The rebirth of imperial measures: Why the pound has found its weigh back

Batsy

Shoppers at Asda can now buy 1lb punnets of strawberries.

It may not seem a big deal at first until you realise that they haven't been able to do this since 1995.


Metric martyr: In 2001 Sunderland greengrocer Steve Thoburn fell foul of the new Weights and Measures Act after using non-metric scales to sell bananas. He died from a heart attack in March 2004.


This is a result of Britain being in the bossy EU, an organisation which made it illegal for goods in BRITAIN to be sold in traditional BRITISH measures - measures which the British people are used to and have used for centuries - and had to be sold in metric measures instead, despite the fact that, unlike in many other countries, the average Briton cannot fathom metric measures.

But the British people didn't just stand by and let the EU have its way quite so easily. Shops traders rose up against the metric-only ruling. The most famous of these Metric Martyrs was Steve Thoburn. He was convicted of the heinous, despicable and truly evil crime of selling bananas using nonmetric scales (welcome to the EUSSR).

Despite the fact that some organisations embraced all this silly metric stuff, such as the lefty BBC, metric measures still didn't make much headway in Britain.

We measure our height in feet and inches and our weight in stones. Footballers on the opposing team have to be ten yards from the ball during a free kick and roadsigns are all in miles. Kilograms, grams, metres and kilometres are all completely alien.

Even Britain's youngsters who were taught, for some reason, to use metric measures when they were at school, still overwhemingly use traditional imperial measures in everyday life.

In surveys, a whopping 90 per cent of the British people, and more than 80 per cent of those aged between 15 and 19, still measure things such as height in the traditional way. And only a fifth of 16 to 19 year olds want metric-only packages.

Read the article here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1394311/The-rebirth-imperial-measures-Why-pounds-weigh-back.html#ixzz1OQEsGqI7

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

As soon as I read 'Bossy EU' and 'BRITISH measurements' I knew it would be a Daily Mail article.

Wolfe Tone

An opinion OP? Whats your take on all of this?

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

That is his opinion. I checked the article and its different. The OP reads like a parody of the article in question.

slimjimmc

Lot of hype about absolutely nothing, imperial units were never banned by the EU.

All the EU regs do is make is mandatory to use metric units as the primary standard but that doesn't mean you can't also use imperial use in parallel. So if you go into a butcher you must be able to see the prices in £/kg, but the butcher could also display £/lb if he so choose. You could still ask for a pound of sausages but he'd have to weigh them on imperial scales, likewise you could ask for 500g but he'd have to weigh them on metric scales.

Wolfe Tone

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

That is his opinion. I checked the article and its different. The OP reads like a parody of the article in question.

My bad. I just didnt want to waste time reading that rag.

JustinDee

That's what the mail is good for. Nothing about nothing, based on lies and distortion. There's a reason they give away more free gifts than any other news publication and its not kindness.

If anyone believes this tosh then that's their problem that they set their standards so low.
Read Nick Davies' "Flat Earth News" for a glimpse of how these headlines get to print.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

Wolfe Tone wrote: »

My bad. I just didnt want to waste time reading that rag.

Took me a while to cop. I was going to post it up on facebook as the funniest example of a Daily Mail article yet but then I realized the actual article was quite tame.

mikemac

The article is tame, the comments on that site are vile

Edit, that article is yesterday and very few comments.

The DM had the same article around last Wednesday and a few hundred comments.
They tend to tweek the same articles and post them again within a few days. Have to fill the site with content I suppose

djpbarry

OP, your article is nonsense. Milk, for example, is still sold in pints in the UK, albeit with the equivalent metric volume also printed on the packaging.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

I don't understand the hostility to the metric system. Its a much easier system to use in most situations.

Manach

Easier and more scientific to use, yes. However I remember the way it was pushed into this country as a means of harmonising us with Europe was a tad heavy handed in school, so I continued to use the Imperial system outside of formal scientific required situations.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

I'd still use miles and feet, but in everything else I'd use metric. I don't even understand imperial weights or liquid measures other than how much a stone roughly is.

