Metric System in the D.R.

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0
pricesmart is kind enough to provide "comparison price" of their bulk stuff with small print under the price that says "x per unit/oz/lb". interestingly enough i noticed that on dog food they sometimes put the small print per oz and sometimes per lb so without whipping out a calculator i cannot compare the price anyways (btw, freedom units suck donkey's dick).

so yeah, i totally take out my phone in stores to check if the offers are worth getting. and buying by single item costs less than buying in bulk more often than you think.
 

JasonD

Bronze
Feb 10, 2018
1,009
2
38
interestingly enough i noticed that on dog food they sometimes put the small print per oz and sometimes per lb so without whipping out a calculator i cannot compare the price anyways .

Wow, a pound is 16 oz. A calculator is needed for that?
 

melphis

Living my Dream
Apr 18, 2013
3,489
1,676
113
Wow, a pound is 16 oz. A calculator is needed for that?

Some of us are metric. So if an ounce is 25 cents how much is a kilo in pesos. After 11 years here taking your time shopping is must. And BTW way, why is this country only half metric and half imperial ( it's not American, the caveman system is called imperial). Road signs and distance are metric but other measurements like pounds, gallons etc are still imperial.
 

JasonD

Bronze
Feb 10, 2018
1,009
2
38
Some of us are metric. So if an ounce is 25 cents how much is a kilo in pesos. After 11 years here taking your time shopping is must. And BTW way, why is this country only half metric and half imperial ( it's not American, the caveman system is called imperial). Road signs and distance are metric but other measurements like pounds, gallons etc are still imperial.

It certainly confuses me on the road with all those KM/HR signs while accustomed to MPH....thank God pound is what its used for weight.
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,671
1,133
113
The metric system is easy to embrace if you don't try to convert the numbers into a different standard. It really isn't necessary but we do it for the sake of familiarity and comparison.

Metric weights and measures were adopted because doing math with these values is easier as the system is based on multiples of 10, a fact which the average person can safely disregard.

We just need to remember a few key metric system values and accept these as the basis of comparison to other metric weights and measures.

Metric Temperature:

0 = 32 degrees F. Ice is made at and below this temperature. It is freezing outside, literally.

20 = 68 degrees F. Spring like temperatures. A light jacket or sweater might be necessary for some. For others, the temp at which you may legally wear shorts.

26 = 79 degrees F. You may go to the beach if you wish.

30 = 86 Degrees F. It is hot and any temp above 30 C is even hotter.

Remember these four temperature points in Celsius and you can make a judgement about the weather temperature in F without having to actually do the math to figure out the exact temperature in F most of the time.

100 C - boiling or 212 F. If the pool is 100 C, don't jump in.

Baking is a pain in the a$$ as the temp in the recipe is always in a different scale than your oven. Just ask Alexa to convert the temperature for you if you need to.


Weight:

Even fewer numbers to remember here.

454 grams = 1 lb

1000 grams (g) = 1 kilogram or about 2.2 lbs

1000 kilograms (kg) = 1 metric ton or about 2200 lbs.

That's all you need to know when it comes to weight. Except for your body weight but none of us really wants to track that so just try to keep it under 1000 Kg or around whatever metric weight makes you feel good. No need to know exactly how many pounds that is...ever. :) If you need 1/2 lb of nuts for a recipe, you can easily figure out that you need about 225 grams of nuts.

Liquid:

250 milliliters (ml) = 1 cup or 8 fluid ounces
1000 ml = 1 liter aka a decent amount of beer (average small beer bottle contains 330 ml)
3.95 liters = 1 US gallon

That's all you need to know about metric liquid measures.

Distance:

15 millimeters of rain is a lot of rain. More than 15 mm of rain is even more rain, or snow, or hail etc.

30 centimeters or 300 mm = 1 foot 1 inch.

1000 cm or 3000 mm = 1 meter or 3 feet 3 inches.

