# Top Gear and miles **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 27, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195 "2010-07-27T16:17:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/21 "2010-07-28T10:29:44Z")
> [@Wallenstein](#): > > Basically we pick and choose which system we use, and quite often mix it together: Lyrics in British music are mostly in imperial measurements. Yards and miles just seem a lot more poetic somehow. “And I would walk 804 kilometres and I would walk 804 more” just doesn’t have the same ring to it. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/22 "2010-07-28T11:07:39Z")
A couple of corrections: Beagle 2 was not part of the Mars Climate Orbiter mission, in which the metric/imperial cock-up occurred. Beagle 2 was part of the European Mars Express mission, and its failure was not due to using imperial measurements. In soccer there is an 18-yard box (aka the penalty area) and a six-yard box, not line. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/23 "2010-07-28T11:19:12Z")
> [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](#): > > > [@Wallenstein](#): > > > > Basically we pick and choose which system we use, and quite often mix it together: > > Lyrics in British music are mostly in imperial measurements. Yards and miles just seem a lot more poetic somehow. > “And I would walk 804 kilometres and I would walk 804 more” just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Or Pete Townsend singing ‘I can see for kilometres and kilometres.’ ---
**Author:** ![sinical\_brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@sinical\_brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinical_brit)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/24 "2010-07-28T11:34:10Z")
I stand corrected Ximenean. Looks like you guys bolloxed that one up by yourselves ! ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/25 "2010-07-28T16:15:23Z")
> [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](#): > > > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > > > Americans are led to believe that Britain is, if not the center of the metric universe, then at least an enthusiastic adopter. > > This idea seems to crop up a lot on these boards and elsewhere. I’m interested in why exactly Americans are led to believe that. Who tells this odd rumour? In my opinion, the widespread perception in the US is that _everybody in the world_ except us has gone fully metric. Absent specific knowledge that a given place was _not_ fully metric, most Americans would presume that it was. Many Americans are unaware that the UK is such an exception. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/26 "2010-07-28T16:19:31Z")
That’s probably closest to the truth, actually. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/27 "2010-07-28T16:31:58Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > Or Pete Townsend singing ‘I can see for kilometres and kilometres.’ Useless trivia: John Entwistle recorded a jingle for BP with the lyrics, “100 miles of motorway, 100 miles to go.” ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/28 "2010-07-28T17:17:36Z")
Just to add that as a Brit, I do find it frustrating that we don’t seem able to commit wholeheartedly to one of the two systems. Typical British fudge. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/29 "2010-07-28T18:21:37Z")
Only one is a _system_. The other is a haphazard collection of largely unrelated measures which happen to be grouped under one heading because a royal decreed it so many moons past. A combination of metric and Imperial (or English) measurements is no sillier than using the Imperial system, except for the part where petrol is sold in litres but fuel economy is measured in miles per gallon. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/30 "2010-07-28T19:57:00Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > In soccer there is an 18-yard box (aka the penalty area) and a six-yard box, not line. Crikey… you can tell I’m a Liverpool fan! :o The penalty spot is 12 yrds out, between the 18 yard line and 6 yard box. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/31 "2010-07-28T22:21:59Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > Just to add that as a Brit, I do find it frustrating that we don’t seem able to commit wholeheartedly to one of the two systems. Typical British fudge. Really? I don’t see a problem with it. They aren’t two exclusive entities; we cna pick and choose at will. It works just fine. It’s not like we have to choose an “allegiance” or that either system will develop consciousness and become offended. I like that we just do what works for us. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/32 "2010-07-28T22:23:03Z")
> [@brad\_d](#): > > ]In my opinion, the widespread perception in the US is that _everybody in the world_ except us has gone fully metric. Well, yes - that’s clear. But why? Who is telling all these Americans this bizarre myth? And why? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/33 "2010-07-28T22:41:16Z")
It’s the Jews, obviously. Or possibly, Islamic militants. They hate our fluid ounces. ---
