# I know I shouldn't but this has been bugging me all day **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 6, 2002, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-i-shouldnt-but-this-has-been-bugging-me-all-day/135522 "2002-11-06T08:18:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![blur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dbc845/32.png) [@blur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blur)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2002, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-i-shouldnt-but-this-has-been-bugging-me-all-day/135522/61 "2002-11-07T20:47:22Z")
Ahhhhh! Thats what I get for not previewing. What I meant that 2nd sentence to say is: You finish 7/8ths of the first beer, equalling one serving. That means its time to order a new one. The other 1/8th isn’t for leaving, its for sipping while you await a fresh beer. ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-i-shouldnt-but-this-has-been-bugging-me-all-day/135522/62 "2002-11-08T05:49:44Z")
I’d like a rules clarification, please, your honor… > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **jjimm** _: > **…I changed “a stone and a half” to “24 lbs” for US consumption, because we still use archaic measures for weight (a stone is 14 lbs)…** Erm, if a stone annahalf is 24 lbs, then a stone oughtta be 16 lbs; if a stone is 14lbs, then a stone annahalf would be 21lbs. So, which is it? [sub]No, I’m not nitpicking, I actually have no clue what a stone, as a measurement of weight, actually is. And I’m still confused after the explanation.[/sub] 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-i-shouldnt-but-this-has-been-bugging-me-all-day/135522/63 "2002-11-08T09:20:12Z")
The answer is “a stone and a half” is just a rough estimate, said in a less-than-accurate conversational manner. “24 lbs” would sound like I’m being anal, because Irish and British people talk about weight in stones. I guess it’d be like saying “the store is 1.78 miles down the road” rather than saying “'bout a a mile and a half down the road”. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-i-shouldnt-but-this-has-been-bugging-me-all-day/135522/64 "2002-11-08T09:22:32Z")
BTW I should clarify - we talk about _a person’s_ weight in stones. Pretty much everything else, we use kilos and grammes. Oh, and a stone is indeed 14 lbs. ---
**Author:** ![manwithaplan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@manwithaplan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manwithaplan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-i-shouldnt-but-this-has-been-bugging-me-all-day/135522/65 "2002-11-08T13:08:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > \*\*BTW I should clarify - we talk about _a person’s_ weight in stones. Pretty much everything else, we use kilos and grammes. > > Oh, and a stone is indeed 14 lbs. \*\* I don’t know if I would agree with that. A four stone bag of spuds, a pound of tomatoes etc. etc. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-i-shouldnt-but-this-has-been-bugging-me-all-day/135522/66 "2002-11-08T13:59:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by manwithaplan \* > \*\*I don’t know if I would agree with that. A four stone bag of spuds, a pound of tomatoes etc. etc. \*\* I would never buy a pound of tomatoes - 500g or a kilo or whatever. YMMV. And since I never buy enough potatoes to feed Napoleon’s army, I didn’t know this. But then I’m not Irish. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-i-shouldnt-but-this-has-been-bugging-me-all-day/135522/67 "2002-11-08T14:32:30Z")
Outside of a restaurant, who would buy a 56lb bags of pototoes? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-i-shouldnt-but-this-has-been-bugging-me-all-day/135522/68 "2002-11-08T16:28:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gary Kumquat \* > \*\*Outside of a restaurant, who would buy a 56lb bags of pototoes? \*\* Irish people. ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2002, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-i-shouldnt-but-this-has-been-bugging-me-all-day/135522/69 "2002-11-09T13:33:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > > > [@](#): > > > > _Originally posted by Gary Kumquat_ > > Outside of a restaurant, who would buy a 56lb bags of pototoes? > > **Irish people.** But who would buy a 56lb bag inside a restaurant? And is there an official stone, or do you all have your own? I’d think a stone’s throw would be really short there, and hitting two birds with one stone would require some dumb birds. I can’t decide if leaving no stone unturned would be more difficult, due to the weight, or less, due to the fewer number of stones. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-i-shouldnt-but-this-has-been-bugging-me-all-day/135522.md?page=3)