Colombia pounds vs American pounds

[lswote]

My wife learned something today that was very interesting.  She was talking to her Colombian driving instructor and he told her that one pound in the United States is 454 grams but one pound in Colombia is 500 grams.  This was surprising information and was very relevant to her because last week she was very upset because my scale said she had gained 6 kilos or 12 pounds since she got to the states.  I found this pretty hard to believe because she has only been here for 2 weeks and we have been eating very healthy.  I have been trying to reassure her that she still looks beautiful and I think there must be some mistake but she really wasn't listening to me.  But today it finally made sense.  She weighs 56 kilos which using the Colombian conversion means 112 pounds.  Using the American conversion this is 123.48 pounds which is just about what the scale said.

Her profile at the agency she was at said she weighed 112 pounds and she said she weighed 56 kilos when she joined the agency so it should have said 124 pounds.  Most of the weights of the women at the agency seemed very light for their listed heights and I met many of these women and this thought crossed my mind repeatedly, but since most Colombianas are relatively thin, I thought I was just using my American women standard in measuring them.  But now I wonder if my instincts were right all along and the weights listed in the profiles are Colombian pounds, not American pounds.

Anyone else have any insights on this?

[AlexG32]

... in response to Colombia pounds vs American pounds, posted by lswote on Apr 7, 2003

Here is the link to a good conversion website.  

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/conversion.html

[lswote]

... in response to standard to metric and vice versa conver..., posted by AlexG32 on Apr 8, 2003

You missed the point.  I know how to convert between metric and imperial, but Colombia uses a different standard for conversion.

[AlexG32]

... in response to Re: standard to metric and vice versa co..., posted by lswote on Apr 8, 2003

I merely wanted to post the website because I find myself having to convert more now than before.

[outwest77]

... in response to Colombia pounds vs American pounds, posted by lswote on Apr 7, 2003

nt

[Michael B]

... in response to Colombia pounds vs American pounds, posted by lswote on Apr 7, 2003

Indeed, Colombia uses 500 grams to the pound. I noticed this in a grocery store from the way the prices were quoted, like "$1100 la libra o $2200 el kilo." We were buying some produce and I told Martha "Be sure to tell them you want to pay in kilos instead of pounds" (I thought it was some kind of sale or special the store was having) and she said "Why? What does it matter?" I said "We'll pay less". She laughed and went through the math for me and I said "No, your math is wrong, 2.2 pounds per kilo, not 2." She thought that I was joking (or crazy) and that she'd never heard of such a thing and suggested that I look at the scale....sure enough, the scale dial had inner and outer numbers, exactly every 500 grams it was labled another pound.  

Another thing they do is sell all liquids by the liter. Except gasoline, which they sell by the gallon. Nobody was ever able to give me a precise answer how much (in liters) a gallon is, not Martha, not her friend who's pick up truck we were using, not the pump boys, nobody. Most of them simply shrugged and said "It's the number we use to measure gasoline." One guy (and I'll bet he was right) said "Well, the US orginaly developed our oil industry, I'm pretty sure it's the same way the US measures it, but I honestly don't know how many liters it is." No self service either, once when the pump boys were all busy I started to pump it and they ran over saying "What are you doing?? Customers aren't allowed! pumping gasoline is dangerous if you haven't been properly traned."

[Brazilophile]

... in response to Colombia pounds vs American pounds, posted by lswote on Apr 7, 2003

Yes, I have some insight because I grew up in Canda which uses the metric system.  I am very familar with converting between metric measure and the US (or Imperial) measure.

The bottom line is that your wife was taught the quick and dirty method of converting using the very rounded off rate of 2 lbs per kg.  The more precise rate is 2.2 lbs per kg.  Your wife's method has a 10% rounding error in the conversion.  

She will have the same problem with her height if she is rounding the conversion.  The imprecise rounded off conversion between meters and feet is 3 ft per m.  The more precise conversion is 3 ft 3 in (or 39 inches) per m.  Your wife may find herself suddenly taller in the US as well as heavier.  

Just my opinion, but everyone should be familar with converting between metric and Imperial measure.  There are plenty of conversion charts to be found on the Internet for pounds and kilograms, feet and meters, miles and kilometers, acres and hectares, and tons and tonnes.  Find one and give it to your wife.