• Flughoernchen@feddit.de
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    8 months ago

    Wait a minute… Does the name of the currency come from payments that were not counted but weighed? Gotta check.

    ETA: Oh my gosh yes, one pound sterling (currency) was originally one pound (weight) of sterling silver. I’m probably the last person to discover this, but still that’s pretty cool.

    • cdf12345@lemm.ee
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      7 months ago

      Then you ask about rocks and

      JESUS CHRIST MARIE, THEY’RE MINERALS!

        • Psythik@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          Please add Breaking Bad to your watchlist. And then after that, check out Better Call Saul. But promise me you’ll stick it out through the first season of Saul and continue on to the second. I promise you it’s worth it. Breaking Bad is one of the greatest shows of all time, and Saul is even better if you have the patience to let the story slowly build itself up.

          • dogsoahC@lemm.ee
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            7 months ago

            I tried watching it once, but I lost interest after two seasons. It’s just not my type of show. That being said, after looking it up, I do remember the minerals thing. xD

    • Iron Lynx@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Apparently the UK still uses stone as a step above pounds. Then again, the UK is a hot mess when it comes to units…

      • then_three_more@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Yep, I’m about 13 stone 1. Which I know is about 83kg. But I have no idea how many pounds in a stone. I do know that there’s about 2 and a quarter lb to a kg. Therefore I must be about 186lb.

      • Neato@ttrpg.network
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        7 months ago

        I know they use mph. Do they use km for distance or miles? I think they use meters for shorter distances so I’ve no clue.

        • CelloMike@startrek.website
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          7 months ago

          Road distances are in miles, speed in mph, heights in feet & inches, anything else is a hot mess generally trending towards metric the younger you are (or if you’re in STEM)

          ETA: there was a dumb plan a couple years ago to “reintroduce” imperial measurements after Brexit, mainly aimed at food shops, ignoring the fact that the EU never prevented anyone using them, and then the govt quietly dropped it in December lawl

          • Z3k3@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            I’m starting to hear people talk in km but nothing official

            We use lb and stone at home for weight but medical its kg

            Personally I was taught in the 80s and early 90s they trued to teach us both metric and imperial. I also did an apprenticeship in metric on imperial lathes and mills

            I have no clue how less than an inch works past 40, thou being 1mm I struggle with my weight in kg. Miles might as well be a unit of time as beyond telling you how long it takes to get somewhere miles are useless

            Bonus anecdot

            When I moved out of my parents I had to ask for help buying minced beef because growing up I learned I needed 1/2 lb of minced beef but it was packaged I’m 500 grams

          • Aux@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            Not all road distances are in miles, meters and yards are also used in the UK. Heights on signs can be in inches, meters or both.

        • w2tpmf@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          The part I love is when you talk about the odometer in a car. They use kilometers to measure the milage. I guess kilometage just wouldn’t roll off the tongue.

    • niktemadur@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Four score and seven stone = 1218 pounds

      EDIT: Whoopsie, forgot to include the 7 before multiplying, it’s actually 1316.

  • gentooer@programming.dev
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    7 months ago

    Do Brits also tell their salary on annual instead of monthly basis? I thought that was just an American thing

    • BestTestInTheWest@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Where do they describe it on a monthly basis? I’m in Australia and I’ve never heard anyone describe their salary in anything other than annual. Take home pay we’d go fortnightly though.

      • gentooer@programming.dev
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        7 months ago

        Over here in Belgium we do, I thought that’s how it’s done in most countries. It makes more sense to me too, you get your salary monthly (or maybe fortnightly like you) and you talk about your rent, debt payments, … also on a monthly basis.

        • KrankyKong@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          In the U.S., most salary jobs are spoken about in annual terms. Job listing’s list annual salary, offer letters list annual pay, my employee portal lists annual pay, etc. My pay stubs are biweekly though. Pretty much nothing is ever described in monthly terms, at least not that I’ve ever seen.

        • Dave@lemmy.nz
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          7 months ago

          In NZ we would talk annual salary, rent per week, and we just don’t talk about mortgage payments because it’s easier not to.

          I think we probably do annual salary because there isn’t consistency with how people are paid. Weekly and fortnightly are probably the most common, but monthly is pretty normal too and I’ve seen some being paid twice monthly.

        • friendlymessage@feddit.de
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          7 months ago

          At least in Germany, depending on contract, monthly payments vary heavily. For instance the labour agreement for the automotive industry contains a 13th salary at christmas time, vacation pay in summer, a bonus in spring depending on company performance, a potential bonus if you pass on some vacation days and more. Other contracts only have a monthly salary and no bonuses. My contract has only one bonus depending on company performance in April while my wife gets 12.8 monthly salaries (1.8x salary in November as end-of-year bonus). To compare job offers in any way, you can only go with the annual number.

        • azertyfun@sh.itjust.works
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          7 months ago

          It makes sense… until you learn about the 13th/14th month of the year. Having to multiply the monthly salary by 13.x (depending on the collective agreement of course) to get the taxable income makes imperial measurements sound logical.

          Give me yearly or give me hourly, but monthly makes no sense under the current system.

      • kameecoding@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary no one in these countries talks on annual basis. it’s always monthly or hourly wage if it’s not a salaried position, but most are salaried and paycheck is once a month.

      • Aux@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Most of Europe uses monthly take home. Yearly brutto salary doesn’t mean shit, you can’t budget against it.

      • AccountMaker@slrpnk.net
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        7 months ago

        In Serbia as well. Whenever someone mentions an annual salary, I have to divide it by 12 to get some sense out of it, because we only talk about the monthly.

    • lobut@lemmy.ca
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      7 months ago

      Lived in London for twenty years and I’ve only heard it annual or if you’re a contractor we talk daily rate.

  • li10@feddit.uk
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    8 months ago

    I can’t imagine a scenario where a British person actually says their salary as “pounds” rather than “grand” or just the number.

  • pewgar_seemsimandroid@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    7 months ago

    ££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££