# Only letters are letters! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 19, 2005, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897 "2005-06-19T07:23:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2005, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/21 "2005-06-19T15:12:49Z")
> [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](#): > > If you spell microsoft like **Miscro$oft** , stop. That’s right. It’s “Micro$oft.” ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/22 "2005-06-19T15:19:11Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > Ummm…possibly because I has no idea what ‘cwt’ means. I used St (stones) because that is what I grew up with. I ‘should’ know what my weight is in kg’s but stones and pounds make more sense to me. Actually, I was just riffing on your British heritage. Not one person in a 100 in the U.S. would understand cwt, either. We use ozs., lbs., and tons (one N, no E) and are wholly baffled by _g_s, _kg_s, stones, cwt, and other “foreign” measurements. (The first time I ever encountered cwt was in an article on the British Army (the Desert Rats, specifically), using American Chevy 15 cwt lorries, which confused the heck out of me until I figured out they were talking about Chevy 3/4 ton trucks.) ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2005, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/23 "2005-06-19T15:26:58Z")
Even though Australia is almost completely metric in its usage, i know many Australians, even ones young enough to have grown up with the metric system, who still use stone as the unit of measure when referring to body weight. It’s very odd. For those who haven’t worked it out, a stone is 14lbs. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/24 "2005-06-19T15:31:18Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Actually, I was just riffing on your British heritage. Oppps. You should have given me a wink. I admitted I was part of the troublesome cross over generation [read CONFUSED]. 🙂 If you told me that ‘squiggly-wiggly’ was the new weight, I would still be doing st’s and lb’s. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/25 "2005-06-19T15:40:10Z")
We still have Piggly Wiggly grocery stores here. Well, one. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/26 "2005-06-19T16:01:01Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > We still have Piggly Wiggly grocery stores here. Well, one. Made of brick, I’d assume. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2005, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/27 "2005-06-19T17:46:28Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > _(I’m guessing **calm kiwi** ’s mum weighed 101 lbs., but I don’t know why she didn’t just say 1.01 cwt like everyone else.)_ Except isn’t a hundredweight in the UK and Commonwealth 112 lbs, not 100 lbs? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/28 "2005-06-19T18:11:58Z")
> [@villa](#): > > Except isn’t a hundredweight in the UK and Commonwealth 112 lbs, not 100 lbs? That is certainly possible. As noted, it rarely appears among U.S. weights and measures in any event and I would not be surprised to discover that they have inflated their weights the way they have inflated their volumes. 😉 * * * On review, I find that the Brits do use the term “hundredweight” to mean “hundredtwelveweight.” ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/29 "2005-06-19T18:13:06Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > There are a series of symbols that stand for **words** (not letters, as in Leetish) which are legitimate for informal or business English: > @ = at > $ = dollar(s) > % = percent(age) > & = and > > - = and/plus > § = section > ¢ = cent(s) > ¥ = yen(s) > ¶ = paragraph So I can ¥ 4 $ & ¢ @ this § of the ¶? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/30 "2005-06-19T18:54:36Z")
**kidchameleon** , € nut. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/31 "2005-06-19T19:11:44Z")
> [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](#): > > “Leet speak” is a _lunguage_ used by the weak. And Gaudere’s Law strikes again :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/32 "2005-06-19T20:26:58Z")
> [@Tapioca Dextrin](#): > > And Gudere’s Law striekks agin :smack: This post has been Ironied by the **Ironer!** ---
**Author:** ![Hamadryad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6de8d8/32.png) [@Hamadryad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamadryad)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/33 "2005-06-20T12:23:18Z")
I disagree that 13375p34k is totally without merit. I h4v3 b33n kn0wn to use 13375p34k on occasion, but I don’t f33l th47 i7’5 a r3f13c7i0n on my 1n73llig4nc3 wh3n I do. Th3n 4g41n I 73nd t0 57ick wi7h l3773r 5u85717u710n and n07 c0mpl373 r35p3llin95. W3ll, 3xc3pt wh3n I c411 my m3dic4710n “3ff3xx0r.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/34 "2005-06-20T12:55:54Z")
