Only in Canada (Metric or Imperial)

[RoadDogYVR]

I'm a late 40s former Prairie Boy now living near the West Coast of Canada. Canada "adopted" the Metric system while I was in elementary school but we Canadians didn't adopt it universally...

For example:

• My house thermostat is set for 68 degrees F but if I wander outside in the Fall I want to know if it's above 15 degrees C so I can decide whether to wear a sweater or a jacket.
• I'll order my hamburger meat or steak by the pound but sliced cold cuts by the gram.
• I'll tell you how far my couch is from the TV in feet and inches but how far Medicine Hat is from Regina in kilometers.
• I'll fill my truck up was litres of gasoline but ask my buddy how many miles per gallon his gets.
• My drywall is 4' x 8', my studs are "2x4's", my screws are "inch and a half" but half my bolts and nuts are metric.
• Tell me to hand you a 17/32" socket and I'll ask "what's that in Metric"... because fractions are hard!
• I'll go to the store to get a pound of coffee and come back with come back with some size variety between 250 and 375 grams (all of which are less than a pound - 454 grams)
• I'll measure water or milk in millilitres but flour in cups and salt and yeast in teaspoons or tablespoons.
• Try asking a Canadian to hand you a quart or a pint of anything (besides oil or beer...) and you'll likely get blank stares.

[RichR]

Funny!!

[riverforest]

not to mention some "instructions" are in English or/and French take your pick...

my GF is Canadian, but dosen't understand French unless its on a Cereal box

[RoadDogYVR]

Originally Posted by riverforest

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my GF is Canadian, but dosen't understand French unless its on a Cereal box

Strangely, food containers are how I started to learn French as a kid. Amazing how easy it is to absorb a language when you are young... now I'm trying to "absorb" Spanish...

[harris155]

Worked in a big power plant during the conversion.
We would ordered from stores a 300mm x 1inch pipe.
All other units were converted to metric.
We had stickers to apply to all the gauge dials.

[RoadDogYVR]

Originally Posted by harris155

We would ordered from stores a 300mm x 1inch pipe.

Bahahaha!

[Scarab0088]

According to one car-dolly manufacturer, to be fully compliant for sale in Canada, all safety decals on the dolly must be in English and French...which they do.

Don't know if it is true, but sounds believable.

[TonyMac]

Originally Posted by Scarab0088

According to one car-dolly manufacturer, to be fully compliant for sale in Canada, all safety decals on the dolly must be in English and French...which they do.

Don't know if it is true, but sounds believable.

And that nonsense is why we can't read labels anymore. It has to have the EXACT same legally required language in several languages on the same sized label, studied and edited by lawyers fluent and highly paid in those several languages.

There are roughly 6,500 spoken languages in the world today. However, about 2,000 of those languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers. The most popular language in the world is Mandarin Chinese.

[jimcumminsw]

What I found interesting when my work travels required me to travel to the GREAT WHITE NORTHERN COUNTRY called CANADA. Is that not all provinces follow the same laws of their country. For example in MONTERAL you would be hard press to find an English road sign, everything was in French. If you asked a question in English they would ignore you even thought they can and do understand the English language.

[TonyMac]

Originally Posted by jimcumminsw

What I found interesting when my work travels required me to travel to the GREAT WHITE NORTHERN COUNTRY called CANADA. Is that not all provinces follow the same laws of their country. For example in MONTERAL you would be hard press to find an English road sign, everything was in French. If you asked a question in English they would ignore you even thought they can and do understand the English language.

So, english speaking Canada went bilingual, while French speaking Canada did not?

[Bob_C]

Do Canadians still sit on chesterfields?

[RoadDogYVR]

Originally Posted by bob caldwell

Do Canadians still sit on chesterfields?

We hear that less and less... normally "sofas" or "couches" if seating for 3 (or more) and "loveseats" for 2.

Another word we don't hear much of anymore... credenza.

[Bob_C]

Then I guess they now speak English!..... BAHAHAHA

[RoadDogYVR]

Yes but when I want a Coke or similar, I still ask for a "soft drink", not a "soda" or a "pop"...