I have ZERO cause to know what a gallon or an ounce is; i have these things called litres and grams.
SHELL Oil invested a lot of money in the USA to have the gas pumps only use liters, and eventually replaced them with pumps in gallons. Since gasoline prices rose so quickly, motorists saw the price, and thought the business had closed, (prices listed as $ per liter seemed to be last year's prices of $ per gallon). When someone did drive in and fill their tank, they did not know how to convert liters to gallons, then miles per gallon so they could monitor if their vehicle was using too much fuel.
There was even the case of a passenger jet aircraft running out of fuel in midair by confusing gallons and liters. The pilots used a calibrated measuring stick at an airfield to manually verify their fuel. They apparently confused the calibration in liters for gallons, and took off without enough fuel to even reach their destination.
FYI: They landed safely (gliding) on one of the two runways of an abandoned airfield --- the other runway was actively being used at that time for auto racing (dragsters) and had many spectators present on the runway, and the pilots did not know that.
I would guess you know what a Troy Ounce in silver or gold represents. And I would also guess you know about the pound, (another archane unit for the British Pound Sterling).
That one is REALLY old since currencies have been allowed to float, and a British Pound is no longer redeemable for its original pound of sterling silver...
BTW, there was an American comedy show starring Valerie Bertinelli, called Cafe Americain (1993-1994), (
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105967/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_14), about an American waitress in France, who does not speak French.
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