The metric system

[Trojan]

I know Union went metric in the eighties - the 25 yard line became the 22 metre line. We went metric in the nineties - the 25 yard line became the 20 metre line - we also have the 40 and 10 metre line.

But I was watching the Soccer world cup tonight, and the commentators were talking about the 18 yard line and the 12 yards from the penalty spot to the goal.

I presume from this that soccer - the really global game is still using imperial measurements. Why aren't we? (not that I've anything against the metric system - I'm just curious)

[steef]

The imperial system isn't even taught in schools anymore, its just football being stuck behind the times once again. on a side note the situation in Britain where both metric and imperial are used is pathetic.

[Northern Sol]

The Imperial system suits FIFA down to the ground as it is outdated and impossible to understand.

[Trojan]

The imperial system isn't even taught in schools anymore, its just football being stuck behind the times once again. on a side note the situation in Britain where both metric and imperial are used is pathetic.

I'm afraid the business I've been in are guilty of mixing systems e.g. 5/8" x 54m bolts. The reason is that the bolts are manufactured in either Italy or the Far East, but the bolt diameter is largely defined by American manufacturers who tend to dominate in this particular sphere.

But my question hasn't been answered.

The rules and pitch markings for all three major UK football games were formulated in this country and yet only soccer still use imperial. I would guess that in the case of Union it was the NZ influence and in the case of League the Oz influence -but if this is so, why is cricket still using 22 yard pitches instead of 20.12 metres?

[Northern Sol]

I'm afraid the business I've been in are guilty of mixing systems e.g. 5/8" x 54m bolts. The reason is that the bolts are manufactured in either Italy or the Far East, but the bolt diameter is largely defined by American manufacturers who tend to dominate in this particular sphere.

But my question hasn't been answered.

The rules and pitch markings for all three major UK football games were formulated in this country and yet only soccer still use imperial. I would guess that in the case of Union it was the NZ influence and in the case of League the Oz influence -but if this is so, why is cricket still using 22 yard pitches instead of 20.12 metres?

I would have thought the French influence was more important.

I would imagine that both rugby codes went metric in a bid to become "international" whilst soccer didn't need to do so since it was already global; cricket had no desire to be more than a commonwealth club.

[bowes]

I would guess that in the case of Union it was the NZ influence

It's the combined influence of France, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa I'd have thought. NZ alone wouldn't have that much influence

[Trojan]

I would have thought the French influence was more important.

I would imagine that both rugby codes went metric in a bid to become "international" whilst soccer didn't need to do so since it was already global; cricket had no desire to be more than a commonwealth club.

mmm probably so. ta.

[Derwent]

I assume that part of the reason for soccer sticking with 12 yards is the penalty spot. It must be easier for a groundsman to measure 12 yards than 10.9723 metres to mark the spot properly.

[Padge]

Go to some research Troje.

Since 2008 FIFA has stipulated football pitch measurements in metres as the primary measurement.

Commentators may talk in yards, but most of them are olf farts like yourself who can't cope with the modern world.

[Trojan]

Go to some research Troje.

Since 2008 FIFA has stipulated football pitch measurements in metres as the primary measurement.

Commentators may talk in yards, but most of them are olf farts like yourself who can't cope with the modern world.

I've been using the metric system at work since the late seventies - it's much easier to take accurate measurements in mm than fractions of an inch. However, I've not yet discovered a metric way to measure the age of my farts. Yesterday's after saurkraut with my meal were fairly spectacular though but I'm not sure how old they were

[bobrock]

In Italy the six-yards box is simply called "goal keeper box", the box ( or 18 yards box ) is called "penalty box" and many don't even know it's 16 metres, the penalty spot is 11 metres ( = 12 yds ) from the goal line so no problem, and every boy knows that the distance on the free kick must be 9.15 metres and has little of no idea why is such a "strange" number. The dimensions of the ground can be different, but some things must be the same everywhere. I can't see any problem if english people tend to say "10 yards" instead of "9.15 metres".

[JWAD]

Its metric because thats what everyone outside the UK and US is using.

Edit: except of course the aviation industry which is probably due to the accident risk in the event of a changeover.

Edited July 12, 2010 by JWAD

[Bulliac]

Its metric because thats what everyone outside the UK and US is using.

Edit: except of course the aviation industry which is probably due to the accident risk in the event of a changeover.

Strangely, speaking about getting mixed up, I remember a good few years back watching, I think it might have Bradford Northern back then, playing against the, again it was probably the London Crusaders at the time, at the Valley, their then home at Charlton and, of course, a soccer ground. After a while I noticed that something seemed a bit strange, then I realised what; unlike at other shared grounds where the ten metre line was around half a metre beyond the still visible ten yard centre circle used for the soccer matches, here it clearly just clipped the edge of the circle.

The groundsman, used to feet and inches, had obviously done the metric lines in imperial. I remember mentioning it on the boards at the time, thinking that maybe someone would maybe tell him, but later in the year watching a game on TV it was just the same.

[Northern Sol]

Its metric because thats what everyone outside the UK and US is using.

Edit: except of course the aviation industry which is probably due to the accident risk in the event of a changeover.

Various militaries seem to use it as well.

[Trojan]

Various militaries seem to use it as well.

I think Caterpillar (the American company I referred to) are finally coming to terms with the metric system. But there are thousands (maybe millions) of their machines where everything is an imperial size. Except of course for capacities - the American gallon and quart are different to ours.

There was a joke on Frasier, where in order to celebrate independence day, Daphne (who's English) and a few of her English mates were getting together for an American style evening including "not using the metric system"

[Bulliac]

I think Caterpillar (the American company I referred to) are finally coming to terms with the metric system. But there are thousands (maybe millions) of their machines where everything is an imperial size. Except of course for capacities - the American gallon and quart are different to ours.

