# Why are grams so small? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2008, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436 "2008-11-06T12:06:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/61 "2008-11-07T14:10:56Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > As noted, a liter of beer is a nice round for two people… > [@](#): > > There was a shout of laughter, and the uneasiness caused by Winston’s entry seemed to disappear. The old man’s white-stubbled face had flushed pink. He turned away, muttering to himself, and bumped into Winston. Winston caught him gently by the arm. > > ‘May I offer you a drink?’ he said. > > ‘You’re a gent,’ said the other, straightening his shoulders again. He appeared not to have noticed Winston’s blue overalls. ‘Pint!’ he added aggressively to the barman. ‘Pint of wallop.’ > > The barman swished two half-litres of dark-brown beer into thick glasses which he had rinsed in a bucket under the counter. Beer was the only drink you could get in prole pubs. The proles were supposed not to drink gin, though in practice they could get hold of it easily enough. The game of darts was in full swing again, and the knot of men at the bar had begun talking about lottery tickets. Winston’s presence was forgotten for a moment. There was a deal table under the window where he and the old man could talk without fear of being overheard. It was horribly dangerous, but at any rate there was no telescreen in the room, a point he had made sure of as soon as he came in. > > ''E could ‘a drawed me off a pint,’ grumbled the old man as he settled down behind a glass. 'A 'alf litre ain’t enough. It don’t satisfy. And a ‘ole litre’s too much. It starts my bladder running. Let alone the price.’ George Orwell, _1984_ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/62 "2008-11-07T14:42:00Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > At sea yards, nautical miles and knots are far more useful than meters and kilometers when doing quick calculations. I was always taught in the Navy that there are exactly 2,000 yards in a nautical mile, but it turns out that the conversion is only approximate. According to this [cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautical_mile), a nautical mile is actually equivalent to exactly 1,852 meters (approximately 2,025.372 yards). ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/63 "2008-11-07T15:49:23Z")
> [@George Orwell](#): > > ''E could ‘a drawed me off a pint,’ grumbled the old man as he settled down behind a glass. 'A 'alf litre ain’t enough. It don’t satisfy. Well that’s odd. [George Orwell](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell) is English, and the scene seems to be set in England. An American pint is only 16 ounces, but a British pint is [20](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pint_glass), which is _more_ than a half-liter. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/64 "2008-11-07T16:09:21Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > Well that’s odd. [George Orwell](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell) is English, and the scene seems to be set in England. An American pint is only 16 ounces, but a British pint is [20](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pint_glass), which is _more_ than a half-liter. I think that’s the point: the character in **1984** thinks that a pint (568 ml) is a better size for a glass of beer than a half litre (500 ml). I suspect that it’s in part nostalgia for the good old days. (And that nostalgia is not irrational, given the economic shortages and the political repression in England under Big Brother). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/65 "2008-11-07T16:40:58Z")
> [@robby](#): > > I was always taught in the Navy that there are exactly 2,000 yards in a nautical mile, but it turns out that the conversion is only approximate. > > According to this [cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautical_mile), a nautical mile is actually equivalent to exactly 1,852 meters (approximately 2,025.372 yards). Sure, but on most nautical charts that’s an error smaller than your pencil lead (assuming you’re using a paper chart). Plenty close enough, and the advantage is that it synchronizes the yards with the knots and nautical miles in dead-reckoning calculations in the familiar three minute, six minute and sixty minute rules. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/66 "2008-11-07T16:56:38Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Moreover, at the exact same time (1795) that they were defining the basic weight unit, the gramme, as a cubic centimetre of water they were defining the basic volume unit, the litre, as a cubic **decimetre** of liquid. Centimetres for one, decimetres for another - this is bizarrely inconsistent, is it not? Throw in the Metric Tonne and the Hectare and you have the reasons why metric never caught on here in the states. Why trade one set of inconsistencies with another? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/67 "2008-11-07T17:11:11Z")
