# How much does a "stone" weigh? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 4, 2007, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647 "2007-01-04T04:32:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/1 "2007-01-04T04:32:49Z")
I’ve seen “stone” mentioned as a unit of weight recently. Just wondering what the converts to in pounds. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/2 "2007-01-04T04:38:40Z")
1 stone is equal to 14 pounds. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/3 "2007-01-04T04:39:56Z")
14 pounds ---
**Author:** ![Don26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@Don26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don26)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/4 "2007-01-04T04:45:37Z")
[Key Indicators Of Mold Problems - Keep Senses Open](http://www.aboutremediation.com/techdir/unit_conversion.asp) A handy conversion tool, lots of different measurements ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/5 "2007-01-04T04:51:56Z")
Thanks for the quick answers! ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/6 "2007-01-04T04:57:53Z")
google is really good for this. Searching for things like [1 stone in pounds](http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGGL,GGGL:2006-37,GGGL:en&q=1+stone+in+pounds). Gets you the google calculator which does all sorts of conversions. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/7 "2007-01-04T05:06:36Z")
It might be mentioned, however, that it is normally used only for giving the weights of people. One would not refer to a “stone of flour,” for example. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/8 "2007-01-04T05:21:31Z")
[QUOTE=Colibri] It might be mentioned, however, that it is normally used only for giving the weights of people. One would not refer to a “stone of flour,” for example. [/QUOTE] They used to. From [here](http://www.waterfordcountymuseum.org/exhibit/web/WAIVersion/article/85/;jsessionid=ECDA0B89F8E6789FED16FCE297FCD149?lang=en) > [@](#): > > Conditions for the poor in the surrounding area were even worse than the conditions tolerated by the paupers within the Workhouse. Mr Christian observed that many of the deaths occurring within the Workhouse were as a result of people gaining admission when they were beyond help. Following the robbery of 8 stone of flour from a cart bringing it from the Pouldrew Mills to the Workhouse in the early summer of 1847, all further deliveries were accompanied by a military escort. and > [@](#): > > Extensive correspondence between Mr. Christian and the Poor Law Commission at this time indicates that the Commission were not entirely happy with his performance as the Medical Officer when advising on house diet. In a defence of his position he attacked Indian-corn as the principle cause of dietary problems within the house. He also advocated more care be taken in the preparation of vegetable soup ’as a well fed people could best resist the threatened epidemic of cholera.’ This letter written in January 1849 also contained the following recipe for the Workhouse soup: > > ``` > Per 100 Gallons : > > 92 Gallons of Water > 69 lbs of Flour > 2½ Stone of Parsnips > 2½ Stone of Turnips > 7 lbs. of Beet > 7 lbs. of Onions > 14 Ounces of Pepper > 7½ lbs. of Salt > > ``` [Jane Austen Historic Recipes](http://www.printsgeorge.com/Jane_Austen-Historic%20Recipes.htm) > [@](#): > > 1. Mrs. J. Chennery’s Plum Cake. > **Take 1/2 a stone of flour** , well dry’d, 6 pounds of currants well wash’d pick’d and dry’d, one pound of raisins ston’d and cut small; then boil a quart of Cream, when you take it off the fire slice in almost two pounds of butter, cover it till the butter is melted, then take 1/2 a pint of Sack a gill of brandy and a Gill of orange flower water, the yolks of 16 eggs well beaten near a quart of very good ale yeast, 3/4 of an ounce of nutmegs, 1/2 an ounce of mace, one quarter of an ounce of cloves, a little salt, a pound of sugar; mix your sugar spice and salt in the flour, your Sack, Brandy and Orange flower water with your eggs, then put them to the yeast, stir them well together and run them thro’ a sieve into the flour and mix them all lightly together, then cover it and set it to the fire one quarter of an hour to rise and when your oven is ready straw in your raisins, currants and what sweetmeats you please, put it into a tin hoop, prick it with a skewer and bake it at discretion. Your flour and currants must be warm. Bolding mine ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/9 "2007-01-04T06:39:31Z")
Hey, there are probably some elderly people here who do still refer to, for instance, a stone of potatoes, well, assuming the said elderly people feels strong enough to carry that weight, I suppose. Although most weights have been metric in the U.K. for some time now, there are still plenty of people who think in terms of pounds etc, so stones is appropriate for things that tend to be heavy. I’m sure my mother, for example thinks in terms of pints of milks, pounds of sugar etc, even if what she actually buys in is litres or kilogrammes. Oh, not me, me is far too young. Believe that if you like. 😃 We do mostly still tend to use “stones” for people’s weights, though - sounds SO much more petite than when you do it in pounds. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/10 "2007-01-04T07:31:58Z")
