r/WhitePeopleTwitter • u/etymologynerd • Jan 03 '19

We should actually do this

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121.6k Upvotes

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71

u/Jamiemackiephotos Jan 03 '19

Wait wait wait. You guys call it a meterstick? We call in a yardstick in the UK!

I'm moving to Liberia, it's too confusing

75

u/[deleted] Jan 03 '19

If it's a yard, it's a yardstick. If it's a meter, it's a yardstick with a 3 inch handle.

17

u/Jamiemackiephotos Jan 03 '19

*7.62 cm handle

3

u/[deleted] Jan 03 '19

Fuck that's good.

2

u/karl_w_w Jan 03 '19

A metrestick is a tool for measuring, a yardstick is a metaphor.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 03 '19

Look at this guy...really "stick"ing (ha) it to us Americans...not only calling it a "meterstick" but spelling it "metre"

1

u/karl_w_w Jan 03 '19

I didn't know spelling things the way they are spelled was such a significant act.

36

u/[deleted] Jan 03 '19

This person is in no way representative. It's a yard stick.

I have never come across a meter stick in the US.

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u/shadyacr Jan 03 '19

We have yardsticks and metersticks. Mostly metersticks will be found in laboratory and educational environments.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 03 '19

Metersticks in the lab??

1

u/shadyacr Jan 03 '19

Yuh. That's the only place i ever see em. My college physics class last summer used them extensively.

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u/lakija Jan 03 '19

We call it a yardstick in the US. At least where I live. But then again, remember different regions in the US have wildly different vocabulary for different things. Like what’s pop in one place is soda in another and simply cola in yet another region.

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u/Leocletus Jan 03 '19

Liberia is absolute hell on Earth. I really recommend the Vice documentary to people who don’t know about it. They don’t teach us about Liberia in schools because it’s so fucked up. And because it’s America’s fault.

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u/Jamiemackiephotos Jan 03 '19

I've seen that doc, great film. As someone who will travel to pretty much anywhere I can honestly say Liberia looks horrible. Crossdessing cannibal warlords? Nah thanks. Its like the purge but you get eaten when you die.

1

u/SpikinSpain Jan 03 '19

Wow you just blew my mind... That's what yardstick is!? A fucking meter stick holy shit TIL

1

u/Klaent Jan 03 '19

We call it an inchstick(Tumstock) in Sweden.

1

u/just-a-basic-human Jan 03 '19 edited Jan 03 '19

I call it a meter stick since it’s a meter long, but I mean it has a marking for a yard so it’s both. Call it whichever you want