To think it odd that so many British still use Imperial measurements?

[Elouera]

Britain started using metric measurements in 1965, so I can only assume that majority of people under about age 50 learnt metric in school? I spend part of my schooling under a British system, but it was all metric. I'm just intrigued as to why, 50yrs later, some younger people are still referring to pounds and lbs???

I'm fairly metric, other than heights (i.e. people, not mountains). Also comfortable with inches to cm and vice versa, but can't cope with yards/metres.

I tend to think in miles, although can easily convert to distance, but not mph to kmh.

Oh, and I use Fahrenheit for fever temps, but not for weather.

I'm approaching 50, if it is of any relevance.

Also, how do you relate weight and volume? Metric very easy for this, as in a litre of water being a kg but what is a pint of water in pounds?

Hang on, surely that depends on your liquid? A litre of water isn't going to weigh the same as a litre of mercury, is it?

@Monmonga

For my ignorant sake, can you explain how to do the calculations? E.g. the dividing by 7, do you just first divide feet and then the inches? What happens with the 'leftover fractions' from the round numbers?

You convert the feet and inches into inches and then just divide that number. You convert the stone and pounds into just pounds and divide that number.

So, 10 stone 5lb
1 stone = 14 lb
10 stone = 140lb
Add the 5 to make 145, then divide the whole lot by whatever it is you're dividing by. Then convert back if necessary.

I'm in my early 70s so didn't learn metric in school.

I weigh myself in stones, but for the dog's weight I use metric.
I measure myself in inches but measure the knitting I do in cm.
Cooking I weigh in metric if making something but calculate cooking times for things like meat, when I used to eat it, in pounds and ounces.
Driving distances, I can only think of in miles.

We still measure bras in inches.

I use cm for any household DIY etc hard measuring but if using fabric I use inches, always have.

Prefer feet and inches is measuring heights

I started school in 1965, and can assure you that throughout infants, and primary we used imperial measurements. We also learned our 12 x tables and how to divide by 2, 3, 6, and 12.

I cook in lb and oz (far easier to divide stuff up), plus we did a LOT of exercises in Infants to guess how many dog biscuits or how much flour, sand etc weighed 10z, 4oz 8oz 1lb etc. So a lot of cooking I do by eye, if I have to use grammes eg jacket potatoes to put in the microwave for which there is a buttonand it's set on g I find it harder to guess. I also weigh myself imperially. 12st sounds a lot better than 76kg, but know the dog is 20kg. I ask for meat in the butchers or veg in the market in lb, but can convert to kg reasonably well if they're Eu staff on in the market.

I sew in both metric and imperial, depends what I'm sewing.

Driving distances I think of in miles and/or time (used to do a LOT of driving).

Although I was taught Fahrenheit, I am used to the weather on TV.

I'm in my 50's and learnt metric at school and imperial at home. So I use both.

I mentally have to tell myself off when I'm measuring room sizes and soft furnishings as I'm known to mix the two which really doesn't work at all!

My problem is I can only mentally visualise in imperial but I measure in metric. I find this in structural building work, soft furnishings, dressmaking and cookery.

I too look for easy American recipes. I am also constantly asking Alexa to convert, she's been a godsend.

I wonder how many people who use imperial are able to do calculations like

10 stone 5 lb divided by 6?

Or 5ft 11 inches divided by 7?

It's hardly rocket science, so probably all of them!

4,4,4,2 cake recipe is an excellent reason. My kids knew it from being tiny.
Why faff around with grams when you can use a handy tablespoon=1oz measure too?
Quarter of sweets is next best reason 😁

I started school in 1971, the year we went decimal. All our maths books (anyone remember Alpha and Beta maths books?) had everything in metric but there was a section at the back for calculations in imperial, which we didn't study.
At home DM taught me to cook using imperial measurements.
I can just about remember the silver sixpences being worth 2.5 new pence and using them in parking meters after decimalisation to help the withdrawal from circulation.

I wonder how many people who use imperial are able to do calculations like 10 stone 5 lb divided by 6? Or 5ft 11 inches divided by 7?

I can't think why anyone would need to. Except cannibals. Maybe cannibals use metric and that's how you can tell who they are...

The weight measurement probably not, but dividing feet and inches common.

is common.

It's hardly rocket science, so probably all of them

I can't think why anyone would need to

But people use weight and length not just for themselves - it's used for many purposes.

Doing calculations with Imperail measurements is not easy.

You have to do conversions,.

10 stone 5lb 9 ounces * 8

Or 123.854 kg * 8

I know which one is easier to do.

Mentally I can estimate the Metric one and with a calculator, it's one step.

Dividing - the Metric one is easy to do on paper.

There is a good reason why metric is used by people who need to do weighing and measuring for a living.

Of course NASA used to use Imperial

www.newscientist.com/article/dn17350-nasa-criticised-for-sticking-to-imperial-units/

A mistake caused a spacecraft to crash.

Now it's law to use metric in NASA and other Government agencies except where impractical

www.nasa.gov/offices/oce/functions/standards/isu.html

I was taught in metric in the 80s /90s, though obviously I still use pints, miles, stones, dozens. Easier to make a cake by the number of eggs in imperial, too..!

I use imperial measurements because metric measurements do not relate to my everyday life. The road signs are in mph, the milkman delivers pints of milk, my clothes are measured in inches, etc. Of course, I learned base ten at school. I also learned base two at school. And, hexadecimal. None of which makes me want to quote my waist size in cm or convert the road signs on the fly.

What wonderful metric country do you live in, OP?

Same. I was taught metric but it seems like you need to use imperial if you want to function in adult life?! When I had a baby genuinely had no idea what fluid ounces were!!!

Cakes are a good example - so, cooking with DCs I might say “let’s measure 100g of flour” but doing it myself I’d think “four oz - I’ll just bung four tablespoons in”. I know a big milk is 2 litres but I’d ask someone to get me four pints!

I wonder how many people who use imperial are able to do calculations like...

Probably most of us. Basic practical maths used to be taught in schools. Unlike today when the deli assistants at Sainsbury's are unable to convert kilos to grammes.

Imperial is much easier for me. I have ask Alexa to convert my height or weight if it’s needed in cm or kilo. I’m 43. It’s what I was taught at school

Probably most of us. Basic practical maths used to be taught in schools. Unlike today when the deli assistants at Sainsbury's are unable to convert kilos to grammes

And that's why Imperial is not going to come back into supermarkets etc

Because school children have been taught the much easier to use with a calculator Metric system

Imperial is only easier because we never properly used metric as a country. If we did you'd be able to visualise it. It's just practice.

As metric is the international standard and the fundamental of all scientific calculation, I think we should do our children a favour and change over.

Also, how do you relate weight and volume? Metric very easy for this, as in a litre of water being a kg but what is a pint of water in pounds?

Maybe I'm doing lige wrong but I've never been in.an everyday situation when I needed to relate the volume of water to its weight. When does that happen?

I think the reason that imperial measures persist is simply that most people prefer them, if they didn't they'd have died out by now. But I don't see anything wrong with having a mixture of both, it doesn't really matter as long as you're clear which one you're using.

There is a good reason why metric is used by people who need to do weighing and measuring for a living

My field is engineering and I'm quite happy to use inches or millimetres cm are for school children ). Millimetres and metric units are far more common but inches, pounds etc. are used. However, they aren't broken down into fractions and ounces etc, they are decimalised so become very easy to work with.