British Firms May Be Allowed to Ditch Metric Measurements after Brexit

Breitbart ^ | February 19, 2017 | NIck Hallett

[C19fan]

British manufacturers may once again be able to sell goods in pounds and ounces after the country has left the European Union, the Environment Secretary has hinted.

[C19fan]

I remember when Jimmy Carter wanted to impose the metric system on the US.

[DuncanWaring]

Aha!

They’ll again be able to quote prices in pounds per pound.

[Verginius Rufus]

I was in England in 2006 when there was a heat wave and the temperature reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The newspapers even had headlines saying 100 degrees.

In Canada, if that were to happen, probably half of the population wouldn't understand the headline, they have been using Celsius for so long. I was told some years ago by a Canadian that her younger brother had never learned the old measurements (the ones still used in the US).

[oldplayer]

My British friends will be happy. Although the metric system is as entirely arbitrary as the “English” system, it has some good aspects. The Brits will now be free to take the good and discard the bad. Litres per mile just didn’t ever seem right, even though their “gallons” are messed up as it is! LOL

[Born to Conserve]

The English know how to pour a pint.

[BBB333]

So, what then will happen?

Will British mechanics need to buy a full set of Whitworth spanners?

[katana]

Won’t affect Lucas Electrics either way. “If Lucas Electrics made guns, wars would not start”.

[BBB333]

I actually OWN a Lucas Smoke Injector - it’s used to repair Lucas electronics that go bad!

[Dr. Sivana]

In Canada, if that were to happen, probably half of the population wouldn't understand the headline, they have been using Celsius for so long. I was told some years ago by a Canadian that her younger brother had never learned the old measurements (the ones still used in the US).

My wife is Canadian, so this is something of interest to me. Our proximity has made the country somewhat schizophrenic. The attempt to make the lumber metric overnight was a catastrophe as the new lumber didn't fit the old lumber on half-finished structures, and that was quickly abandoned. Cooking receipes and stoves are still in Fahrenheit for the most part, and I still see the English measurements in various places, like the clearances signs in the Edmonton Mall parking lot (6', NOT 2 metres!).

Canadians (at least the ones I know) never picked up the "stones" thing for weight, but they still use pounds.

They don't even use the metric system as intended, as fish is often sold by the hundred-gram, not hectogram. The gap between gram and kilogram is far to large to be usebul, and no one uses the ones in between.

Metric is great in the laboratory. The English system (and its variants like ours) is great for real life day to day living.

[6ppc]

Prince of Darkness bump!

[Moonman62]

Although the metric system is as entirely arbitrary as the “English” system, it has some good aspects.

...

The good thing about the “English” system is it uses highly composite numbers, which is people friendly. The Metric system is good for people who count on their fingers. Both systems have to be converted into binary for computers.

[GreenLanternCorps]

[RegulatorCountry]

I’ve often been amused by people insisting that metric is more “precise.” No, it’s not more “precise” it’s just prettier numbers, but the measurements often aren’t as useful or as human scaled by comparison. It’s arguably less precise regarding temperature, since the degrees are considerably larger. Nobody gives the temperature outdoors in Fahrenheit with decimals, no need to do so. But, they do in degrees Centigrade.

[captain_dave]

Bring back the old money — Pounds, Shillings and Pence. (12 pence (d) to the shilling, 20 shillings (s) to the pound. 1 pound 5 shillings 3 pence would be written: £1 - 5 / 3 or £1 5s 3d)

[norwaypinesavage]

"If Lucas Electrics made guns, wars would not start."

You sure got that right. I once GAVE AWAY a Triumph Tiger Cub because of insolvable (by me) problems with the Lucas electrical system. That was after I lost the Whitworth front spindle nut while driving down an expressway at 65 mph a hundred and 50 miles (241.5 km) from home. Have you ever tired to buy a Whitworth nut in Grand Rapids Michigan on Sunday morning of Memorial Day weekend?

[I want the USA back]

Dumb. The International System is far superior to the idiotic system of hogsheads and gills. The American public, collectively, does not seem have the mental capacity to adopt another system.

[cloudmountain]

I remember when Jimmy Carter wanted to impose the metric system on the US.

You're right. I had forgotten.

THIS country is doing just fine without the metric system.

[oldplayer]

People that don’t understand the usefulness of 12, 3, 4, 2, 6,and where those numbers are best used crack me up.

As to the argument about “Whitworth” measurements, I’d point out that there are other “odd” systems around, including Torx, TorxII, Allen heads, Phillips heads, and on and on. (Plumbing fixtures? Good luck!) Some are useful, but some are headed to the dustbin of history. BUT, we don’t need the government to decide which of those will make it or not.

[Verginius Rufus]

I was just guessing from that one example so may have exaggerated.

I remember a cartoon explaining why it snows so much in Buffalo.

A TV weatherman is in front of a large map. On the Canadian side of the border it has a zero. On the New York side there is a 32. The weatherman is explaining that when the cold Celsius air from Canada meets the warm Fahrenheit air in the US, that's what causes the snow to fall.

[oldplayer]

Count Lucas - The Prince of Darkness! LOL

Oldplayer
Cushing, OK

Triumph 955-i Sprint ST