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Original poster

People can stop panicking about this Imperial measurements thing!

374 replies

Echobelly · 17/09/2021 22:30

The proposal to reintroduce Imperial measurements is a fucking stupid idea and waste of time but Lordy, my social media is alight with people going 'OMG, they're going to force everyone to learn Imperial and it's ageist and ableist and will wreck trade and it'll be so expensive to recalibrate all out scales' etc etc.

I mean, hold your horses folks - they're allowing people to use imperial which wasn't allowed under the EU, just so they can say we can now do something we couldn't do under the EU. It's not being mandated. It's totally empty symbolism.

A handful of red-faced market stall holders will use it to make a point, no one else will care, nothing else will happen. I mean, I hate this bloody government and this ridiculous, retrograde idea but please be better than those people who don't read beyond the headlines.

Sorry, just the inaccuracy of response to this is bugging me!

OP posts:
NiceGerbil · 18/09/2021 03:30

Liberia and Myanmar are the other countries in the world that have not adopted metric.

Interesting.

Seldon · 18/09/2021 03:39

How is 'half a lb' easier to write than '227g'

What I mean is that a half is easier than 227.

Imperial units tend to be based more on human daily experience than on what is logical, consistent and accurate (as the metric system is)

Porridgealert · 18/09/2021 03:39

I like to measure myself in feet and inches. And weigh myself in st and lbs. I like to measure distances in miles. None of that makes me a racist.

I used to teach people that came from all over the world. They learned what a mile was. They learned what a pint was. They learned about what a stone and a foot was. They're not thick. They're capable of learning. To think they can't makes you a racist.

As a young person, I was initially taught using the imperial system Then at high school I had to learn the metric system as the well. Then after shopping in lbs, I had to learn to shop in kilos. Shockingly I lived through it all and survived. I'm sure anyone moving here from a metric using country will survive as well. Get some sort of proportion.

lannistunut · 18/09/2021 03:43

@Porridgealert

Generally though going backwards to the old ways is done either for nostalgia or because it was genuinely better.

We all know this is simply nostalgia.

That is no way to run a country! Britain is not one giant care home.

Porridgealert · 18/09/2021 03:52

But the govt isn't saying you have to use lbs, it's saying if someone wants to (use it without ks), it isn't illegal. Industries didn't want to change from imperial to metric originally but they did it because the law said they had to. I doubt any of them are going to move back to imperial with all the costs that would entail as they don't have to. Honestly, you're panicking and worrying needlessly. It just isn't a big deal to anyone but those who want it to be a big deal. I'm sure you'll still be able to buy your carrots in kilos.

lannistunut · 18/09/2021 03:56

@Porridgealert I'm not 'panicking', that's a really weird take.

I think you don't understand the politics of this, so you're responding as if it is a personal thing only.

I'm interested in which 'industries' didn't want to switch from imperial. And no one had to switch anyway Confused

Porridgealert · 18/09/2021 04:00

Imperial units tend to be based more on human daily experience than on what is logical, consistent and accurate (as the metric system is)

The imperial system is accurate however it evolved. And a foot is always 12" - couldn't be more consistent. And if its so logical to use metric, why do aviation and shipping across Europe use imperial?

Beebababadabo · 18/09/2021 04:09

I go between them both. I always use a converter on my phone if I get stuck

Pokhora · 18/09/2021 04:10

It is really stupid and just going to impose more costs for business. There is an interesting overview of the issues here
www.google.com/amp/s/m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amp/entry/boris-johnson-metric-imperial-measures_uk_6144458ae4b0b616054793b3/

NiceGerbil · 18/09/2021 04:12

No one is panicking Grin

Just think it's utterly pathetic same as blue passports.

Porridgealert · 18/09/2021 04:13

[quote lannistunut]@Porridgealert I'm not 'panicking', that's a really weird take.

I think you don't understand the politics of this, so you're responding as if it is a personal thing only.

I'm interested in which 'industries' didn't want to switch from imperial. And no one had to switch anyway Confused[/quote]
Supermarkets and shops had to switch. Customers didn't want to and it cost them money. But the law said they had to start displaying in metric with imperial measurements as an optional extra.

