Distance used to be expressed in terms of inches, feet, yards, but there were other measurements too - as a child I learnt about barleycorns, chains, furlongs, fathoms and rods and doubtless many more which I have forgotten. When I lived in Nigeria fabric was sold in fathoms and I still think of my feet as size 7, a size based on barleycorns.
Weights were another gem. In everyday usage we had ounces, pounds and stones but there were also such wonderful units as scruples, hundredweights and quarters. My Doctor now weighs me in kilos but I still think of my weight in terms of stones and pounds.
There is one very important exception to all this decimalisation - draught beer is still sold in pints.
And many Brits still think of things in feet, inches, pounds just as we have done for hundreds of years.
But I know of no-one who could tell me the weight of a scruple!
It's 1.296 grams, or 20 grains. (I had to check!) 3 scruples make one dram and eight drams make one ounce
I'm ok with temperatures, not too bad with litres & kilos, a bit shaky with distance & speed limits (but I don't drive so not really an issue) but I'm still rather bad at centimetres etc. Our recipe books tend to have both grams & ounces in them which makes things easier and I do own a digital scale so I am getting more used to using that for baking. It is rather tricky though when all of this switched about half way through my life here - plus - living next to the US where they haven't converted means that you never really escape the ld measures.
ReplyDeleteAs for scruples - I think you'd have to put a price on those these days rather than measure them....
I think most of us use each system at different times, especially when the change came after we'd already learnt one system. I find American recipes nearly impossible - what is a stick of butter?
Deletea unit of weight equal to 20 grains, used by apothecaries.
ReplyDelete"give, daily, one scruple of sulphate of quinine"
As a retired Primary teacher I got very used to decimalisation.. so easy to have everything in 10s.
It's easier but it's a tad boring! I love the history behind the old systems. But I don't think I'd want to go back.
DeleteI vaguely remember bushels and pecks.....
ReplyDeleteMe too. I don't remember using them. I seem to think they were used by corn merchants but I don't know who else.
DeleteI remember our exercise books at school. On the back cover all had weights and measurements and what they were equal to. Our maths teacher had lots of little sayings to help us to remember such as "At 5 to 8 naughty boys must go to bed. 5280 feet in a mile. Decimal is so much easier but not as much fun. Scruple sounds interesting. We also had chains and furlongs. I enjoyed your post.
ReplyDeleteOoh, yes, I remember those too. And they always had that poem, "Thirty days hath September" etc as well. I seem to think that the only thing which was one chain was a cricket wicket.
DeleteI still struggle with picturing something that is so many centimetres long, my brain still works in inches, feet, yards, etc as well as lbs and ozs, stones and hundredweights.
ReplyDeleteWe still ask, of a new car, "How many miles to the gallon does it do?" though fuel is bought in litres. And speed limits are in miles per hour, aren't they? Must be so confusing for visitors to this country.
Absolutely. I can convert centimetres to feet and inches easier than I can imagine an item which is (say) ten centimetres long.
DeleteI seem to remember exercise books with a red cover that had all the old measurement on the back cover.
ReplyDeleteJust seen Jean above has already said this so my memory must be right.
Oh yes, those of us who are "of a certain age" can remember those!
DeleteAll my sewing projects are still done in feet and inches.
ReplyDeleteYes, and many crafty type books still use feet and inches. I can't visualise fifteen centimetres without translating that into six inches.
DeleteYour monetary system is confusing and now there was a different weight system too?
ReplyDeleteBy the way did my January letter ever arrive?
Yes the letter arrived, thank you, and I've sent one back. Sorry I forgot to let you know.
DeleteIt was all very historical and as you can see from the comments above, we Brits "of a certain age" still have a fondness for the old ways. Tell me, how does a stick of bitter fit into any measuring system! I have no idea what it is, either by weight or volume, and yet I see it in American recipes!
Well now I wonder what a scruple weighs. I am in the USA and sometimes a British person will mention how many stone they weigh, and I wonder how much that is in pounds. Our differences can be interesting. A stick of butter is 1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons, but I don't know if you use those measures.
ReplyDeleteThere are 24 scruples in one ounce. A stone is 14 pounds.
ReplyDeleteAre we talking level tablespoons for the butter? We tend to use cups only for liquids and even then we are more likely to use pints or litres (and parts thereof). Butter would be listed in ounces or grammes.
Funny thing is here in Canada we still use the old methods for measuring in baking and in oven temperatures.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
When you say you use the old method in baking is that pounds and ounces?
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