Should Britain return to the Imperial measurement system?
Now that we're well and truly out of the EU, should Britain return to the Imperial measurement system?
After all, the old measures are based around the human body. When the medical professionals adopted the metric system for drugs, they found a frightening number of nurses were giving a 10 times under or over-dose.
Just think of all the songs and sayings that will be relevant again!
After all, the old measures are based around the human body. When the medical professionals adopted the metric system for drugs, they found a frightening number of nurses were giving a 10 times under or over-dose.
Just think of all the songs and sayings that will be relevant again!
And confuse those who have grown up with metric which is now, probably, more than half the population? Surely it would be a backward step and far more difficult to learn than the metric system which is based on 10 fingers!!!! And is also much more in tune with modern day technology.
I converted to metric some 55 years ago as a student, living in France, shopping in the market. So I was coping with foreign language, currency (still the franc) and metric weights. It took me, ooh, at least 30 seconds to get the hang of it... I have thought metric ever since.
When people complain about leaving Imperial, about how much easier it was, I want to ask them to explain precisely what a peck and a perch are, how many gills there are in a gallon (and bear in mind that the North has a different definition of gill to the rest of the country), how many inches there are in a mile. (Whereas cm to km is a doddle.)
And just imagine renaming all our lenses...
When people complain about leaving Imperial, about how much easier it was, I want to ask them to explain precisely what a peck and a perch are, how many gills there are in a gallon (and bear in mind that the North has a different definition of gill to the rest of the country), how many inches there are in a mile. (Whereas cm to km is a doddle.)
And just imagine renaming all our lenses...
Why not bring back carbon paper and the abacus too?
Nooo! Metric is so much simpler; I worked in a scientific area and everything was done in metric units, so I'm quite happy with dividing/multiplying by 10, 100, 1000, etc. Having said that, if the fuel consumption of a car is stated in litres per 100 kilometers I still have to get my calculator out to see what that is in miles per gallon. 
Some years ago I bought a kitchen cupboard which was described as being 36 inches by 100 cm. A compromise?
Some years ago I bought a kitchen cupboard which was described as being 36 inches by 100 cm. A compromise?
No way. I am an oldie but have used the metric system since I was at school (1960's). I then worked in science and engineering which was all metric and I sure could/would never change back to an outdated imperial system. It came into being in 1799 in France (Napoleon introduced a lot of sensible systems of weights and measures and laws). James Clerk Maxwell conceived of coherent measurement system in the mid 19th C. Parliament considered adopting a metric system in 1818 but it was probably rejected because of sensitivities regarding Napoleon who had only recently been defeated.
While I mainly use the metric system for home as well (I find measuring things in mm helpful as 1mm is generally the finest precision I can achieve. In fact there are only two exceptions in that I still use miles for travelling in the UK (but have little choice as signposts are generally still in miles). I still measure my weight in Stones and pounds but could easily change if needed. As already said this is nothing to do with being in or out of the EU.
Dave
While I mainly use the metric system for home as well (I find measuring things in mm helpful as 1mm is generally the finest precision I can achieve. In fact there are only two exceptions in that I still use miles for travelling in the UK (but have little choice as signposts are generally still in miles). I still measure my weight in Stones and pounds but could easily change if needed. As already said this is nothing to do with being in or out of the EU.
Dave
As sure as pounds are ounces, that's the brexit philosophy... give them an inch and they take a mile.
If I had a shilling for every time I'd heard this one.....
No.. It's not a European system is a system based on 10 unit intervals and is much more readily understood.
SI - System International units
However a lots of non-metric still around.
How do you do your tyre pressure.. psi, bar or pascals
In horse racing do they still talk furlongs
etc.
(Oh and incidentally I voted leave.)
If I had a shilling for every time I'd heard this one.....
No.. It's not a European system is a system based on 10 unit intervals and is much more readily understood.
SI - System International units
However a lots of non-metric still around.
How do you do your tyre pressure.. psi, bar or pascals
In horse racing do they still talk furlongs
etc.
(Oh and incidentally I voted leave.)
Quote:Nooo! Metric is so much simpler; I worked in a scientific area and everything was done in metric units, so I'm quite happy with dividing/multiplying by 10, 100, 1000, etc. Having said that, if the fuel consumption of a car is stated in litres per 100 kilometers I still have to get my calculator out to see what that is in miles per gallon.
Some years ago I bought a kitchen cupboard which was described as being 36 inches by 100 cm. A compromise?
Yes I also recall going to a DIY store to buy length of wood 6cm by 3cm and 2m long. Yes I could have 6cm by 3cm but must choose 6,7 or 8ft. Recently, I have noticed that DIY stores seem generally all metric.
Dave
I think those differences between imperial and metric are due to the machinery which cut lengths of wood in the imperial system because they were that old. I had slmilar problems when buying material for which the widths were all inches and the length metric. It was woven on machines which were imperial in their widths when weaving the cloth. Possible as those machine finally wear out the new ones will be in metric.
Would be a backwards step.. just like Brexit
Remember when shops were converting to metric and had to show all weights in both metric and imperial?
