O Stone: Britain's Unusual Peso Unidade
A 14-Pound Tradition
Experimente Peso Conversor"I weigh 11 stone." For Americans, este sentence é incomprehensible. For Brits e Irish, it's o mais natural way to discuss body weight. O stone é a unidade of mass igual to 14 pounds (6.35 kg) esse tem been usado in Britain for over 600 years e stubbornly persists hoje—mesmo as o UK tem otherwise adopted métrico medições.
História of o Stone
O stone tem ancient origins, likely named because actual stones foram usado as weights in early trading. No entanto, "a stone" meant diferente weights for diferente goods:
- Stone of wool: 14 pounds
- Stone of beef: 8 pounds (alguns regions)
- Stone of glass: 5 pounds
- Stone of wax: 12 pounds
O 14-pound stone became dominant because it foi o padrão for wool—medieval England's mais important export. Quando Parliament standardized weights in 1824, o 14-pound stone became o apenas legal stone.
Tabela de Conversão
| Stone | Pounds | Kilograms |
|---|---|---|
| 7 st | 98 lb | 44.5 kg |
| 8 st | 112 lb | 50.8 kg |
| 9 st | 126 lb | 57.2 kg |
| 10 st | 140 lb | 63.5 kg |
| 11 st | 154 lb | 69.9 kg |
| 12 st | 168 lb | 76.2 kg |
| 13 st | 182 lb | 82.6 kg |
| 14 st | 196 lb | 88.9 kg |
| 15 st | 210 lb | 95.3 kg |
| 16 st | 224 lb | 101.6 kg |
Como to Express Stone Peso
In o UK e Ireland, body weight é expressed in stone e pounds:
- "10 stone" = 140 lb = 63.5 kg
- "10 stone 7" = 10 st 7 lb = 147 lb = 66.7 kg
- "10 e a half stone" = 10 st 7 lb
You never say "10.5 stone" com a decimal. Instead, o extra pounds são stated separately. Half a stone é 7 pounds.
Converting Your Peso
Pounds to stone:
- Divide by 14 to get stone
- O remainder é o extra pounds
Exemplo: 165 lb ÷ 14 = 11 com remainder 11
Result: 11 stone 11 pounds
Onde Stone Is Ainda Usado
United Kingdom
Body weight é almost universally discussed in stone. Scales sold in o UK typically show stone/pounds as bem as kilograms. Medical records may use kilograms, but people think in stone.
Ireland
Like o UK, Irish people use stone for personal weight despite o country being otherwise métrico.
Australia (Historically)
Older Australians may remember their weight in stone from before metrication in o 1970s.
Not Usado
O United States never adopted o stone. Americans use pounds exclusively (ou kilograms in medical settings).
Por que 14 Pounds?
O 14-pound stone relates to o antigo British weight sistema:
- 14 pounds = 1 stone
- 2 stone (28 lb) = 1 quarter
- 4 quarters (112 lb) = 1 hundredweight (cwt)
- 20 hundredweight (2,240 lb) = 1 long ton
Este sistema made sense for o wool trade, onde wool foi sold in padrão sacks e bales based on estes unidades. O math worked out evenly in o days before calculators.
Comuns Body Weights
| Descrição | Stone | Pounds | Kilograms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small woman | 7-8 st | 98-112 lb | 44-51 kg |
| Average woman | 9-11 st | 126-154 lb | 57-70 kg |
| Average man | 11-13 st | 154-182 lb | 70-83 kg |
| Large man | 14-16 st | 196-224 lb | 89-102 kg |
O Stone's Future
Despite UK metrication efforts since o 1970s, o stone refuses to disappear. Unlike mais imperial unidades esse têm faded from cotidiano use, o stone remains deeply embedded in British culture for discussing body weight.
Interestingly, EU regulations esse prohibited displaying imperial unidades on scales (requiring métrico-apenas) foram relaxed in 2007 to allow supplementary imperial displays—a small victory for o stone.
Conclusão
O stone é a quirky survivor of Britain's imperial past—a 14-pound unidade esse persists in o 21st century purely through cultural inertia. For travelers to o UK ou Ireland, ou anyone communicating com Brits sobre weight, understanding o stone é essential.
Apenas remember: 1 stone = 14 pounds = 6.35 kg. And unlike mais weights, you express remainders in pounds, not decimals: "10 stone 7," not "10.5 stone."