The bimetrical society

This brochure from Husqvarna was in the mailbox today. Nothing unusual, you say?

Check this out:

In chainsaws,

engine displacements: cubic centimeters, in metric

power: horsepower, an English measure

weight: pounds, an English measure

In lawn mowers (not shown here), radius of the cut was shown in inches, engine displacement was in cubic centimeters, and power output in horsepower.

It was the same mish-mash all the way through. Forty years after official metrication, no one uses metric for certain essential measures.  Metrication happened one or two generations ago. It is not as if people had not gone to school in metric. Speculation is welcomed.

Philip Palmer

It’s a funny old world. Measuring is actually the most basic but most complex of arts. Even in the EU, pipe diameters are still in Imperial measure. I suspect cooking measures are metrification of Imperial measures like the cup, the tablespoon, etc. And yes, no one has come up with a replacement for horse power for easy to understand measures of the power of motors and engines.