After Brexit, some Brits want to ditch the metric system, too

[Independent voter]

I don't know why a person would want to convert back to the imperial system after going though all that pain of adapting to the metric system.

And how could you not see that the metric system is superior to the imperial system?

"For example, a hundredweight in Britain is 112 pounds, but the same unit is 100 pounds in the United States."

You got to love that.





https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...ic-system-too/

When Britons voted this summer to leave the European Union, many did so because of weighty concerns about the union's future. There are*real*worries*about the continent's struggle with economic integration or immigration, for instance.*Yet*few would deny that fond*memories of a pre-E.U. Britain also played some role in*the vote.

Here's another case in point: In a*new*post-Brexit Britain,*the metric measurement system — in use for decades almost worldwide*— could be under threat, as some Britons are pushing to ditch it and return to an*older measurement system established at the height of the British Empire.

On Tuesday, the Telegraph newspaper reported that the*British Weights and Measures Association*had been receiving requests from shopkeepers who wanted to ditch the use of metric measurements such as grams and kilograms when selling groceries and other goods.*The*group, which advocates against the metric system, said it*suspected that this was just “the tip of a much bigger iceberg" of people hoping*to make the move back to the "imperial" system of pounds and ounces.
Suggesting that there was "pressure" for the government to act, the Telegraph*spoke to two members of Parliament from*the ruling Conservative Party who said they supported a proposal to move back to the imperial system.*“That is one of those things that can be implemented now so that when we actually pull out it is a smooth process," lawmaker*Peter Bone said, noting that Britain's chief ally, the United States, did not widely use the metric system, either.

Such sentiments were widely mocked on social media, with some sarcastically suggesting that other obscure and obtuse units such as the shilling (a monetary unit equal to 12*pence or*one-twentieth of a pound) also should make a comeback.*Yet there was some evidence of support for such a move.*Polling company YouGov released a survey that showed that 45 percent of Britons favored selling produce in imperial measurements.

Additionally, there*have been isolated reports of shop owners moving back to the imperial system since June's Brexit vote. Gratton's Butchers in Devon began selling meat in pounds and ounces*almost immediately after the referendum.*“It seems like in north Devon everyone’s for it," Darren Gratton told the Sun*newspaper. "I think it will be better for local farmers.”
It's a somewhat surprising evolution.*The metric system, which originated in France before slowly gaining worldwide acceptance in*the 18th and 19th centuries, has been used for decades in Britain. And though*there's some nostalgia for the past, many*would agree that it is an easier system: The metric system comprises units that follow a decimal pattern —*so one kilogram equals 1,000*grams — which made it more logical. Under the imperial system, the relationships between units isn't so simple. There were*16 ounces in a pound,*14 pounds in a stone, eight stones in a hundredweight and 20*hundredweights in a ton.

The United States*is often said to be the only developed country that doesn't use the metric system (most*sources cite Burma*and Libya as the only other stragglers in the world), but it doesn't quite use the imperial system, either: Instead, it uses a similar but not identical set*of measurements known as the U.S. customary system. There are some important differences in the two systems: For example, a hundredweight in Britain is 112 pounds, but the same unit is 100 pounds in the United States.

Besides, the*metric system*has never actually been fully implemented in Britain. Road signs show distances in*miles and yards, pubs pour pints of draft beer, pints*of milk are delivered door to door in glass bottles and precious metals can still be sold in troy ounces.*As a government spokesman told the Telegraph, there is no law against using imperial units. "Businesses can already use*imperial*units alongside metric," the spokesman*said, adding that the British decision to adopt the metric system nationally was made in 1965, before the country had even joined the E.U., and it had been discussed as early as the early 19th century.

However, the metric system became a passionate issue for anti-E.U. groups in 2000, when European legislation came into force that made*it a legal requirement to weigh and measure loose goods*under the metric system (most prepackaged goods had already been sold under the metric system for years, if not decades, by that point). Some market traders refused to switch from pounds and ounces, and some were prosecuted for using scales that didn't show the unit price per kilogram.

Five traders claimed their human rights were being violated*and took their appeal to Britain's highest courts and, subsequently, the European Court of Human Rights, but they lost their case. This group became known as the "Metric Martyrs" in Britain's tabloids, a nickname that became grimmer when the lead campaigner died of a heart attack shortly after the ECHR decision. ("It is damnable that he dies a criminal owing to these totalitarian regulations," one of his co-campaigners said at the time.)

