Show [Updated December 16, 2012] Have you ever heard the saying, "A pint is a pound the world around?" It's not really true. In 2009, I published a blog post that started with that line. It was about an email I got from Ben & Jerry's describing how one of its "competitors" (Hagen Daz) had downsized their ice cream pints from 16 ounces to 14 ounces. That post, and the comments that followed, are reprinted in full below because I do not want to sweep under the rug anything anyone said. It would not be fair to the commenters, and it was an insightful conversation. I essentially said that the saying "A pint is a pound the world around" is misleading and "wrong." I hold by that statement, although I did get a few points wrong, or at least not right enough. I'll explain in a moment. An "American pint" (also just called "pint" in the U.S.) is 16 fluid ounces.The real take-away for me was this: A "pint" is not universal. It's location dependent. First, there is the confusing difference between ounces and fluid ounces. Ounces measure weight (mass) and fluid ounces measure volume. This distinction can become confusing when converting units of measure, and it is the primary distinction that I did not make clearly or get right in the original post. Second, what many Americans miss is that we say a pint is 16 ounces, but the English say a pint is 20 ounces. In America, we distinguish between the two by calling the English pint an "Imperial pint." Rest assured, the English just call it a pint. Order a pint in any pub in the U.K., and you'll get a 20-ounce beer. They don't call it in an Imperial pint. It's just a pint. Baskets of "ground cherries" in Montreal.Then there are "punnets." I didn't even talk about punnets in the original post. A punnet is a term used in the U.K., and it doesn't have an exact unit of measure. It's basically a small basket-ful. You know those cardboard containers that might hold cherry tomatoes or blackberries? Those are punnets. The actual size varies, but from my experience in markets, the American "basket" is typically smaller than the English "punnet." But very generally speaking, a punnet hold somewhere in the neighborhood of a pint... a dry pint, that is. Just to really confuse you, the picture shown here of baskets of ground cherries is from Canada. So what does the saying "A pint is a pound the world around" mean? I have not found any well documented information on where that saying originated (post a comment if you have a good source, please!), but I would guess it is American because it refers to the American "pint" of water (volume) weighing 16 ounces (mass). You could also read into the part about "the world around" being part and parcel of the American outlook, too, eh? (I'm American, but I do see that my countrymen assume that our nation is the center of the world.) There's a second saying, though, that I'd have to guess is British in origin because it refers to the 20-ounce pint: "A pint of pure water weighs a pound and a quarter." If you would like to correct anything I've written here, I am happy to revisit this whole topic again, but please be kind in the comments. Writing with a nasty or condescending tone will not persuade me to listen to your argument. I am totally happy to recognize and call attention to the fact if I have made a mistake, but I will be much more likely to do so if you approach me in a kind manner. -Jill Duffy ORIGINAL POST AND COMMENTS A Pint is Not a Pound the World Around It's not really true. In the U.S., a pint is 16 ounces, which is indeed a pound. But that's not the end of the story. Most people have heard that the drinks in the U.K. are bigger than in the U.S. It's true. An "English pint" is 20 fluid ounces. But some "pints" are smaller. This morning, I got Chunkmail (that's Ben & Jerry's email newsletter), implying that Haagen Daz was shrinking the amount of ice cream contained in its pint containers: One of our competitors (think funny sounding European name) recently announced they will be downsizing their pints from 16 to 14 ounces to cover increased ingredient & manufacturing costs and help improve their bottom line. At Ben & Jerry’s we think downsizing pints is downright wrong. We understand that in today’s hard economic times businesses are feeling the pinch. We also understand that many of you are also feeling the same, & think now more than ever you deserve your full pint of ice cream. We are even more committed today to lead with our values through the quality of our ingredients & how we source them to make the best ice cream possible. So, while our competitor may be experiencing a bit of shrinkage, rest assured that your Ben & Jerry’s will still be standing tall in the freezer. Enjoy!I just happened to have a pint of Haagen Daz in my freezer, so I checked to see how much ice cream its "pints" contain. It reads 437ml! Sneaky! According to a conversion calculator, that's 14.78 ounces. But really, that deceptive. Shame on you, Haagen Daz! Shame on your brand, and shame on your name. COMMENTS ON ORIGINAL POST
Does 1 pint of water weigh 1 pound?There is an old saying, "A pint's a pound, the world around." This number will get you in the ballpark, implying that one pint of water weighs one pound. This number is quite close to a gallon of water's exact weight of 8.336 pounds at 62 degrees Fahrenheit. (One pint weighs 1.04375 pounds.)
Is a pint 16 oz or 8 oz?One liquid pint equals 16 fluid ounces).
Is 1 pint the same as 1 pound?In the U.S., a pint is 16 ounces, which is indeed a pound.
How many ounces are in 1 pint water weighs?A pint of water has a weight of 16 ounces, which is also 1 pound. 20 fluid ounces is the same volume as 1 1/4 pints and that water would weight 1 1/4 pounds.
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