# Milestone or Kilometerstone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 25, 2023, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681 "2023-09-25T17:26:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/21 "2023-09-25T19:44:16Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > I think ships still use nautical miles for distance, so it still fits. Aircraft, too. Being 1/60 of a degree, using nautical miles makes navigators’ calculations a bit easier so they’ll be around for a while. In World of Warships gun caliber is given in millimeters and range in km but speed is still knots so it’s a mixed bag. You can install a mod that converts the guns to inches if you’re a diehard traditionalist. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/22 "2023-09-25T19:46:16Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Yeah, the only thing dumber than customers is liability disclaimers. 🤪 > > > **WARNING DANGER** : Heat is hot and can burn you. WARNING: oven may contain nuts (if you put nuts in it) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/23 "2023-09-25T19:48:11Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > WARNING: oven may contain nuts People with nut allergies should not eat this oven. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/24 "2023-09-25T19:48:54Z")
When I got weighed at a checkup in July, it was an old-fashioned balance scale that read in lbs. My stove reads in F (only, I believe) and is vintage 2013 like the building. There is a master thermostat in the LR that is in F only, but each of the other two BRs and baths has its own thermostat in C only. The master controls whether the air conditioning is on and the room controls turn on the baseboard heating or air. Everything else is metric only, although it could be different outside Quebec. I have driven only in Quebec and Ontario, but distances are in km only. Gas is sold by the liter (or is it litre?) I believe that road signs in the UK are still all in miles. There is a small mountain outside Zurich that at the top there is a display that it is at the local maximum (about 800 m above sea level, if I recall) and also gives the altitude in English feet, French Feet, German feet (and maybe also Italian feet), all different. I have read that England used to have dairymen’s pints, brewer’s pints, vintner’s pints, …, all different until some king standardized them. And, even then the British ounce was a few percent different from the US ounce (Canada used the former). ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/25 "2023-09-25T19:51:10Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Ovens and stoves are inherently dangerous, what with all the heat and maybe even open fire. So when your target market has the “common sense” of toddlers, you kinda need to do some CYA. I live in a hi-rise with 250(ish) units and they all have gas stoves. I think about what you just said a lot (it is a modern building though with sprinkler systems in every apartment so I am more likely to drown than burn). So far no problems at all. And, I have read, buildings with these sprinkler systems have never burned down. 🤞 ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/26 "2023-09-25T20:15:37Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > WARNING: oven may contain nuts Allergy warning: This user manual may have been written by nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/27 "2023-09-25T20:21:29Z")
As one who used to write user and other technical manuals, I can confidently say that you are correct. Seriously, a certain amount of what is in them is indeed a CYA liability-wise. Yes, they do contain instructions on how to use the machine (or whatever) to complete tasks, but alongside those will be warnings—everything from how to avoid injury to how to not void your warranty. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/28 "2023-09-25T20:30:35Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Indeed, only the US, Liberia and Myanmar still use the Imperial system Not quite. The Imperial system is a uniquely British version of the Foot/pounds/mile system. Aka **United States customary units** , for example, an Imperial Gallon is 154 ounces not 128. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/29 "2023-09-25T20:42:49Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Since we no longer place stones to mark distance, isn’t “stone” in the metaphor equally anachronistic? They are now made out of concrete, so… composite-material-distance-marker? [![](https://5.imimg.com/data5/BF/DC/MY-20518412/kilometer-stone-500x500.jpg) ](https://5.imimg.com/data5/BF/DC/MY-20518412/kilometer-stone-500x500.jpg) > [@hogarth](#): > > My wife grew up in a country (China) where inches, pounds, etc. were not used so she is much more familiar with metric units. Sometimes I half-heartedly translate idioms when I use them (e.g. “give him a centimeter and he’ll take a kilometer”, “a thousand-meter state”). It’s more or less pointless, though. Didn’t Lao Tzu write “千里之行，始於足下”? There are also a lot of famous poems mentioning these “里” ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/30 "2023-09-25T20:48:16Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > the altitude in English feet, French Feet, German feet (and maybe also Italian feet), all different The U.S. alone used to use, and perhaps still uses, survey miles, statute miles, and “international” miles, all different, plus who knows what else (not even counting nautical miles). I hope that American surveyors are not insane and now use metres, but old datums and coordinates don’t instantly go away. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/31 "2023-09-25T20:58:25Z")
Do not look up the unit of measure known as a “barrel”. Just don’t. You will be forever bewildered if you do. Some are tiny, some are ginormous. All are, or were, official units to measure some particular stuff in. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/32 "2023-09-25T22:17:54Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > > > Indeed, only the US, Liberia and Myanmar still use the Imperial system > > That’s commonly cited but not true. We still use miles in GB too. It was considered too expensive and too confusing to switch road distances to kilometres. Drivers measure fuel consumption in miles per gallon. even though they buy the fuel by the litre. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/33 "2023-09-25T22:39:49Z")
I’m going to settle this once and for all: > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Heat is hot and the ground is dry but the air is full of sound. RUN, you fools! Run from **The Evil Earworm**! Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/34 "2023-09-26T00:58:13Z")
Now, speak the lyrics as poetry using your worst William Shatner imitation. Earworm gone, though I can’t promise that you’ll still have any friends if anyone hears you doing this. And fer gosh sakes, don’t listen to yourself while you do it. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/35 "2023-09-26T01:31:58Z")
But now I can’t remember my name. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/36 "2023-09-26T01:38:59Z")
You and the horse you rode in on. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/37 "2023-09-26T13:21:04Z")
I bet you don’t remember the $50 you owe me, either; it’s a good thing I do. Pay up! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/38 "2023-09-26T13:40:14Z")
Webbing is expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/39 "2023-09-26T13:44:54Z")
I vaguely remember a SF novel where a minor plot point involved the Three Mile Island nuclear accident and few people knew that Mile was a until of distance in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681/40 "2023-09-27T01:26:08Z")
Barbados (which is thoroughly metric) has a town called “Mile and a Quarter”. I’ve heard no suggestion that it be changed to “Two Kilometers”. I think that’s the distance to Speightstown on the coast. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681.md?page=3)