[QUOTE=Celyn] Although most weights have been metric in the U.K. for some time now, there are still plenty of people who think in terms of pounds etc, so stones is appropriate for things that tend to be heavy. [/QUOTE] That’s because we still live in The Stone Age. Horse racing, a sport which has never embraced the metric system with any degree of enthusiasm, still uses the stone as a unit of weight. The runners listed in the morning line are described as carrying 11-7 (11 stones & 7 pounds) rather than 161 lb or the metric equivalent. This ties up with peoples’ weights since most of this handicap consists of the jockey, the rest being made up with lead. Oddly perhaps, if Horse A is considered 14 lb better than Horse B it is said to have a stone in hand. However, if Horse A is considered 16 lb superior to Horse B it is said to have 16 lb in hand rather than 1 st 2 lb. Thus the parlance can change according to context. While typing this post I have been listening to _Exile on Main Street_ by The Rolling Units of Fourteen Pounds. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/11 "2007-01-04T08:45:34Z")
As mentioned, potatoes are often sold in half stone, or stone bags in the UK and Ireland. I think Tesco’s may have plastic kilo bags for them now though. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/12 "2007-01-04T08:48:41Z")
Side note: the plural of stone (weight) is “stone”. At least venaculararilarily. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/13 "2007-01-04T09:00:53Z")
[QUOTE=gazpacho] google is really good for this. Searching for things like [1 stone in pounds](http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGGL,GGGL:2006-37,GGGL:en&q=1+stone+in+pounds). Gets you the google calculator which does all sorts of conversions. [/QUOTE] OTOH, as evidenced by the follow up post you submitted, sometimes it’s just easier to ask it here. That way I avoid determining which of thousands of results to start clicking, and just get a straightforward answer of “stone=14 pounds”. Google has its place. But every now and again an OP takes fewer keystrokes to get the answer. Plus people get to look smart by just answering a question. And really, wouldn’t you rather get credit for answering a question than Goolge? I tend to trust more what I read here in GQ than the results of keywords entered on a search engine. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/14 "2007-01-04T09:06:40Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] Side note: the plural of stone (weight) is “stone”. At least venaculararilarily. [/QUOTE] That much I knew. (Yay me for whatever it’s worth.) Now, in order to have full knowledge in being a pain in the ass when filling out a form asking for height/weight, what would an equally obscure measure of height be? Stone = 14 pounds. (English pound? What is the official name of the measurement?) So I weigh 17.1 stone. (Stone?) Standing at 6’ 4" what measurement can I use? Again, it’s unlikely I’ll actually use these measurements, but if I want to have a bit of fun with a government form or application, I’d like to have some flair in submitting something that will be dismissed. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/15 "2007-01-04T09:20:09Z")
[QUOTE=Pushkin] As mentioned, potatoes are often sold in half stone, or stone bags in the UK and Ireland. I think Tesco’s may have plastic kilo bags for them now though. [/QUOTE] Tesco sells bagged potatoes in multiples of 2.5KG - pretty much everything has to be labelled and sold in metric in the UK now, but you can sometimes find examples where it’s labelled and sold in metric, but clearly an imperial measure under the bonnet - for example, you might find potatoes in a farm shop in 6.3 kilo bags (6.3 kg is approximately half a stone) ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/16 "2007-01-04T09:28:41Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Tesco sells bagged potatoes in multiples of 2.5KG - pretty much everything has to be labelled and sold in metric in the UK now, but you can sometimes find examples where it’s labelled and sold in metric, but clearly an imperial measure under the bonnet - for example, you might find potatoes in a farm shop in 6.3 kilo bags (6.3 kg is approximately [del]half a[/del] one stone) [/QUOTE] TFTFY. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/17 "2007-01-04T09:30:04Z")
[QUOTE=duffer] Stone = 14 pounds. (English pound? What is the official name of the measurement?) [/quote] It’s “pound” here too - in “Imperial” (which is what you call “English”). Same as you. > [@](#): > > So I weigh 17.1 stone. (Stone?) It depends - by the 0.1, do you mean 1 pound, or 1.4 pounds? If the former, which is how it’s normally expressed, you’d say “17 stone 1 pound”. For personal weight measurements, the nearest pound is the finest measure used. > [@](#): > > Standing at 6’ 4" what measurement can I use? 193 cm. Or 1930 mm. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/18 "2007-01-04T09:30:38Z")
Oops. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/19 "2007-01-04T09:41:42Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] …in “Imperial” (which is what you call “English”)… [/QUOTE] You have to be a bit careful with that, because not all of the imperial units are the same size as their US ‘English’ counterparts; the ones I know about are: Imperial pint is approx. 1.2 US pint (Measures based on multiple pints - for example gallon, quart - are obviously subject to the same ratio) Imperial fluid ounce (of which there are 20 in an Imperial pint) is approx 0.96 US fluid ounce (of which there are 16 in a US pint) There might be others. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647/20 "2007-01-04T09:46:39Z")
Yes, but an imperial pound is the same as an “English” pound. Isn’t it? :self-doubts: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-stone-weigh/386647.md?page=2)