On the BBC News website tonight:

"In 1989, the average sperm count of men with 'normal' amounts of sperm in their semen was 87 million sperm per millilitre.

By 2002, that had dropped to just over 62 million sperm per millilitre".


Worrying, eh? Anyone tell me how much that is in FFUs i.e. per cubic inch? Thanks in advance

"In 1989, the average sperm count of men with 'normal' amounts of sperm in their semen was 87 million sperm per millilitre.

By 2002, that had dropped to just over 62 million sperm per millilitre".


87 m sperm per ml = 1,426m sperm per cuin (ml ---> cuin = multiply by 16.387064)

62m sperm per ml = 1,016m sperm per cuin


Also, these two figures are (at the risk of sounding xcole-ish):

2,472m sperm per floz (UK), 1,760m sperm per floz (UK)
309m per fluidram (UK), 220m per fldr (UK)
5.15m per minim (UK), 3.66m per minim (UK)


Not to be rude or lude or crude or anything else rhyming with "ude", but I think the most appropriate measure might be per the fluidram, to be honest... or maybe the teaspoon.

Bryan Parry wrote

<<
Not to be rude or lude or crude or anything else rhyming with "ude", but I think the most appropriate measure might be per the fluidram, to be honest... or maybe the teaspoon.
>>

The medical profession is metric world-wide, especially for laboratory analysis of this type. Therefore sperm count is recorded as counts/ml worldwide. There is no point in converting this measurement to teaspoons, fluidram, cubic inches or any other measurement as yo will only have to convert it back should you ever need to use the measurement for anything.

But who gives a toss?

(is "toss" metric or imperial?)

re: "In 1989, the average sperm count of men with 'normal' amounts of sperm in their semen was 87 million sperm per millilitre. By 2002, that had dropped to just over 62 million sperm per millilitre".

re (Bryan Parry):
"87 m sperm per ml = 1,426m sperm per cu.in
(ml ---> cu.in = multiply by 16.387064)

62m sperm per ml = 1,016m sperm per cu.in"


REPLY:

I understand this experiment/research was carried out in the area of Edinburgh, Scotland.

So, from 1989 to 2002, the average Edinburgh man has lost 410 million sperms per cubic inch.

13 years is 4748 days.

I make that a *daily* loss of 86,352 sperms, to the nearest whole sperm.

If you work that out, it is so close to one second a sperm that you might as well say:

'Tick, tock, tick, tock...'


If you live in Edinburgh, that is

The cubic inch doesn't seem like a sensible unit to use for sperm volume and/or sperm counts.

Not unless you're dealing with race horses or prize bulls !

Or unless your name is David Blaine after being in that perspex box for 44 days/nights!!!

(think about it)

Steveh: "(think about it)"

Hush !!! I don't even want to think about THAT !

That is what I said- teaspoons or fluidrams would be far more appropriate :)

Seeing as a teaspoon is 5ml why not just use millilitres ?

As for fluidrams, never heard of 'em !

Can't imagine many other people have, either.

<<<As for fluidrams, never heard of 'em !

Can't imagine many other people have, either.
>>>>

I've heard of them, however that unit has "evolved out" of everyday use.

A bit like the decametre.

<<
87 m sperm per ml = 1,426m sperm per cuin (ml ---> cuin = multiply by 16.387064)

62m sperm per ml = 1,016m sperm per cuin
>>

So whats a cuin then?

Sounds distinctly Scots.

Ay drop in and have a wee cuin boy! :-)

Most people do not measure small things in millilitres, but do in teaspoons, that is why... you can IMAGINE, therefore, a teaspoon of, erm, whathaveyou.


Anyway, by my reckoning the teaspoon is more like 6ml (if UK)

The fluidram = 1/8 fluidounce (so, about 4-5ml for the metricminds here)

Yes, the fluidram has more or less evolved out... people generally tend to, for small measures, use the tablespoon, teaspoon, and whilst I couldn't say about that dash, pinch stuff, I know I reckon in... half tsp and qtr-tsp as well.

And for small weights, people for some odd reason do not use the dram (1/16oz), but the "eighth"- I suppose it comes down to a penny weighing 2dr etc- it is just generally more relevant a size (though most people probably do not know the weight of the penny).


To side-track a bit, I feel we really ought generally to have rulers didved into 24ths (or 48ths). Why? Because binary and tenery working is now made possible, whereas before it was not. Also, I would like it if it were general use for the ounce (avoird.) to be divided into thirds or sixths- it would make my life easier.
Still, any way I would prefer english to metric.

Bryan Parry: "People generally tend to, for small measures, use the tablespoon, teaspoon, [...] And for small weights, people use the 'eighth'."

Many people I know use ounces and pounds for large measures and grammes for small ones. When it comes to liquids, they use millilitres, pints, litres and gallons.

Hmmm,
well the people you know must be quite different from those that I know.