# What measurements are not done metrically in the EU? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 28, 2001, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-measurements-are-not-done-metrically-in-the-eu/84323 "2001-09-28T15:56:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-measurements-are-not-done-metrically-in-the-eu/84323/41 "2001-10-01T14:06:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \*\*\* > Many things sold in boxes are presented in dozens sinply because it’s easier to pack them that way - 3x4 is a nice, manageable shape (although egg boxes are often 2x6 which might as well be 2x5, but the first producer to pack them this way will lose trade, as people will think they are getting less for their money) > \*\* I buy my eggs in France, and they have them in various size boxes, notably 2x3, 2x4, 2x5 and the ubiquitious 2x6. Me, I prefer the 2x5, which fits nicelly on the shelf. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \*\*\* > There was a ‘new’ method of grading the sizes of eggs introduced a number of years back; sizes 1 to 5 with 1 being the largest (IIRC), but we seem to have reverted back to Small, Medium, Large, which makes much more sense. > \*\* In France the eggs are labeled ‘Petit’, ‘Moyen’ and ‘Gross’, but they also have the weight in grams written underneath. (I believe that ‘Gross’ corresponds to \>56g.) ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-measurements-are-not-done-metrically-in-the-eu/84323/42 "2001-10-01T14:15:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*Originally posted by Another Primate \*\* > _I remember when dime bags went up to $15, and we all squawked. (However, the quality had improved, too, so the trade-off wasn’t bad.) That was in the mid-seventies. **Now an ounce is over $100, I think**. And I’ll bet quality is down; ain’t that the way of things?_ Green-eyed monster checking in. ☹ Oh. No green then. OK, I’ll use the blue one with black eyes. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-measurements-are-not-done-metrically-in-the-eu/84323/43 "2001-10-01T14:49:27Z")
Couple of questions– Is there a metric measurement for time? I have a pyrex mixing bowl at home. One side is marked in metric, the other in English. The metric measure is 1 liter. The English measure is 1 quart. If I look through the pyrex from one side to the other, I see that the 1 quart line matches up with the 1 liter line. One of these is wrong, right? ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-measurements-are-not-done-metrically-in-the-eu/84323/44 "2001-10-01T14:58:21Z")
yup. Two (UK)pints equals 1.14 litres. A diffrence of 4.73 fl ozs, or nearly 12.5% ---
**Author:** ![Forbin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5e9695/32.png) [@Forbin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Forbin)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-measurements-are-not-done-metrically-in-the-eu/84323/45 "2001-10-02T04:23:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Threadkiller \* > **Time.** I new a german guy who demanded that his employees work in metric time… It was always a hoot to hear him recite(in his **Cherman** accent) “Each day is ten hours long…and each hour contains one hundred minutes…and each minute contains one hundred seconds” ---
**Author:** ![TheThill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheThill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheThill)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-measurements-are-not-done-metrically-in-the-eu/84323/46 "2001-10-02T23:08:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by milo\_minderbinder \* > \*\* BTW I think the only people in the world who still talk about displacement of an engine in cubic inches are you tax evading traitors over there (Hey, TheThrill started it!). > \*\* Assuming you mean me (if you look, you will see that there is no r in my screen name), what did I start? I don’t even know what you’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![blackmonday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/53a042/32.png) [@blackmonday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blackmonday)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2001, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-measurements-are-not-done-metrically-in-the-eu/84323/47 "2001-10-03T02:48:18Z")
Stuff like carats will never change, because there’s never a reason to convert them to other units. The carat is actually not a good “quantity” of gems, because they are not priced in a linear fashion. Two carats is worth 4-5 times what one carat is. And even different one carat gems are not related directly in price, but are subject to vague ideas about what’s a good defect. ---
**Author:** ![milo\_minderbinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@milo\_minderbinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milo_minderbinder)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2001, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-measurements-are-not-done-metrically-in-the-eu/84323/48 "2001-10-03T13:38:14Z")
_Originally posted by TheThill_ > [@](#): > > Assuming you mean me (if you look, you will see that there is no r in my screen name), what did I start? I don’t even know what you’re talking about. \*\* This: > [@](#): > > Is the UK still in the EU? I’d hardly have noticed. 😉 Just a joke on my part. It might have worked out better if I had read your post a little more carefully and realised that you’re German and not American as I had thought. I might even have got your name right. :o milo [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-measurements-are-not-done-metrically-in-the-eu/84323.md?page=2)