**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:** [July 28, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/34 "2010-07-28T22:50:26Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Americans are led to believe that Britain is, if not the center of the metric universe, then at least an enthusiastic adopter. In contexts where it really matters - science, engineering, medicine - we pretty much are full and committed adopters. It’s really just the bloke in the street that’s managed to hang on to some of the measures we’re all most comfy with - it’s quite democratic really. > [@](#): > > This is especially odd because Imperial measurements are referred to as “English measurements” over here. Odder still is that some ‘English’ units aren’t even the same size as their Imperial namesake in England. ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/35 "2010-07-28T22:51:35Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > > [@brad\_d](#): > > > > ]In my opinion, the widespread perception in the US is that _everybody in the world_ except us has gone fully metric. > > Well, yes - that’s clear. But why? Who is telling all these Americans this bizarre myth? And why? I can’t help you with the ‘why’ but I have seen images and articles [like this](http://clog.dailycal.org/tag/metric-system/) so many times I can’t remember. I’m not sure how accurate these images are, but they are so pervasive on the internet that it doesn’t surprise me that they are taken as gospel. ---
**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:** [July 28, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/36 "2010-07-28T22:53:48Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > Well, yes - that’s clear. But why? Who is telling all these Americans this bizarre myth? And why? I think it probably arises in argument, where sides tend to polarise and push each other to further extremes - the counterpoint being the ridiculous insistence that non-metric systems of measurement are every bit as simple to work with as metric, problems solely arising from unfamiliarity. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/37 "2010-07-28T23:03:42Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > Well, yes - that’s clear. But why? Who is telling all these Americans this bizarre myth? And why? I first had it drilled into my head back in elementary school. We learned about the metric system with a healthy side dish of “Get this into your thick skulls, because everyone else in the world already does this, so you better learn it and not embarrass America!” > [@Mangetout](#): > > In contexts where it really matters - science, engineering, medicine - we pretty much are full and committed adopters. It’s really just the bloke in the street that’s managed to hang on to some of the measures we’re all most comfy with - it’s quite democratic really. Actually, I’d say this is true in the US as well. I and all my fellow scienticians all use metric exclusively. I do think you hear metric more on British TV and radio than we do here in the US on things like cooking shows, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/38 "2010-07-28T23:24:06Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > > [@NineToTheSky](#): > > > > Just to add that as a Brit, I do find it frustrating that we don’t seem able to commit wholeheartedly to one of the two systems. Typical British fudge. > > Really? I don’t see a problem with it. They aren’t two exclusive entities; we cna pick and choose at will. It works just fine. > > It’s not like we have to choose an “allegiance” or that either system will develop consciousness and become offended. > > I like that we just do what works for us. I don’t. Any time two types of measurements meet, there’s unnecessary work to do and extra potential for error. Plus all the inherent problems with the imperial side of things (e.g. cubic inches to gallons requires another conversion). * * * I wish we’d just go completely metric. But I think it’s an ongoing process, being done slowly by stealth. e.g. I was surprised that my 11-year old neice only knew her height and weight in metric units. She didn’t even have a rough idea of what a foot or stone was; they simply hadn’t mentioned imperial measurements at all in school. ---
**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:** [July 28, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/39 "2010-07-28T23:47:05Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > I do think you hear metric more on British TV and radio than we do here in the US on things like cooking shows, though. We measure our ingredients differently - most kitchens in the UK (at least most where cakes are ever made) will have a set of scales in use - and those scales will almost certainly be graduated in both metric and imperial. I cook and bake a lot - I’ve got measuring cups, but I hardly use them. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195/40 "2010-07-29T04:53:10Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > > [@Candyman74](#): > > > > Well, yes - that’s clear. But why? Who is telling all these Americans this bizarre myth? And why? > > I first had it drilled into my head back in elementary school. We learned about the metric system with a healthy side dish of “Get this into your thick skulls, because everyone else in the world already does this, so you better learn it and not embarrass America!” Also, we’re going to go metric. Yep, any day now. Aaany day. All them speed limit signs in mph will be in km/hr, all those cans and bottles of soda that have been dual-labeled for decades will go solely to liters and milliliters, and if you don’t know how many centimeters tall you are and how many millimeters your waist is and how many decigrams you weigh, well, you’ll have to go in for retraining at a Metric Re-Education [del]Center[/del] Centre, just like the Canadians. American schools have been saying this to every generation of third graders since the 1970s, with many using the same textbooks since the tradition began. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-and-miles/548195.md?page=3)