1 kilometer = .6 of a mile
2 Km = a little over 1 mile

Speed:

40 km/h = the speed in residential, school and hospital zones
50 km/h = the speed on most roads in built up areas
100 km/h = the speed on most highways = 62 mph
120 km/h = as fast as most people ever need to go in a vehicle (Frank12 excepted)

55 mph = 88 km/h for our American friends as a point of reference they are familiar with.


Congratulations having memorized the above metric numbers over the next few days you have just mastered the metric system without having to convert every metric number into a different number. Just accept that when it is 30 C outside, it's time to go to the beach or your favorite air conditioned bar and consume 1 liter of beer, perhaps 250 ml of Rum (don't drive) and when hungry, enjoy your 113 g hamburger with all the fixings. If you are driving to the beach, and driving faster than 60 km/h you may want to roll the windows up a bit.

If you are shopping for ground hamburger meat you will be astonished how incredibly difficult it is to find exactly 454 g of packaged hamburger. Apparently buying exactly 454 g of meat is frowned upon even though most recipes call for a multiple of this weight.

If you just accept that below 20 C is cold, below 0C is freezing and above 30 C is hot, does it really matter exactly how hot it is in F? No, hot is hot and saying it's 32 C others know it's a little hotter than just plain hot.
 

ljmesg

New member
Aug 6, 2017
526
1
0
The metric system is easy to embrace if you don't try to convert the numbers into a different standard. It really isn't necessary but we do it for the sake of familiarity and comparison.

Metric weights and measures were adopted because doing math with these values is easier as the system is based on multiples of 10, a fact which the average person can safely disregard.

We just need to remember a few key metric system values and accept these as the basis of comparison to other metric weights and measures.

Metric Temperature:

0 = 32 degrees F. Ice is made at and below this temperature. It is freezing outside, literally.

20 = 68 degrees F. Spring like temperatures. A light jacket or sweater might be necessary for some. For others, the temp at which you may legally wear shorts.

26 = 79 degrees F. You may go to the beach if you wish.

30 = 86 Degrees F. It is hot and any temp above 30 C is even hotter.

Remember these four temperature points in Celsius and you can make a judgement about the weather temperature in F without having to actually do the math to figure out the exact temperature in F most of the time.

100 C - boiling or 212 F. If the pool is 100 C, don't jump in.

Baking is a pain in the a$$ as the temp in the recipe is always in a different scale than your oven. Just ask Alexa to convert the temperature for you if you need to.


Weight:

Even fewer numbers to remember here.

454 grams = 1 lb

1000 grams (g) = 1 kilogram or about 2.2 lbs

1000 kilograms (kg) = 1 metric ton or about 2200 lbs.

That's all you need to know when it comes to weight. Except for your body weight but none of us really wants to track that so just try to keep it under 1000 Kg or around whatever metric weight makes you feel good. No need to know exactly how many pounds that is...ever. :) If you need 1/2 lb of nuts for a recipe, you can easily figure out that you need about 225 grams of nuts.

Liquid:

250 milliliters (ml) = 1 cup or 8 fluid ounces
1000 ml = 1 liter aka a decent amount of beer (average small beer bottle contains 330 ml)
3.95 liters = 1 US gallon

That's all you need to know about metric liquid measures.

Distance:

15 millimeters of rain is a lot of rain. More than 15 mm of rain is even more rain, or snow, or hail etc.

30 centimeters or 300 mm = 1 foot 1 inch.

1000 cm or 3000 mm = 1 meter or 3 feet 3 inches.

1 kilometer = .6 of a mile
2 Km = a little over 1 mile

Speed:

40 km/h = the speed in residential, school and hospital zones
50 km/h = the speed on most roads in built up areas
100 km/h = the speed on most highways = 62 mph
120 km/h = as fast as most people ever need to go in a vehicle (Frank12 excepted)

55 mph = 88 km/h for our American friends as a point of reference they are familiar with.