There was a joke on Frasier, where in order to celebrate independence day, Daphne (who's English) and a few of her English mates were getting together for an American style evening including "not using the metric system"

Of course the Yanks never quite got into using either yards or stones, which means that when they tell you something, you still have to work out how far/heavy something is before you can visualise it.

[petero]

The fallacy of metrication being a more accurate system is just that.

A couple of French mathematicians measured out a distance between the South coast of France and Paris and made it fit to the requirements of that countries dictator Napolean!

Simply because he was obsessed with the number ten. That is fact the system does not fit totally accurately.

The Kilometre is very flawed and was fitted to requirements in its origins, rather than the other way round.

Sorry for not conforming with modernity but something that served this country adequetly and much of the rest of the world for well in excess of 1500 years and still does in yankeeland, does deserve a little better than being ridiculed in favour of what is a popularity system and European AKA modern...............................tosh.

When a gallon was such we had reasonable petrol rises and in many other spheres also, metrication was an aberation to consumers and always will be.

And; I do not have any answer to the starters question.

[Northern Sol]

You are wrong about "always will be". I'm in my mid-30s and never did any Imperial at school. The only time I recall it being mentioned was when we were taught how to convert out of it.

I only bothered to learn how many inches were in a foot etc because metric meant nothing to my parents and I had to communicate with them. I can't see either of my kids bothering with it because there is just no need.

I expect we'll keep pints and miles as a relic but the rest is very fast becoming history.

[Methven Hornet]

You are wrong about "always will be". I'm in my mid-30s and never did any Imperial at school. The only time I recall it being mentioned was when we were taught how to convert out of it.

I only bothered to learn how many inches were in a foot etc because metric meant nothing to my parents and I had to communicate with them. I can't see either of my kids bothering with it because there is just no need.

I expect we'll keep pints and miles as a relic but the rest is very fast becoming history.

I'm in my early fifties and went through all the learning of how add, subtract, etc in the imperial system before going to secondary and using metric from then on.

Kind of a waste of time but at least I'll be able to handle time travel when it's introduced!

[Trojan]

The fallacy of metrication being a more accurate system is just that.

Not more accurate - just easier to measure in mm. than in fractions of an inch.

[Bulliac]

You are wrong about "always will be". I'm in my mid-30s and never did any Imperial at school. The only time I recall it being mentioned was when we were taught how to convert out of it.

I only bothered to learn how many inches were in a foot etc because metric meant nothing to my parents and I had to communicate with them. I can't see either of my kids bothering with it because there is just no need.

I expect we'll keep pints and miles as a relic but the rest is very fast becoming history.

When I was at school (I left in 1964) we did both. I went into textile engineering during the change over period, moving from the old whitworth stuff to metric. I'll never forget the old guy (he was about as old as I am now!) saying that something was about three sixteenths (of an inch) over three hundred millimetres.

I'm still surprised today when young kids tell you their height and weight using imperial, or describe lengths using yards and feet, I really thought it would have died out by now with young people, though I guess as you mention, they might have much older relatives who still use it. The biggest surprise over the last few years though was going to a builders' merchant wanting some posts two metres long and the nearest they could do was six feet.

[Bulliac]

The fallacy of metrication being a more accurate system is just that.

A couple of French mathematicians measured out a distance between the South coast of France and Paris and made it fit to the requirements of that countries dictator Napolean!

Simply because he was obsessed with the number ten. That is fact the system does not fit totally accurately.

The Kilometre is very flawed and was fitted to requirements in its origins, rather than the other way round.

Sorry for not conforming with modernity but something that served this country adequetly and much of the rest of the world for well in excess of 1500 years and still does in yankeeland, does deserve a little better than being ridiculed in favour of what is a popularity system and European AKA modern...............................tosh.

When a gallon was such we had reasonable petrol rises and in many other spheres also, metrication was an aberation to consumers and always will be.

And; I do not have any answer to the starters question.

I agree that it's no more accurate than any other system. Ultimately any system is only as accurate as the guy with the ruler. It's also true that the original metre was calculated wrongly, apparently when they did the measurement from Paris they forgot to allow for the curvature of the Earth, so the metre was short, and had to be re-calculated. I'm don't know why they bothered to be honest, the only important factor was that everyone used the same measure.

Just one final point: the metric system isn't really French. In fact it was discussed in England around a hundred years before the French set up their system. Being British, of course, we were having none of it, and turned it down, and only joined, in our normal tardy fashion, many years later; in similar vein to the Gregorian calendar and European Union.

[Blind side johnny]

The fallacy of metrication being a more accurate system is just that.

A couple of French mathematicians measured out a distance between the South coast of France and Paris and made it fit to the requirements of that countries dictator Napolean!

Simply because he was obsessed with the number ten. That is fact the system does not fit totally accurately.

The Kilometre is very flawed and was fitted to requirements in its origins, rather than the other way round.

Sorry for not conforming with modernity but something that served this country adequetly and much of the rest of the world for well in excess of 1500 years and still does in yankeeland, does deserve a little better than being ridiculed in favour of what is a popularity system and European AKA modern...............................tosh.

When a gallon was such we had reasonable petrol rises and in many other spheres also, metrication was an aberation to consumers and always will be.

And; I do not have any answer to the starters question.

..................and don't get him going on scrummaging!!

:P

[CrushersForever]

I'm in my early fifties and went through all the learning of how add, subtract, etc in the imperial system before going to secondary and using metric from then on.

Kind of a waste of time but at least I'll be able to handle time travel when it's introduced!

All measurements relating to time travel are going to be imperial. It's far easier to remember that you have to get your DeLorean going 88 miles per hour than 141.622272 kilometres per hour.