I understand the politics but you're making it into an issue that it isn't. People were already doing their own thing with measurements. Most things I own have metric and imperial on them. It just isn't a big deal.

But how lovely this thread is. I like being weighed in st & lbs and measured in ft & ins so I've been called a racist and now thick. How lovely you are.

Porridgealert · 18/09/2021 04:14

Yes, you're always going to get a balanced view from the Huffington Post. 🙄

NiceGerbil · 18/09/2021 04:19

Human daily experience?

My foot is 9 inches long (had a tape measure next to me!).
My stride is def not a yard.
What daily thing is a mile or stone? I mean they're just learnt aren't they?
Similar pint comes from... The amount of beer that got you slightly merry in whatever percentage it usually came in, back when the pint was invented?

That's a point. What's % in old money? I in 3 type thing I imagine?

NiceGerbil · 18/09/2021 04:20

Aviation uses a mix.

NiceGerbil · 18/09/2021 04:21

Porridge are you suggesting that the metric system is not more logical than the imperial system?

You don't find decimal easier to with with?

Seldon · 18/09/2021 04:22

And a foot is always 12" - couldn't be more consistent

What is the weight of a cubic foot of water in lb? Around 62 lb!

NiceGerbil · 18/09/2021 04:24

We switched to metric in 1965.

That's what. 56 years ago?

And people are still pissed off about it! Even though it's perfectly fine to display both.

NiceGerbil · 18/09/2021 04:27

I didn't see a post saying you were thick.

And pointing out that people who live here but grew up in others countries won't have a clue about lb Oz is most definitely not the same as accusing you personally of racism. It's a fact that those from overseas will be ??? (Unless they lived here long enough before metric to get used to it). Not any kind of accusation.

Lockdownbear · 18/09/2021 04:31

@CourgetteGlutTony

I can do both. But I don’t give a shit about buying a pound of apples or half a kilo
You buy apples by pound / kilo? I buy them by number, like 6!

I do my weight in stones but my kids in kg, and do their height in cm. I got really peeved when M&S went through a spell of dropping the cm from the kids hangers. I have short kids and I buy to suit their height rather than age.

NiceGerbil · 18/09/2021 04:32

I also can't see the point of all this in that-

As far as I've noticed (not been looking out for it) the supermarkets are all metric now. (Correct me if wrong). I can't see them changing that.

Given the significant number of people who have not used these units when buying veg etc and will be ??? if changed to imperial only. I can't see many shops doing it.
Has there been an exercise to see how many retailers will move to lb/Oz only?

I mean this is, like the blue passports. A gesture to send a message to a particular segment of voters.
And it makes us look like twats.

NiceGerbil · 18/09/2021 04:33

The best reason I can think of. Is that it gives market sellers an excuse to really belt out 'Pahnd a pahnd'

Grin
Seldon · 18/09/2021 04:42

This has clearly been done for the politics - so that certain people who believe that the world was changing too fast can feel as if the brakes are being applied. It won’t change anything practically

garlictwist · 18/09/2021 05:25

I don't think it was ever banned was it? I mean, it's a stupid system so I don't know why you'd use it but in our local market they sell stuff by the quarter. I don't know what this means (a quarter of what?) but it still happens.

cakeinspiration · 18/09/2021 05:30

The bizarre thing is that they've made it legal to sell items using imperial ONLY, which they've spent over 20 years NOT teaching in schools (I'm 25 and was only taught in metric across 4 primary/secondary schools)

Lockdownbear · 18/09/2021 05:50

@garlictwist I'd assume a quarter is 1/4 of a pound, 4oz. God knows why a pound is abbreviated to lb.
But only selling in 1/4s could have landed them in court, this change has taken that threat away.

@cakeinspiration it's a lot longer than 20 years, probably closer to 50 years. I think the big changes happened around 1971 when they made the money change from lsd to £. But it might have been earlier.
So really you're probably the second generation to be taught in kilos and meters. Ask your parents what they were taught in?