# What are 3.5 inch floppy disks called outside the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2004, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-3-5-inch-floppy-disks-called-outside-the-us/243612 "2004-05-05T09:57:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-3-5-inch-floppy-disks-called-outside-the-us/243612/21 "2004-05-05T17:04:53Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > … you can mention other systems without fear of a midnight visit from the secret weights and measures police. Damn right my weights and measurements are remaining secret! AHem, I mean - “what **Mangetout** said” ---
**Author:** ![Hugh\_G.Rekshun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@Hugh\_G.Rekshun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hugh_G.Rekshun)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-3-5-inch-floppy-disks-called-outside-the-us/243612/22 "2004-05-05T21:39:00Z")
A Royale with cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-3-5-inch-floppy-disks-called-outside-the-us/243612/23 "2004-05-05T21:48:35Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > A royale with cheese? > > C’mon, somebody had to say it. > [@Hugh G. Rekshun](#): > > A Royale with cheese. OK, I give; what is this referencing? Monty Python? Southpark? What? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-3-5-inch-floppy-disks-called-outside-the-us/243612/24 "2004-05-05T21:51:03Z")
Pulp Fiction…discussion of the quarter pounder in France, which is metric. ---
**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:** [May 5, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-3-5-inch-floppy-disks-called-outside-the-us/243612/25 "2004-05-05T22:37:59Z")
> [@nocturnal\_tick](#): > > So you would go into a computer store and ask the salesperson if he had a stiffy? For _real_ effect (and a broken nose), you could try “Do you have a three and an half inch stiffy?”. ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-3-5-inch-floppy-disks-called-outside-the-us/243612/26 "2004-05-05T23:27:17Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > to differentiate them from the 8" ones that no one remembers … so you’re saying an 8" stiffy is hard to come by? 😉 ---
**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:** [May 5, 2004, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-3-5-inch-floppy-disks-called-outside-the-us/243612/27 "2004-05-05T23:36:25Z")
That '8 inches ’ is a floppy measurement; I think this would be quite memorable as a stiffy. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-3-5-inch-floppy-disks-called-outside-the-us/243612/28 "2004-05-06T00:21:41Z")
I’m in the US, and I’ve heard them called “stiffies” before, but that was back in the days when your spankin new 386 had a stiffy and a floppy drive. Haven’t heard the term lately. While I salute your efforts to re-popularize the term, I’m afraid it may have already peaked. And by all means, please don’t restrict your juvenile humor to mere diskettes. There are plenty of other jokes to be made about computer hardware, the most obvious target of course being mouse balls (where’s that old mouse ball memo at…). ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-3-5-inch-floppy-disks-called-outside-the-us/243612/29 "2004-05-06T01:49:54Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > I’m in the US, and I’ve heard them called “stiffies” before, but that was back in the days when your spankin new 386 had a stiffy and a floppy drive. Haven’t heard the term lately. While I salute your efforts to re-popularize the term, I’m afraid it may have already peaked. Don’t forget the ad campaign for Zip drives when they first came out: **"Firm up your Floppy!"** ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-3-5-inch-floppy-disks-called-outside-the-us/243612/30 "2004-05-06T02:09:12Z")
Back when I taught Computer Literacy (pardon me while I shudder), so many students insisted on calling a 3.5" floppy a “hard disk” that I took action: On the first day of class, I would take a 3.5" floppy, rip it apart (taking care that the little spring didn’t fly off), and show them that the disk really was floppy. Any questions? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-3-5-inch-floppy-disks-called-outside-the-us/243612/31 "2004-05-06T02:15:43Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > “Obsolete”? 😉 > > Actually, I remember an alternative naming convention from here in the US, circa '86: 5.25" floppies were called minidisks (to differentiate them from the 8" ones that no one remembers) and the 3.5" variety were called microdisks. Come to think of it, I believe it was Sony that tried to publicize that convention. Guess it didn’t exactly catch on. I’ve got the vagueset of recollections of the ‘microdisk’ one - possible from the days of the BBC Micro. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-3-5-inch-floppy-disks-called-outside-the-us/243612.md?page=1)