this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2026
788 points (99.0% liked)

Funny

13876 readers
1309 users here now

General rules:

Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the mods.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] gustofwind@lemmy.world 97 points 3 weeks ago

You’ve unlocked: the number 10

[–] FartMaster69@lemmy.dbzer0.com 70 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)
[–] Botzo@lemmy.world 26 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

.40 S&W and 10mm auto are both 10mm rounds!

[–] LadyMeow@lemmy.blahaj.zone 17 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

.40 S&W and 10mm auto are both 10mm rounds!

I don’t trust you, stranger number man! And the above… well that just proves there’s a conspiracy!

[–] zedgeist@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

Brah, does stranger danger apply to the metric system??

[–] LadyMeow@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 3 weeks ago

Oh my, yes!

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] doingthestuff@lemy.lol 9 points 3 weeks ago

Here's the funny thing. A 9mm is closer to a cm. The rim is 9.96mm.

[–] marcos@lemmy.world 9 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Can US people imagine their size in a whim?

[–] P00ptart@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago

Probably not. It's a fairly rare round outside of fallout.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] RyanDownyJr@lemmy.world 35 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

"Anything but the metric system"... Well kinda

[–] Penguin_1024@piefed.zip 14 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

The metric system, but with extra steps.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Harvey656@lemmy.world 20 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Centimeters are on the American ruler...

[–] SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 25 points 3 weeks ago (6 children)

We also put inches on ours, yet not a single soul has ever used that side. I think it's only to constantly remind us we are superior ;)

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah Stormy said it was only a centimeter

[–] nova_ad_vitum@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

The only thing on a real American ruler is red white and blue .

[–] Benaaasaaas@group.lt 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

His preferred title is typically translated as "leader" not "ruler" that's got monarchist elements that they can't quite make stick yet

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Rcklsabndn@sh.itjust.works 19 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I always thought it was cheeky that a lot of pistols in Fallout take 10mm ammo.

[–] higgsboson@dubvee.org 8 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

10mm ammo is a real thing, tho

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Tbf 10mm Auto is a real caliber (that the FBI tried to use but "it hurted their wrists" so .40SW was invented.)

https://www.ammunitiondepot.com/3212-magtech-10mm-180-gr-fmj.html

[–] Hossenfeffer@feddit.uk 5 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

SW stands for Soft Wankers.

[–] ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

LOL it might as well since their weak ass wrists couldn't take it!

(For those who are wondering it's of course actually "Smith & Wesson.")

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 17 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 5 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] BananaIsABerry@lemmy.zip 12 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Why don't they just round that guy's votes up to 60?

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

As an American mechanical engineer, i do more unit conversions between metric and standard/ uscs than many people do in a lifetime

Hell just today I designed a custom spring in both as i need it asap and have to settle for the inch

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 13 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

We occasionally get engineering diagrams from clients in the US and they're always going on about screws that are 2/3 of an inch long. It's not just that you're not using metric you're using a weird fraction and not a decimal.

It's super confusing when you get into high precision stuff because then they start going on about 128th of an inch. Just tell me how big you want it, stop telling me what fraction of a different measurement it is. Surely there is something below inch that you could use. I still wouldn't know what you were talking about, but at least it would look less stupid when you wrote it down.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] Zamboni_Driver@lemmy.ca 6 points 3 weeks ago (9 children)

Canadian engineer here. Although we use the metric system in principle, in reality we use feet and inches for everything. There are lots of benefits to using base 12 for measurements.

The number 12 has six factors, which are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12. It is the smallest number to have six factors, the largest number to have at least half of the numbers below it as divisors, and is only slightly larger than 10. (The numbers 18 and 20 also have six factors but are much larger.) Ten, in contrast, only has four factors, which are 1, 2, 5, and 10.

I get the Europeans hate it though because only the people who live near Chernobyl can count to 12 on their fingers.

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 6 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

The thing is, we just use whole numbers. If you get under 1, then you move down by one SI prefix et voilà, you have whole numbers again

I've never thought of counting on fingers as a good reason for using it for units. But since our numeric system is base 10 (likely because of having 10 fingers indeed), it's easier to have our unit systems as base 10 too. If we all learned to think in base 12 from ground up, having base 12 units would make a lot more sense too

[–] froh42@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

Btw you can count to 12 on your fingers with one hand. Starting from the end of the index finger tap each segment of the "remaining" four fingers with your thumb.

I heard someone claim that's how Babylonians invented and used the base 12 system in the first place.

[–] yata@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

The thing is that outside of North America people aren't terrified to death of decimals. We actually use them and find the process simple. So those factors of yours are completely irrelevant to us.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] tomenzgg@midwest.social 4 points 3 weeks ago

I know it'll never happen but I'm still camp duodecimal, all the way.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] Legisign@europe.pub 9 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I wonder, when they get a grown-up president again, will they finally also begin to move to the 21st century?

[–] jali67@lemmy.zip 8 points 3 weeks ago

You’re being way too optimistic

[–] ohulancutash@feddit.uk 5 points 3 weeks ago
[–] speckofrust@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

A system of measurement in which something like 15/16 of an inch is seen as a sensible way to measure a small distance. Not much else to say.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Aljernon@lemmy.today 7 points 3 weeks ago
[–] mastertigurius@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

The Americans could've changed to the metric system if they could afford it. However, changing a country's systems of measurement is a mammoth project of enormous complexity and cost, so I guess no politician want to make space for that in the budget when there are other things to take care of.

[–] mst@discuss.tchncs.de 29 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Maybe people will forget about the epstein files if he tries changing to metric

[–] MotoAsh@piefed.social 16 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Genuinely, that would be the funniest reason... Maybe we should be inundating Trump with recommendations like this to 'fix' his approval ratings.

... and then hang him anyways after the next Nuremberg trials.

[–] mannycalavera@feddit.uk 6 points 3 weeks ago (6 children)

... and then hang him anyways after the next Nuremberg trials.

Don't be silly, you lot are going to gold plate his pension and that of his family for decades to come. LOL next Nuremberg trials. Who are you kidding?

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] cattywampas@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

People just don't really care enough to. And we already use the metric system in science, engineering, medicine, aerospace, military, and any science class in high school or higher. So what if our road signs and cookbooks are in imperial units.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] DancingBear@midwest.social 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

5 cm is 1.9685 inches, which is about weeee big…. 🤏

Or one LLAP 🖖

load more comments
view more: next ›