Talk:U.S. customary units

• 1 township = 6 sq mi exactly = 36 sections exactly

If a section is 1 sq mi, then a square which is 6 miles wide would be:

6 X 6 = 36 sq mi

--Ed Poor 15:16 Dec 4, 2002 (UTC)

That's right: a township is equal to 36 square miles = 36 sections = a square which is 6 miles long and wide. AxelBoldt 19:52 Dec 4, 2002 (UTC)

There are many cable lengths, I've noted the US Navy definition as such, I believe that other cable lengths have also been used in the US (at least the 1/10 nm). -- Egil 12:39 Feb 3, 2003 (UTC)

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U.S. customary units or its other two spellings occur insufficiently many times under nist.gov to believe it has widespread meaning. In the Web, its occurrence seems largely copied from the Columbia Encyclopedia. --Whir 03:13, 6 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Many US web sites call them "English units". (See this page (http://www.omnetics.com/Products/standardMetalShellNanoOffsetMetric.html) for a random example). Can any USian tell me if this is a standard usage in the US? -- Heron 08:51, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)

• Yes, it's standard. English & Metric are the terms used when the distinction needs to be made. The "English system"'s earliest citation in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary is 1927, and it is in the most recent edition. An alternative would be the "foot-pound-second system" dating from 1892. "English system" is more common, though the subject doesn't come up much. -- Nunh-huh 08:57, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)~

Thanks, Nunh-huh. I added a note to this effect. -- Heron 09:16, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I've actually more commonly heard the term standard units used to describe the US units, as in "perhaps we should someday switch from standard units to the metric system." English system is definitely also used though. --Delirium 02:08, May 25, 2004 (UTC)

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Info on freezing temperature of salt water (NOT 0°F) (http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/measurement/faq/print-zero-fahrenheit.shtml)

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I made some NPOV edits today. Metric proponents, please try to avoid terminology and phrasing that reflects your critical opinions about non-metric systems and the relative slowness of metrication in the US. There are many legitimate reasons for resistance to metrication; it's not just ignorance, and it has a lot to do with market forces and the economic costs of conversion. Also consider your own country's role in matters: since international trade is often set up in order to protect national economies by requiring foreign companies to establish a manufacturing presence in the country to which they're selling, there is in these situations little or no export market for goods produced in the US, and thus little incentive for US manufacturers to convert since they don't need to be competitive in foreign markets. This is, of course, changing over time, and it should be noted that metrication is taking place in various industries at a rate roughly proportional to the globalization of those industries (globalization itself being a contentious topic... would you want the US to be metric based so much, if doing so would mean an even greater flow of US-manufactured goods into your country?)

Conversion to and from metric for international commerce and communication may not be easy to remember, but is straightforward. And on the whole, US customary weights and measures are quite usable and AFAIK contain no critical flaws. The only real problem seems to be overlapping terminology and is more a matter of laziness in using the appropriate qualifiers. For example, if one says "ounce" when "fluid ounce" or "troy ounce" is meant, the ambiguity is annoying, but that's hardly a reason to belittle a nation and imply the users of such a system are all ignorant, stubborn fools. The systems are just different, and should be described as matter-of-factly as possible. -- mjb 11:11, 26 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Mass and weight

The bits in the article on mass do not really cover the difference between mass and weight: as I undertand it (not being 100% up to speed on English units) there are two ways to handle this neatly in this system, we can use pound to represent mass, in which case the useful unit of weight (or force) is the poundal. Or, you can use pound to represent weight(force) and the slug for mass.

Would need a rewrite...or do we leave as a non technical description and add an article on slugs, poundals, newtons etc elsewhere?

--GPoss 12:24, Jul 23, 2004 (UTC)

SQ

A roof repairman handed me an estimate that says "25.4 SQ". What the hell the SQ could be? I looked up all possible dictionaries. Mikkalai 19:59, 29 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Maybe "square".

I remember being told that US roofers (tilers?) sometimes use "square" to mean 100 square feet (9.29 m²). "25.4 SQ" could also be intended to mean "(25.4 mm)²", which is one square inch---I doubt the 25.4 just appeared there at random. Or, if you are in the UK, he could have abbreviated squid, which is 1000 £ (you didn't tell in what he estimated). Conclusion: ask the guy. Christoph Päper 16:13, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)