Weight units that trip people up
- 1 pound = 0.45359237 kg, so 1 kg is about 2.2 lb. A pound has 16 ounces.
- Ounce vs troy ounce: the food ounce is about 28.35 g, while the troy ounce used for gold and silver is about 31.10 g. Choose troy ounces when converting bullion prices.
- Stone: 14 pounds, about 6.35 kg. In the UK and Ireland body weight is often given in stone and pounds.
- Catty: the mainland Chinese jin (斤) is 500 g, while the Taiwanese catty and the Korean geun for meat are 600 g.
- Ton: a metric ton is 1,000 kg. The US short ton is about 907 kg and the UK long ton about 1,016 kg.
Strictly speaking the kilogram measures mass, but in everyday use mass and weight mean the same thing.