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confused about abbreviations

Thu Apr 07, 2005 10:56 am

Why is the abbreviation for OUNCES>>OZ and pound>>>LB? Is there a special reason or history on this?

Fri Apr 08, 2005 9:28 pm

Because the inch-pound system is evil, and nothing about it makes any sense. Glad I got that out of the way.

Best I can do is the pound is derived from an ancient Roman weight, the libra, and the abbreviation is derived from that. It supposedly was a little lighter than the modern pound, about 327 g. I don't know why ounces are abbreviated oz.

More info

List of all units you can convert online
Metric conversion
Convert pounds to gallons
Convert grams to cups
Grams to milliliters
Imperial vs US Customary
History of measurement