Exile 1798

Manach wrote: »

Easier and more scientific to use, yes. However I remember the way it was pushed into this country as a means of harmonising us with Europe was a tad heavy handed in school, so I continued to use the Imperial system outside of formal scientific required situations.

The change over is always going to be hard. However, as the metric system is logical, it will be much easier for future generations to learn and understand well then the Imperial was.

As for the Daily Mail commenters ... the remarkable thing about the Daily Mail's readership in not just how reactionary they are but how old they are.

P. Breathnach

Exile 1798 wrote: »

... the remarkable thing about the Daily Mail's readership in not just how reactionary they are but how old they are.

There is nothing wrong with being old. I hope you get to experience it in due course.

im invisible

they're even using metric to sell drugs now!!, the metric system is the tool of the devil! My car gets forty rods to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it.

P. Breathnach

im invisible wrote: »

... My car gets forty rods to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it.

That's a real gas-guzzler that you drive.

Exile 1798

P. Breathnach wrote: »

There is nothing wrong with being old. I hope you get to experience it in due course.

I didn't mean to say there was.

In the context of online "news" websites the Daily Mail stands out for the age of their readers. It is highly unusual.

Essexboy

djpbarry wrote: »

OP, your article is nonsense. Milk, for example, is still sold in pints in the UK, albeit with the equivalent metric volume also printed on the packaging.

As is beer!

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

Essexboy wrote: »

As is beer!

They tried selling in litres and half litres, but a half litre didn't fill you up enough and a full litre was too much. Or so George Orwell told me.

jimmycrackcorm

Go into any tile shop here and observe how they still quote price in SQ. Yards because it sounds cheaper than Sq. Metres. No daily mail article about that though....

djpbarry

Essexboy wrote: »

As is beer!

Actually, bottles and cans of alcoholic bevvies are usually metric.

meglome

I was trying to use local shops when in Belfast rather than the supermarkets. But the local fruit shop has everything in imperial. I had to stop using it as I have no idea what the imperial measures vs price are. The world uses metric for good reason, let the imperial system die like it needs to.

slimjimmc

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Go into any tile shop here and observe how they still quote price in SQ. Yards because it sounds cheaper than Sq. Metres. No daily mail article about that though....

Ah but any I've seen also have the price per square metre printed on the label too, just less prominently.

Fratton Fred

meglome wrote: »

I was trying to use local shops when in Belfast rather than the supermarkets. But the local fruit shop has everything in imperial. I had to stop using it as I have no idea what the imperial measures vs price are. The world uses metric for good reason, let the imperial system die like it needs to.

The Imperial system won't die though, not as long as the world's largest economy is using it.

It used to make me laugh when I was an apprentice (back in the late 80s) and the company I worked for was officially metric.

I worked in the tool room and whenever a new drawing was issued, the first thing the old boys did was go through and change all the metric measurements to imperial. I always thought it would have been easier for them to just get used to the new format.

I think in litres and Kgs, but also in miles and stones. For some reason driving 90 miles doesn't seem as daunting as 150 Km.

mikemac

Even Wall St, supposedly the cutting edge are backward
That share is 2 and 5/8 but we'll bid 2 and 13/16
Madness!
Wrecks my head in work and I get paid far, far less then the people on Wall St

I can picture a 90sq metre apartment or a very small 50sq metre place
Death to the square foot that estate agents use! They stopped teaching this over 30 years ago in primary school

Batsy

Fratton Fred wrote: »

The Imperial system won't die though, not as long as the world's largest economy is using it.

It'll never die in Britain, even if the rest of the world uses metric and even if America starts using it. As the article says, the vast majority of Britons, even those who were schooled (brainwashed into using) metric measures still overwhelmingly use imperial measures.

You'll be hard-pressed in Britain to find anybody, regardless of their age, who doesn't measure their height in feet and inches and their weight in stones.

