On Thursday 26 October 2006 17:29, Gene Heskett wrote: > 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. Ok. That works the same way for the UK imperial gallon which equates with 160 fl oz's. The quart is 40 fl oz, the pint is 20 fl oz, and there is little difference between the US fl oz, and the UK imperial one. This site gave some insite on the origins of the US gallon, and the UK imperial gallon, which is the basis for this totally OT thread, which incidentally you started Gene, with that dal garned Canon A10 camera problem, and how it ever turned into a discussion on weights and measures I don't know, but perhaps I'm suffering from the affects of alu-alzheimer from drinking beer from alu cans. http://ts.nist.gov/WeightsAndMeasures/upload/appenb.pdf Page 6 is interesting, and shows the origin of the US, and the UK imperial gallon. According to this, the American colonists adopted the English wine gallon (231 cubic inches). Back in England the English used this gallon, and also the ale gallon (282 cubic inches) , but in 1824 dropped both of them, and set the the ne British Imperial gallon as the volume of 10 pounds of water at 62.4° F which equates with 277.42 cubic inches. Anyway whichever way you look at it, and I know I'm in France, but if you're in the UK you get more beer in your pint, than you do in the US. btw Gene. This alu-alzheimer thing. Is this serious? I drink my beer from alu cans, and don't particularly want to end up as a vegetable. Nigel.