Tabloid stories fanned the flames, suggesting that the E.U. was planning to make pubs sell beer*in liters, for example. In fact, the opposite is true — some bars in Britain have been fined for not serving drinks using the imperial*system, and it is still possible to get a "yard" of ale in some establishments.

Measurement systems may seem like a strange bone of contention, but they are not the only one in Britain in the aftermath of*the Brexit vote.*There's a*campaign to bring back Britain's dark blue passports, which the Sun*said were a "symbol of the U.K. regaining sovereignty from the E.U."

[Low Hanging Fruit]

/drum roll

And no one gives a fuck... wait....

Someone will likely get offended by this. But hey I can't say I ever judged someone by the system of which they measure things. Seems very small dickish.

[Blackmist]

Some Brits are fucking idiots. 52% of us, to be precise.

[Crispin]

Important issues, passport colours and metric system, what's next? Taking back the new world, India and Hong Kong?

[Xeones]

I for one highly support these Brits. I can completely understand why they would want to return to the sensible unit of measurement.

[Deleted]

I for one highly support these Brits. I can completely understand why they would want to return to the sensible unit of measurement.

Well they might enjoy having people not having to relearn measurement system as soon as they step their foot into a university or any higher education that needs physics/maths/chemistry/modern day science and not stone age methods.

But i guess if you plan to never step foot outside the uk or educate yourself then metric might be a waste to learn.

[Xeones]

Well they might enjoy having people not having to relearn measurement system as soon as they step their foot into a university or any higher education that needs physics/maths/chemistry/modern day science and not stone age methods.

But i guess if you plan to never step foot outside the uk or educate yourself then metric might be a waste to learn.

There is a very important place outside of the UK they can use their superior measurement systems!

[caervek]

I don't know why a person would want to convert back to the imperial system after going though all that pain of adapting to the metric system.

They don't, it's a joke that the US media picked up on and either deliberately or mistakenly re-reported as an actual story.

[Kaeth]

I'm waiting for The Onion to release an article now:

"After Brexit, some Brits are lobbying to annul the 1997 return of Hong Kong to China. 52% of them, in fact."

[Deleted]

There is a very important place outside of the UK they can use their superior measurement systems!

India left it ? ... hong kong, australia and new zealand changed as well ?

US imperial is not the same as the uk one either. I don't know...

[Slant]

I for one highly support these Brits. I can completely understand why they would want to return to the sensible unit of measurement.

You, and those Brits, probably don't know what you're asking for by now... here's a sneak preview:

[Rend Blackhand]

'Some Brits' being barely anyone. Probably less than half of traditional farmers market stall owners and mainly pensioners.

Most people don't know imperial measurements any more. Except for miles, we're keeping those

[TwistedSkull]

The English has lost their common sense so this does not surprise me...

[caervek]

Most people don't know imperial measurements any more. Except for miles, we're keeping those

It's not just miles, we still use a number of imperial measurements, I.E I'm 5'7" and weigh 9 stone, I buy milk/beer in pints, and the junkie I went to school with buys drugs by the ounce.

[zenkai]

I don't know why a person would want to convert back to the imperial system after going though all that pain of adapting to the metric system.

As an American who works with both systems, DON'T DO IT! Metric is way better and makes more sense.

[caervek]

US imperial is not the same as the uk one either. I don't know...

Although there was some crossover Imperial measurements differed from country to country hence why the migration to a standard metric system came about, I.E Napoleon was an average height chap but because French inches were bigger than UK/US inches people laughed at him for "only" being 5'2". There are numerous other examples too inc the one the OP listed, IIRC the US uses smaller gallons too.

[Fencers]

I'm too old to start messing around with metric system. I get that it's a dandy system and all- but nah.

[Cybran]

Important issues, passport colours and metric system, what's next? Taking back the new world, India and Hong Kong?

They might decide to burn Copenhagen with fire rockets for the 3rd time.

[Alexeht]

Clickbait topic name - "after brexit?" it didn't even started, so maybe we will wait until it really start or something? Also food is still sold in grams in UK so I don't think that they would ever go back to imperial units (they could go back to galon with petrol, it would be easier to calculate how much fuel car use, as they still show it in mpg here, but every petrol station sell petrol in LITERS -_-).

[Deleted]

This just in; old people and the uneducated hanker for the good ol' days