Imperial measures have been used in Britain for centuries and they are going nowhere fast. The Irish and the rest of the world can follow metric measures like sheep, but the British are resisting.

whatstherush

Batsy wrote: »

It'll never die in Britain, even if the rest of the world uses metric and even if America starts using it. As the article says, the vast majority of Britons, even those who were schooled (brainwashed into using) metric measures still overwhelmingly use imperial measures.

You'll be hard-pressed in Britain to find anybody, regardless of their age, who doesn't measure their height in feet and inches and their weight in stones.

Imperial measures have been used in Britain for centuries and they are going nowhere fast. The Irish and the rest of the world can follow metric measures like sheep, but the British are resisting.

It must be quite hard for you Batsy, going from the high's of having an empire that ruled the waves, down to this, 'resisting' the rest of the world by not using the metric system.
LOL:D

Fratton Fred

whatstherush wrote: »

It must be quite hard for you Batsy, going from the high's of having an empire that ruled the waves, down to this, 'resisting' the rest of the world by not using the metric system.
LOL:D

I don't know Batsy personally, but I would be very surprised if he can remember the Empire.

francois

The ridiculous Daily Fail, as though improving the riduculous empirical measurement system by replacing it with the metric one, the whole edifice of british society will come crumbling down
Pounds and ounces will eventually go the way of farthings

LaBaguette

Batsy wrote: »

The Irish and the rest of the world can follow metric measures like sheep, but the British are resisting.

The Irish and the rest of the world can use internet like sheep, but the French are resisting and we won't stop using faxes !

Seriously, though, I can't understand why people would prefer the imperial system. Aside from the fact that metric is used almost everywhere else, it's simply more difficult to use. I just don't get it.

Also, may I point out that butter in Ireland is sold in 454g packages ?

mikemac

LaBaguette wrote: »

Seriously, though, I can't understand why people would prefer the imperial system.

More in a pint then a half litre

Still, I say my weight in kg and not lbs, smaller number so I can feel better about myself :cool:

The Daily Mail seem to be taking the metric system as an attack of all they are proud of and centuries of history.

Fratton Fred

LaBaguette wrote: »

The Irish and the rest of the world can use internet like sheep, but the French are resisting and we won't stop using faxes !

Seriously, though, I can't understand why people would prefer the imperial system. Aside from the fact that metric is used almost everywhere else, it's simply more difficult to use. I just don't get it.

Also, may I point out that butter in Ireland is sold in 454g packages ?

Last I heard, the Irish were quite partial to a 568.261ml as well.

whatstherush

LaBaguette wrote: »

Seriously, though, I can't understand why people would prefer the imperial system. Aside from the fact that metric is used almost everywhere else, it's simply more difficult to use. I just don't get it.

It doesn't have anything to do with how easy or difficult the system is, it's about symbolism. To Batsy and everyone else who reads The Daily Mail Little Englander, its all about fighting off Johnny Foreigner and his none British system.

belacqua_

mikemac wrote: »

Still, I say my weight in kg and not lbs, smaller number so I can feel better about myself :cool:

You should weigh yourself in stones, you'll feel even better.

Wait until you see the British backlash when the Corgi ban comes into effect next year, right after the ban on selling eggs by the dozen or half dozen, the straight banana directive and the renaming of Bombay Mix to Mumbai Medley, we'd fight them on the beaches if it wasn't for bloody Health and Safety. It's political correctness gone mad, you can't even make toast in the bath any more (probably because of the gypsies and immigrants).

slimjimmc

belacqua_ wrote: »

You should weigh yourself in stones, you'll feel even better.

Wait until you see the British backlash when the Corgi ban comes into effect next year, right after the ban on selling eggs by the dozen or half dozen, the straight banana directive and the renaming of Bombay Mix to Mumbai Medley, we'd fight them on the beaches if it wasn't for bloody Health and Safety. It's political correctness gone mad, you can't even make toast in the bath any more (probably because of the gypsies and immigrants).

