The government actually IS doing a consultation on bringing back imperial measurements!

[Kendodd]

I thought it was a joke.
AIBU to think this is a complete load of bollocks waste of money?

The questions don't even give you the option of saying just keep metric.
Example question -
For Consumers,

a) If you had a choice, would you want to purchase items:

(i) in imperial units?

(ii) in imperial units alongside a metric equivalent?

www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1079711/choice-on-units-of-measurement-markings-and-sales-consultation.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjchIqM1pT4AhXIPsAKHWSZBW0QFnoECAUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw05usEgoqbR2NHfgE3SzAYH

2.5 400g tins.

s it easier to picture what someone 170cm tall looks like or is 5 foot 7 inches?
Is it easier to picture what a 63kg person looks like, or a 10 stone person?
Is it easier to picture what 2 pints of orange juice looks like, or 1.14 litres

I could say:

70 kg person

1 litre

Because they are round numbers. You just happen to have picked the round numbers to be in Imperial. I have done them in metric.

But both still round numbers.

Why?

Anyway. Anyone know what happened with this consultation?
I assume, because we have a government hell bent of destroying the economy, that we'll be returning to imperial measurements. That'll show Johnny Foreigner how great (and clever) we are.

Because brexit

This whole thing reminds me of a conversation I had with my (Leave voting) mum years ago. She wanted her old black passport back with the windows on the front for name and passport number, not this EU imposed purple one. I pointed out that we could have any colour size or shape passport we wanted. Unfortunately, there are international agreements in place about size, shape and design of passport (nothing to do with the EU btw) so they are easily read and scan through machines. So we could have our stupid heritage passport, but no bugger would let you into their country with it!

Apparently they are still analysing responses to the consultation (there were over 100,00 of them).

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/choice-on-units-of-measurement-markings-and-sales

I would imagine that they’ve received many responses from organisations and industry explaining exactly why it’s important to have a metric standard.

Haha - I'm amazed the floor held. That sign was totally bizarre (and it seems wrong!)

@pointythings Indeed, I said in a previous post that calculations are easier in metric. To be clear I'm not advising bringing back Imperial measurements today, I'm just challenging the idea that they are illogical and difficult. To repeat: their purpose is that you always deal in nice small, round numbers, which in medieval times when there was not the volume of calculations that there are today, and most people could not read and write, has a lot going for it. So yes - they are outdated. But there was method in the madness.

10kN is roughly 1 tonne, which would be 250 tins.

It wasn't kN though - just N?

Obviously whoever it was got a bit muddled 😀

Nice to see someone who knows that it's 70 kg, not 70kg.

SI units should have a space between the number and the unit symbol. This is the opposite convention to Imperial, where you close up the gap.

ukma.org.uk/what-is-metric/writing-metric/

Just for spite, we should insist on using US dates. After all if we're cozying up to them ....

The gov.uk style guide disagrees.

The gov.uk style guide disagrees.

The gov.uk style guide is wrong. Look at any scientific journal or textbook.

...or this:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_System_of_Units#Lexicographic_conventions

i didn’t say it was right. Just that it disagrees.

the government being silly about units is pretty on topic for this thread.

The amusing thing about the gov.uk style guide is that it stipulates a single space after a full stop (which is correct), while Young Master Jacob insists that his civil servants type three spaces after a full stop and two after a comma. Of course, he'd rather they wrote with a quill.

Presumably they haven’t realised they’re requiring contemporary spacing conventions. There can be a convention on taking back control and returning to proper British typography within two spaces after the full stop. Or something.

I wonder how many £££billions it would cost to replace every single road sign and repaint every road marking in the entire UK road network...

300 yards?

I just think of that as 300 metres. I think it's close enough

I think changing to metric for roads esp speed would be dangerous. Someone is bound to mix up mph for kph esp as mph is more prominent in UK cars and trucks dash displays

@Dinoteeth I have no problem with keeping things as they are. But the mph/kph conversion is really easy and millions of tourists in rental cars manage it every year, in both directions.