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Brexit
Original poster

The real meat of the matter - in ounces pints and pounds

30 replies

LurkingHusband · 14/07/2016 10:20

SO now we have thrown of the shackles of the EU, who is looking forward to a new era of imperial measurements ?

Finally we can buy shit in pounds and ounces. Hurrah !

Let's put aside the fact that I have only ever worked in metric at school (my class were the first to go all-metric in 1971). I'm sure I'll get used to it.

I can just about remember buying petrol in gallons.

And the increased cost of replacing all that obsolete weighing and measuring kit is a price worth paying for taking back control.

I'm surprised more people aren't talking about it.

OP posts:
Underparmummy · 14/07/2016 13:40

I have only ever used imperial for body weight (me and my babies). Since I got new scales last year and they are in kgs I've abandoned it even for that.

I think people still talk in miles per gallon for petrol?

MaidOfStars · 14/07/2016 13:45

Oh fuck, I hadn't even thought about this.

Original poster
LurkingHusband · 14/07/2016 13:50

Having worked in metrology, I can tell you it will cost a fortune to setup a parallel imperial-based certification and approval scheme.

Parallel ?

Well, yes. Because we will still need to calibrate anything we export in metric (except to the US who have their own weirdness anyway).

So we will make our own internal market more expensive (somebody will have to pay for all that extra red tape) but still make stuff for export in metric.

Or, is this quite possibly, another area that wasn't really thought through ?

OP posts:
MaidOfStars · 14/07/2016 13:52

sets running app to measure in miles per minute and weeps

whenwillsummercome · 14/07/2016 13:57

we just won't do it, will we. It's another of those things people thought they cared about but just don't. At all.

After all, if I say to the market stall man, please may I have a pound of cherries, he just weighs about about 450g. It's not complicated is it.

And FGS, we DO still use crazy measures - look at most honey jars! still sold in 454??g pots, or whatever a pound is, labelled in grams...

MaidOfStars · 14/07/2016 14:02

Maybe in fifty years time, the use of imperial v metric will be a shibboleth by which to recognise those descend from Remainers and those descended from Leavers.

I am so going to insist on metric in every part of my life, as a tiny fuck you.

"Can I have 568ml of Stella please?"

Itinerary · 14/07/2016 15:08

Like everything else, we don't have to throw out any of the rules which actually work, we have the choice whether to keep them or not. But I rather like pounds and ounces though as it happens!

Original poster
LurkingHusband · 14/07/2016 15:34

Like everything else, we don't have to throw out any of the rules which actually work, we have the choice whether to keep them or not. But I rather like pounds and ounces though as it happens!

What does that even mean ?

I was making the point that if the UK suddenly decides that it wants to unmetricate, it will be doing it (a) alone, and (b) it will still have to keep and work with metric measures. The scales and measures we use to sell abroad will need to be calibrated (to their standards) in metric.

Brexit may mean we are no longer required to use metric for trade. But it will cost a lot to go back to lbs and oz

OP posts:
ErrolTheDragon · 14/07/2016 15:48

I hardly think this is going to be at the top of any ministers to-do list!

We kept pints for beer and miles on our roads, does anyone really give a stuff about any of the other measures? Except of course scientists and engineers absolutely will stick with SI units!

Mooingcow · 14/07/2016 15:56

Errol yes, quite!

I was at school in the EU and learned everything in metric; since I lived here I've bought pounds of things, or pints, and driven in miles.

When I'm in America, I bake using cups.

I truly fail to see how this even begins to be an issue.

ErrolTheDragon · 14/07/2016 16:14

Being 55 and therefore having had to learn imperial before metricattion, and having lived in the US for a while, I use whatever unit seems appropriate. My muffin recipe happily mixes cups, ounces and millilitres. I measure walks in miles and interatomic distances in Angstroms (not SI but the appropriate order of magnitude).

Its not rocket science, is it? (er... so WTF are americans still using non-SI units for technical stuff?)

time4chocolate · 14/07/2016 16:20

TBH this was not even on my radar or even close to being on it. There were much more important things to be considered to my mind. I'm a bit Hmm about your OP (but maybe I'm being a bit overly sensitive!)

Itinerary · 14/07/2016 16:42

What does that even mean?

It means it's unlikely to happen. Is this not a lighthearted thread then? Grin

Most scales here still seem to have both kg and lbs anyway.

DiamondInTheRuff · 14/07/2016 16:54

I have nothing useful to add to this discussion but wanted to say how much I love the word "unmetricate". I will start working it into sentences ASAP.

BluePitchFork · 14/07/2016 17:05

but but but weight in stones is so flattering

I weigh 10 stones, the same weight in kg sounds massive

RortyCrankle · 14/07/2016 17:10

I don't see the country reverting to imperial measurements but that doesn't stop me converting everything metric back to imperial, including the weather.

BaronessBomburst · 14/07/2016 17:19

You do know that they still use the "pond" in the Netherlands too?
It's not just the UK that's a bit of a half/ half.

Joysmum · 14/07/2016 17:36

Showing your age there OP Wink

The younger generation (so not me!) have been working in metric for donkeys years.

Given us oldies have ripped away their futures by voting to leave, the least we can do is be magnanimous and allow them to keep their preferred metric system Grin

time4chocolate · 14/07/2016 17:41

I think what this thread highlights is that we can be both flexible and adaptable - something that will prove very useful in the coming months/yearsWinkSmile

BluePitchFork · 14/07/2016 18:16

but the 'pound' in most european countries is metric, i.e. half a kilo

Original poster
LurkingHusband · 14/07/2016 18:48

Showing your age there OP

?

As I said, I was educated exclusively in metric in the UK school system (although we used it at home anyway)

OP posts:
Joysmum · 14/07/2016 20:44

Trying to be lighthearted but clearly should have made that more obvious.

So, being serious, I'm surprised you're surprised people aren't talking about as its not important in the whole scheme of impacts Brexit will have.

The equivalent of moaning about not being able to shop for nice shoes when you've had both legs amputated Hmm

Itinerary · 14/07/2016 21:13

Well said time4chocolate Smile

STIDW · 16/07/2016 09:06

For those of us who are old enough to remember the UK government decided on decimalisation of currency & measurement in 1965, before we joined the EEC in 1973 So it's actually a euromyth that metrification was forced upon us by the EEC/EU.

TroysMammy · 16/07/2016 09:12

I don't remember using metric in school as I prefer pounds, ounces, pints and feet. I believe we should go back to these so we are in line with everything. Luckily we still use mph on the roads and my shoe size is still a 4.