Anyone else imagine hearing Elgar's March #1 playing in the background while reading that?

If the British or any other country want to use imperial units in parallel with metric, let them, it don't bother me one iota.

P. Breathnach

slimjimmc wrote: »

... it don't bother me one iota.

Is that an imperial iota or a metric iota?

Lockstep

Only thing I use Imperial for is for my height (as 6foot sounds better than 183cm)

Other than that, the metric is much handier. I'm a bartender so working in decimals is a hell of a lot simpler than messing around with the Imperial system.


The entire article reads like something from the Daily Mail Headline Generator (which provides hours of fun)

beeftotheheels

Lockstep wrote: »

The entire article reads like something from the Daily Mail Headline Generator (which provides hours of fun)

That is truly fantastic, thank you for sharing, I needed a laugh.

Lockstep

beeftotheheels wrote: »

That is truly fantastic, thank you for sharing, I needed a laugh.

It was even better during the British Election: they edited all the answers to blame Nick Clegg for everything (as with the real Daily Mail)
"Has Nick Clegg given the Royal Family cancer?"
"Is Nick Clegg causing obesity in Middle Britain?" and so on.

Wolfe Tone

Lockstep wrote: »

Only thing I use Imperial for is for my height (as 6foot sounds better than 183cm)

Other than that, the metric is much handier. I'm a bartender so working in decimals is a hell of a lot simpler than messing around with the Imperial system.


The entire article reads like something from the Daily Mail Headline Generator (which provides hours of fun)

Ah now thats curious, I'm probably a bit younger than you and I use imperial nearly exclusively

Corsendonk

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

They tried selling in litres and half litres, but a half litre didn't fill you up enough and a full litre was too much. Or so George Orwell told me.

Try buying a pint in the Aviva stadium, your quickly told they only sell 500ml.

beeftotheheels

Lockstep wrote: »

It was even better during the British Election: they edited all the answers to blame Nick Clegg for everything (as with the real Daily Mail)
"Has Nick Clegg given the Royal Family cancer?"
"Is Nick Clegg causing obesity in Middle Britain?" and so on.

I wish I had known about it then!

I have to say having gone to the UK at 17 for uni and spent a third of my life living there (while reading both the FT and Guardian) I think that the Daily Hate actually made me rebel against imperial more. To the extent that I know my height in meters and my weight in kilos and if any one asked me for them in imperial I would have to find an online conversion tool at this stage (I didn't know my height at 17).

Overheal

I prefer Celsius, but whatever rocks your boat.

the OP reads like a Neo-Christian Conspiracy blog.

P. Breathnach

Corsendonk wrote: »

Try buying a pint in the Aviva stadium, your quickly told they only sell 500ml.

Some years ago, when the price of a pint crossed £2.00, many pubs introduced 500ml. glasses to take the sting out of it. "Metric pints" is what we called them.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

Bottle_of_Smoke

Think in imperial for height just and trying to think in cm

Wish the uk would change to km

Fratton Fred

To be properly metric, you shouldn't use the centimetre. The correct SI unit for length is the metre. Standard multiples of this would then be 10^3 or 10^-3. Ie the millimetre or the kilometre.

Bottle_of_Smoke

Fratton Fred wrote: »

To be properly metric, you shouldn't use the centimetre. The correct SI unit for length is the metre. Standard multiples of this would then be 10^3 or 10^-3. Ie the millimetre or the kilometre.

Not that much of a europhile!

getz

whatstherush wrote: »

It doesn't have anything to do with how easy or difficult the system is, it's about symbolism. To Batsy and everyone else who reads The Daily Mail Little Englander, its all about fighting off Johnny Foreigner and his none British system.

next time he puts a bet on a horse [like most irishmen] remember a furlong is 220 yards or 201.168 m

meglome

Wolfe Tone wrote: »

Ah now thats curious, I'm probably a bit younger than you and I use imperial nearly exclusively

But you would have learned the metric system in school why would you be using imperial?