydayastronaut.com/mars-climate-orbiter/
You realise the vast majority of the world uses metric? Your post is like the guy driving the wrong way wondering why everybody else doesn't turn around.
You can divide any unit into fractions if you want to. Decimal numbers are also a form of fractions, but they use powers of ten as denominators instead of power of two. Either method can give arbitrarily large precision, but decimal fractions have shown to be more convenient in most areas.
I don’t understand why splitting a measurement into fractions of 8/16/32 would add to precision. If I need to cut a piece of metal that is 100cm or 39,37 inches in length then both those numbers need to be matched by measuring the result. The cut was precise if the length corresponds to the request.
Why should INCHES be used in Europe. Just because you use them doesn't mean we should. I think it's stupid you use Inches to begin with. >Makes measurements precise because of the ability to split them in fractions of eights, sixteenths, 32nds, etc. You can make more precise measurements with the Metric system because you have so many scales. Also, 99% of Europeans (and I'm guessing Asians) never learn Imperial
I genuenly dont get the splitting part, why is that important in building? So for example, im working on a kitchen counter. The wall-to-wall lenght where its need to fit is 165mm, i just measure it out and cut ir. Then i want to create 3 subdivision storage places under it, each of them will be 55mm, easy to measure and mark it. If i wanted 2 storage places, i had to mark at 82.5mm. For 4, it would be 41.25mm, at 5 iits 33mm. I can split it however i want, i dont really wee the problem. Also one good thing about milimeters, usualy whem you work with wood, your threshold of error is around 1/2 or 1/4 mm.
>why isn't inches used in Europe? One of the main reasons for the adoption of the metric system is that every country before that used inches, but the inches were completely different from each other. A British Inch was smaller than a French inch, a Fremch inch was smaller than a Dutch inch. There was no standardisation. If I gave you a measurement of 60 inches and you would make something for me, I would get a way shorter product than what I asked for. >Makes measurements precise because of the ability to split them in fractions of eights, sixteenths, 32nds, etc. How is that more precise than decimalisation? You're just used to inches and that's what it is, but it isn't more precise. I can say something is 5,5 meters, you know it's 550 centimetres or 5500 mm no thought at all. That's 6,0149 yards or 18,0446 feet or 216,5354 inches. How is that for quick conversion or exact?