When they created the metric system, they mostly did a good job. I say 'mostly" because there's one measure that just doesn't stack up. I'm referring to the "tonne", a measure equal to 1,000Kg. Unfortunately, not only does it sound the same as the Imperial ton, but it can even be spelled the same, as in metric ton. Not that the Imperial ton is above confusion. Those in the know will be able to distinguish between the long ton (in the UK simply known as the ton) which equals 2,240 lb and the short ton (co-incidentally known in the USA as the ton) and equivalent to 2,000 lb. So, you can see, this all makes it pretty tough working out the exact capacity of a two-ton forklift. Luckily, they're all somewhere around the 2,000 lb mark, so you can't go too far wrong. But spare a thought for our reporters and editors who have to first determine where the forklift is from before knowing what the weight means. At least we can all be assured of tons (long, short or metric) of fun with this weighty issue.