Congratulations having memorized the above metric numbers over the next few days you have just mastered the metric system without having to convert every metric number into a different number. Just accept that when it is 30 C outside, it's time to go to the beach or your favorite air conditioned bar and consume 1 liter of beer, perhaps 250 ml of Rum (don't drive) and when hungry, enjoy your 113 g hamburger with all the fixings. If you are driving to the beach, and driving faster than 60 km/h you may want to roll the windows up a bit.

If you are shopping for ground hamburger meat you will be astonished how incredibly difficult it is to find exactly 454 g of packaged hamburger. Apparently buying exactly 454 g of meat is frowned upon even though most recipes call for a multiple of this weight.

If you just accept that below 20 C is cold, below 0C is freezing and above 30 C is hot, does it really matter exactly how hot it is in F? No, hot is hot and saying it's 32 C others know it's a little hotter than just plain hot.
Good post. Add square meter to square feet conversion magic number- is 10.76.

So 4000 square meters X 10.76 = 43, 040 square feet or approx. one acre (43,560SF)

Quick and easy.
 

SKY

Gold
Apr 11, 2004
13,470
3,604
113
Converting Celsius to Fahrenheit example: 20 Celsius x 9/5 +32 equals 68 Fahrenheit. But a much easier way which would be only slightly off is 20 C x2 +30. So it would be 2 degrees off but easy to compute. Just double Celsius and add 30.
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
I was (and still am) selling paper in DR when I lived there. I wonder who came up with representing the weight of paper as the weight in lbs of 500 sheets of paper of a certain size, and then change that size depending on the kind of paper.

Try to explain to Dominican customers that 20# bond = 50# offset = 74 gsm bond / offset. The metric system is so easier to use.  
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,329
113
The two scales meet at negative 42....
Which it reached two years in a row on Lake Huron.... I am sorry to report
 

Peterj

Bronze
Oct 7, 2002
1,461
346
83
Dominican Republic
Some of us are metric. So if an ounce is 25 cents how much is a kilo in pesos. After 11 years here taking your time shopping is must. And BTW way, why is this country only half metric and half imperial ( it's not American, the caveman system is called imperial). Road signs and distance are metric but other measurements like pounds, gallons etc are still imperial.

"The caveman system is called Imperial"...so true!

The metric system should be worldwide because calculating with ie. 15/16 is a b*tch!

Who is measuring with thumbs and feet...we did that 2million years ago, get real!

There are only 5 countries* on planet Earth that use Fahrenheit...imagine!!

* Google it
 

Russell

Well-known member
Jun 17, 2017
1,056
337
83
I was in Canada when they converted to Metric from Imperial..... What a schmuzzel .
Freaking unbelievable.
I asked my son to cut a board one foot long."Dad, whats a foot''.
Could be wrong ,but I thought the USA was going to convert at the same time.
That did not transpire so Canada allowed both Metric and Imperial. Another Schmuzzel.
Even to this day I think in Imperial and convert to Metric.
Son does both with great articulation.

You all must be mathematical geniuses to remember all those conversions at the pumps and at the Supermarket.
Congratulations ,
I do not require conversion when I am in Winter Canada,.... I just know it is cold.
In the Summer seldom warm.
In DR , always hot ... regardless of stated temperature.
I know, not a very good testament for someone with so many diplomas..... many of my generation resented the change to Metric ...not sure why ! .... maybe the Political inference ''you will do this , you shall convert... You will be fined if you don't... I was a bit of a Rebel back then ; still am!
Russ
 

bob saunders

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
32,502
5,930
113
dr1.com
"The caveman system is called Imperial"...so true!

The metric system should be worldwide because calculating with ie. 15/16 is a b*tch!

Who is measuring with thumbs and feet...we did that 2million years ago, get real!

There are only 5 countries* on planet Earth that use Fahrenheit...imagine!!

* Google it

I think in both systems, and worked using both for many years. In is nothing worth whinning about.