On Thursday 26 October 2006 10:48, Anne Wilson wrote: >On Thursday 26 October 2006 13:29, Nigel Henry wrote: >> Both 20 fl oz =pint , and 16 fl oz=pint are correct, depending whether >> you are living in the US, or the UK. >> >> The cooking conversion page is wrong with saying that the conversions >> apply to the US, and British measures. The weight conversions apply to >> both, but the liquid conversions only apply to the US. >> >> The page "capacity and volume" makes that clear, where there are >> conversions for both US, and UK imperial measures. >> >> There is a big difference in the size of the US gallon compared to the >> UK imperial one, but the comparison between the US fl oz, and the UK >> imperial one is slight. Both gallons= 8 pints, and here comes the rub. >> A pint of beer in the UK has more beer in it than a pint of beer in the >> US. > >This whole thing has amazed me. I knew about the difference in gallon > size - I've met it professionally - but didn't realise that it meant > that pints were different as well. > >The reason for the 20 fl.oz. is simple. The weight of a pint of any > liquid depends on its specific gravity. One pint of water weighs 20 > ozs. Clearly if you wanted to add a specific volume of a liquid you > need a volumetric measurement, and don't want to have to worry about > S.G., so everything is compared to water. Ergo, 20 fl. ozs. to the > pint. > >Does anyone know the reasoning behind the US 16 fl. oz., then? > Its all generally a power of 2, 32 being a quart, 64 being 2 quarts, and 128= gallon here. Going the other way 8 oz is a cup, 1 oz is a tablespoon etc. >Anne -- Cheers, Gene "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order." -Ed Howdershelt (Author) Yahoo.com and AOL/TW attorneys please note, additions to the above message by Gene Heskett are: Copyright 2006 by Maurice Eugene Heskett, all rights reserved.
