On 03/06/06 07:40 am mm wrote:

On Sun, 05 Mar 2006 15:25:27 -0500, "Percival P. Cassidy"
There are quite a few irritating products on the market for home
repair and use. But there are seven inventors/ producers I want to
kill.

2. The idiot that decided that America needs metric nuts and bolts

No. Let's find out who the idiot was who decided that America (unlike
the rest of the world) does *not* need metric nuts and bolts.

Didn't the English system precede the metric system?

Possibly. But not everything older is better.

BTW, speaking of "pints," The US ones aren't real pints. A real pint
contains 20 fl. oz., not 16.

What about "A pint's a pound, the world around". I've heard that all
my life.

I've never heard it. When I still lived in UK, a pint (of real beer) was
about 1 shilling (one-twentieth of a pound) or less. :-)

The following site mentions the rhyme and points out that it is often
misunderstood:

http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/units/volume.htm

The 16oz. vs. 20oz. pint issue explains why you will find maintenance
manuals for machines sold on both sides of the Atlantic giving oil or
fuel or coolant capacities as, for example, "5 US pints (4 Imperial
pints)" or "8 Imperial gallons (10 US gallons)". (And now they probably
will have Metric measures as well.)

What's the difference between a fluid ounce and an ounce?

A fluid ounce is a unit of volume. An ounce is a unit of weight. And
just to complicate matters even further, there are Troy ounces and
Avoirdupois ounces, the former (used for precious metals and jewellery)
being about 10% more than the latter "common" ounce.

Perce