Comparison of the imperial and US customary measurement systems metre, as 1852 metres. Traditionally, both Britain and the US used three different weight systems: troy weight for precious metals, avoirdupois weight for most other purposes and apothecaries' weight for medicines. However, apothecaries' weight has now been superseded by the metric system. One important difference is the widespread use in Britain of the stone of 14 pounds () for body weight. This unit is not used in the United States, although its influence was seen in the practice, until World War II, of selling flour by a barrel of 196 pounds (14 stone). Another difference arose when Britain abolished the
Precious coral Precious coral Precious coral, or red coral, is the common name given to a genus of marine corals, Corallium. The distinguishing characteristic of precious corals is their durable and intensely colored red or pink-orange skeleton, which is used for making jewelery. Red corals grow on rocky seabottom with low sedimentation, typically in dark environments—either in the depths or in dark caverns or crevices. The original species, "C. rubrum" (formerly "Gorgonia nobilis"), is found mainly in the Mediterranean Sea. It grows at depths from 10 to 300 meters below sea level, although the shallower of these habitats have been largely depleted