> [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](#): > > Which unit is 1/231 of which other unit? U.S. liquid gallon is legally defined as 231 cubic inches. ([Gallon - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallon)) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/68 "2008-11-07T17:26:27Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > You obviously don’t know what a gram of good hashish costs around here 🙂 1 ounce is about 28g, so one would assume “not very much”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/69 "2008-11-07T19:57:51Z")
> [@](#): > > (It’s a pity the “inch-mile” isn’t a standard unit of area: there’s exactly 99 of them in an acre. Likewise half a perch is 99 inches. We need more almost-but-not-quite decimalised units. ) Ooh, that’s a good one. I’ll have to remember that. One of my professors is fond of measuring the sugar for his tea in barn-megaparsecs (about .6 teaspoons). And, of course, American fuel economy is expressed in units of inverse area. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/70 "2008-11-07T22:11:34Z")
My WAG (which is partly confirmed by the link given in post #58) is that in the 1790s, it was far easier to produce/manufacture the Ur-Kilogram out of some (inert to heat as possible) metal (not water) with a precision of a few grams - than manufacture an Ur-gram out of metal with a precision of a few micro-grams, regardless if the gram was originally defined as cubic centimeter of water (because a cubic meter would’ve been to heavy). As the examples in this thread have shown, grams can be quite large for scientists, chemists, apothecaries, jeweliers (who still use carat, despite SI) etc., so the “too small to use” is only true for some groups of people. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/71 "2008-11-07T23:54:17Z")
Aren’t nautical miles based on longitudinal divisions? I thought I heard that somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/72 "2008-11-08T00:13:14Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Aren’t nautical miles based on longitudinal divisions? I thought I heard that somewhere. In fact, there are almost exactly 60 nautical miles in a degree of latitude (one NM per minute of latitude). However, this does not hold true for degrees of _longitude_, as these vary in size with latitude. One degree of longitude at the equator is a much longer distance than one degree of longitude near the north pole. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/73 "2008-11-08T00:56:17Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > Throw in the Metric Tonne and the Hectare and you have the reasons why metric never caught on here in the states. Why trade one set of inconsistencies with another? Can you explain the inconsistency that you perceive here. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/74 "2008-11-08T00:58:55Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > At this point in time I’d guess people use yards more often than feet. Yards are an accepted measurement in several sporting leagues and are crucial in marine navigation. At sea yards, nautical miles and knots are far more useful than meters and kilometers when doing quick calculations. So…How long is a knot ? ---
**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:** [November 8, 2008, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/75 "2008-11-08T01:01:33Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > Throw in the Metric Tonne and the Hectare and you have the reasons why metric never caught on here in the states. Why trade one set of inconsistencies with another? I don’t understand this either. Why would that not also be a reason for it not catching on everywhere else? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/76 "2008-11-08T02:45:00Z")
> [@wolfstu](#): > > In fact, there are almost exactly 60 nautical miles in a degree of latitude (one NM per minute of latitude). However, this does not hold true for degrees of _longitude_, as these vary in size with latitude. One degree of longitude at the equator is a much longer distance than one degree of longitude near the north pole. or 54 nautical miles in one gon of latitude. ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/77 "2008-11-08T03:21:50Z")
Canada chiming in here. Meat and produce are priced by the kilo. So are many other goods, not only foodstuffs. Gasoline is sold by the litre. Big items by the tonne. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/78 "2008-11-08T03:42:07Z")
What’s a gon? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/79 "2008-11-08T04:09:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What’s a gon? An angle that is 1/400th of a circle. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436/80 "2008-11-08T04:13:39Z")
> [@vison](#): > > Canada chiming in here. Meat and produce are priced by the kilo. So are many other goods, not only foodstuffs. Gasoline is sold by the litre. Big items by the tonne. Deli meats are sold by the 100 grams in British Columbia. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-grams-so-small/471436.md?page=5)