Re: [GZG] Slightly OT - Hypothetical weapon question

On Oct 27, 2008, at 1:29 PM, McCarthy, Tom (xwave) wrote:

> If memory serves, Canada went metric around 1976 (silver jubilee?),  
> and that would put TomB in about grade 2 at that time.  So while  
> his formal schooling would have emphasized the metric system, his  
> parents (and even peers just a few years older than him (I'm	
> looking at you, Jimbo)) would be conversant primarily with Imperial  
> units, and so there's good exposure to both.
>
> Most Canadians my age / TomB's age can easily convert common linear  
> measures, volumes, temperatures and weights on the fly (3m = 10', 4  
> L ~ 1 US gallon, 331 ml beer is called a pint, *9/5+32, 0.9 kg ~ 2  
> lbs).
>
> That said, I was tripped up at Thanksgiving (which is recently past  
> in Canada) on the conversion from litres to gallons ... I knew the  
> US gallons number, but not the other.
>

One thing I've had lots of fun converting back and forth from is  
Imperial weights to US weights. They're different outside of pounds.  
Hundredweight and Tons (long and short).

Not usually an	issue unless you're referring to the manual for an  
armored car trying to figure out how much it should weigh (aside from  
whether or not it's been "bombed up" or not). Hmm, Weight of a	
Daimler Armoured car..., 7.5 tons in weight. that's probably Long  
Tons, which really means, it's 16,800 lbs, NOT 14,000 lbs. That 2,800  
lb difference can be significant enough to be a large cost difference  
(Or fine difference if you're overweight on the highway).

Of course the difference between  being loaded up for fighting the  
Hun and being empty in display form, can be significant. The Humber  
Armoured car can have up to 70 rounds of 37mm AP and HE plus around  
3000 rounds of 7.92mm on board and we'll never have that much, so  
there's not as much issue to having the "full" weight available for  
transport....BUT....one never knows...

Quick, some one tell me the cargo capacity of a British 15cwt truck. ;-)

What's even more fun is talking Miles, yards and degrees in  
navigation with the Yank Re-enactors who are using Mils and trying to  
use meters because they're thinking in Modern US Army speak....

"Meters old boy? I don't think the Kings Regulations use Meters as a  
standard unit of measure..."

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