on 10/4/01 7:04 pm, Elida at elida@signature.cc wrote: > Hi listers, > I live in the USA. Now and then I read a little of the "London Times" > on-line. Today there is an interesting article about a grocer who got in > trouble for selling bananas by the pound. > > I tried a search for the EU (European Union) on google.com and am more > confused about the EU - they have an office in my Washington, DC, USA. Would > this be like an ambassador's office? > > I don't mean to offend anyone by my questions, but is the term "Great Britian" > no longer to be used? If I can still refer to Great Britian, what is it now? > > What is the "United Kingdom". Is this the term which has replaced the use of > "Great Britian"? > > I notice when my Public Broadcasting TV has a cooking show from England the > recipes are not in metric system quantities. Are most cookbooks in England > and Wales using metric system amounts? If not, why did the grocer do wrong by > selling bananas by the pound? > > The average American citizen has firmly refused the use of metric system > measurements - me included. > > Elida in South Carolina Hi Elida I don't know the answer to the EU question, except I think you're right regarding it being like an ambassador's office. We Brits live in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and I'm not going to enter into any discussion about the latter place. We have been forced into using the metric system, but in the usual British fashion it's a pig's ear - we can still buy "fresh" milk in pints, but long-life milk is sold in litres. We can buy jam (US jelly) in pounds. Nearly everything else is sold by metric weight. Draught beer in pubs is sold in pints. Bottled/canned beer in supermarkets is sold in metric. Timber (lumber) is sold in metric lengths, but the cross sections are still based on imperial - for example, 4 by 2 has become 100 (mm) by 50 (mm). I go into my local supermarket and ask for half a pound of cheddar cheese, and they give me approximately 250 grammes in return. No problem. Most items are priced per pound and per kilogramme. And of course, we still use miles when talking about distances. All road signs show miles. My (German) car has a milometer/odometer that shows miles. Is there anyone in the UK who says his/her car does so many litres of petrol per 100 kilometres? I think not - we all say miles per gallon (UK gallon that is, which is 1.20095 US gallons). I guess that when all us oldies who learned imperial at school have departed there may be pressure for a total conversion to metric. Gerry Lewis - a Welshman with a British passport living in England - what am I going to put on the census form in 2 weeks time? PS The allotment I rent from my local parish council for growing flowers and vegetables is measured in (square) poles!! Also known as a (square) rod or perch = 16.5 ft x 16.5 ft = 30.25 square yards = 25.2929 square metres. GL