[del]I disagree that 13375p34k is totally without merit. I h4v3 b33n kn0wn to use 13375p34k on occasion, but I don’t f33l th47 i7’5 a r3f13c7i0n on my 1n73llig4nc3 wh3n I do. Th3n 4g41n I 73nd t0 57ick wi7h l3773r 5u85717u710n and n07 c0mpl373 r35p3llin95. W3ll, 3xc3pt wh3n I c411 my m3dic4710n “3ff3xx0r.” :D[/del] I disagree that leetspeak is totally without merit. I have been known to use leetspeak on occasion, but I don’t feel that it’s a reflection on my intelligance when I do. Then again I tend to stick with letter substitution and not complete respellings. Well, except when I call my medication “effexor.” Also, I am the bigest idiot ever. 😃 ::Randal, that’s not how it happend either!:: ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/35 "2005-06-20T13:51:08Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > That is certainly possible. As noted, it rarely appears among U.S. weights and measures in any event and I would not be surprised to discover that they have inflated their weights the way they have inflated their volumes. 😉 > > * * * > > On review, I find that the Brits do use the term “hundredweight” to mean “hundredtwelveweight.” The English hundredweight is 112 lbs because that’s eight stone. Makes perfect sense. Plus there’s two different hundred weight: the English hundredweight of 112 lbs, and an American hundredweight of 100 lbs, also used in Canada. Obviously, here in North America we are limited by our mundane insistence on literalness, as opposed to the English tradition of whimsy. (And we won’t get into a discussion of long tons and short tons and metric tonnes…) From Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > Hundred weight or hundredweight is a unit of measurement for mass in both the system of measurement used in the United Kingdom and Ireland (and previously throughout the British Commonwealth), and in the system used in the United States. However, its definition differs in the two systems. > > ``` > * In Imperial units, a hundredweight is defined as 112 pounds avoirdupois, or 8 stone, or four quarters. This is so close to 50 kg that the transition to metric equivalents has been easy. It has now been legally defined in Britain as 50.80234544 kg. > * In U.S. customary units, a hundredweight is defined as 100 pounds. The short hundredweight is also the normal hundredweight in Canada. > o The short hundredweight is also called a cental (which never means a long hundredweight), especially in places which normally use the long hundredweight. See Conversion of units#Mass > > ``` > > In both systems, there are twenty hundredweights to a ton – the long ton of 2240 pounds (approximately equal to a metric tonne), and the short ton of 2000 pounds. In both systems, the hundredweight is abbreviated cwt, where wt is an abbreviation for weight and c is an abbreviation for one hundred (since the Roman numeral C is equal to 100). > > Prior to the 15th century in England, a hundredweight used the old hundred of 108 lb, giving a ton of 2160 pounds. In some industries (notably forges) this old hundred was retained somewhat longer. The London hundredweight of 112 pounds eventually replaced the old hundred. > > The short hundredweight is commonly used in the sale of livestock and some cereal grains and oilseeds and in the exchange of futures. The long hundredweight is now little used in any country. In the UK and Ireland, the few household commodities that were commonly sold by the hundredweight, such as coal and some building materials, are now sold in 50 kg quantities. For most purposes metric units are now in use in both the UK and Ireland, while other Commonwealth countries have adopted the metric system in full. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/36 "2005-06-20T14:03:13Z")
So how come a stone is 14 lbs? That doesn’t divide evenly with anything. It’s not easy to divide anything by 14. If it were 10, it’d work fine. 12 even, since we have to work with eggs and clocks. 16 ounces is a pound. But 14? That’s just weird. 140 lbs is easy enough to figure out, but how about something like 783? Do English weight scales divide in 14 parts? Is it because money already took “pounds” as a term and the English had to come up with some other word for weight? Hey I know, we used to pound the heretics, but before that we stoned them. I think pounding somebody 14 times equals stoning them once. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/37 "2005-06-20T15:09:38Z")
> [@Knowed Out](#): > > Is it because money already took “pounds” as a term and the English had to come up with some other word for weight? No, it’s because the English are, well, you know… _English_. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/38 "2005-06-20T16:45:19Z")
> [@](#): > > The English hundredweight is 112 lbs because that’s eight stone. Makes perfect sense. Sure, an odd unit of measurement (14 lb. stone) multiplied eight times (not ten in accord with the fingers on our hands or twelve to match hours or months, but eight that has no especial meaning in any other counting system) gives us a unit of measure that ignores the meaning of the word used and that makes “perfect sense.” (The whimsy aspect I will buy.) ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@matt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/39 "2005-06-20T17:19:20Z")
> [@Knowed Out](#): > > So how come a stone is 14 lbs? It’s to inflict a degree of mental discipline upon the populace. This is the attitude that won us an Empire, you know! ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897/40 "2005-06-20T20:00:59Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > That’s right. > > It’s “Micro$oft.” I prefer “Microsquish”, and I’m a Windows user. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-letters-are-letters/308897.md?page=3)