Why is a hundred weight 122 pounds and not 100?

Answer 1

-- The long hundredweight, used in Britain, is defined as 112 lb (8 stone),

which is equal to 50.802345 kg. This is the definition used in the imperial system.

-- The short hundredweight is defined as 100 lb, which is equal to

45.359237 kg. This is the definition used in the US customary system,

and is also the usual hundredweight in Canada.

This is another example of the wisdom of sticking with the easy customary

and imperial systems, which everyone is accustomed to, rather than force

people to change to the more complicated and confusing metric system.

Answer 2

The term "hundredweight" is an old imperial unit of weight traditionally used in the UK. It equals 112 pounds and is often abbreviated as "cwt". This measurement originated from the weight of 100 pounds of a particular commodity.