Author Topic: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?  (Read 15297 times)

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Offline BravoVTopic starter

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UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« on: May 30, 2022, 07:19:29 am »
Source -> https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnson-bids-jubilee-boost-27090524

Quotes :

... BoJo is planning to announce that imperial measurements will be revived to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee...

... the move represents a victory for 'metric martyrs' it is a largely symbolic one to address gripes about EU interference in traditional English life. ...  ???

Offline tom66

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #1 on: May 30, 2022, 07:33:01 am »
Quite frankly I won't be happy until I'm paying for my seven hogsheads of four-star leaded petrol in shillings and guineas.  Anything else will not represent True Brexit.
 
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Online IanB

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #2 on: May 30, 2022, 08:28:18 am »
Here in the USA I do like being able to ask for "half a pound" of something at the deli counter. I never could get used to "quarter of a kilogram" or "250 grams".

If you went to Tesco and asked for "a quarter of the farmhouse cheddar" would that automatically be understood as 250 g these days?
 

Offline PKTKS

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #3 on: May 30, 2022, 08:29:43 am »
So next will be the world is back to plain not round and the center is not the sun...

Paul
 

Offline magic

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #4 on: May 30, 2022, 09:01:55 am »
So the new unit of voltage is pound times square inch per coulomb per square second? I will try to remember ;D
Is there an imperial unit of charge I forgot about?
 

Offline floobydust

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #5 on: May 30, 2022, 09:10:13 am »
Canadian engineers are used to working with the different measurement systems, it's no big deal. USA is right next door.

Old measurement systems are intuitive whereas the Metric system I've never been able to use sizing things. Degrees °F has almost twice the resolution as °C, sometimes I like it better for indoor temperature differences.
Not to debate which system is "better" but eyeballing something in the metric system I find gross. Let the King's foot live on!
 

Online Ranayna

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #6 on: May 30, 2022, 09:39:54 am »
Here in the USA I do like being able to ask for "half a pound" of something at the deli counter. I never could get used to "quarter of a kilogram" or "250 grams".
Funny enough... I have to admit that i do not know since when Germany is fully metric. EDIT: Looked it up: Metric was introduced in the 1860's... /EDIT
But "Pfund", translating to "pound" and meaning half a kilogram, is very much still in use when considering food.

Exactly your scenario, ordering hald a pound of whatever at the deli, will be understood to mean 250 gram.
« Last Edit: May 30, 2022, 09:44:15 am by Ranayna »
 

Online tggzzz

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #7 on: May 30, 2022, 10:00:43 am »
Here in the USA I do like being able to ask for "half a pound" of something at the deli counter. I never could get used to "quarter of a kilogram" or "250 grams".

In the 50s my mother asked for a "quarter of ham" in a shop in Pittsburgh. She received a black look, because it was interpreted as 25c of ham.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
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Offline bd139

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #8 on: May 30, 2022, 10:17:58 am »
I will personally not shop in any places that service only imperial units.
 
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Online themadhippy

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #9 on: May 30, 2022, 11:32:52 am »
brilliant news, i can order a pint of bitter and a pint of shandy instead of a pint of bitter and a large shandy
 
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Offline vk6zgo

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #10 on: May 30, 2022, 12:20:28 pm »
brilliant news, i can order a pint of bitter and a pint of shandy instead of a pint of bitter and a large shandy

In Oz, we seem to have undergone a process of "Re-Imperialisation by stealth".

If I want to buy a "Pint" of Beer, I will travel to the "Old Dart"---- Oz beer was served by the "Pot", "Schooner", "Middy" or "Glass".
Such measures were so imbedded in the Australian psyche, that the Metrication Board even turned out a chart, specifying the quantities in Metric measures.

Not any more, though, all the little "Trendoids" wanted to pretend they were in London (never Southampton or Skegness, note)  & order in Pints.

"Market Forces", in some unfathomable way, then forced the rest of us into having to buy our beer in the same measures!

The worst thing is, that I always have the sneaking suspicion that I am being fobbed off with wimpy US "Pintettes", not real, red-blooded Pommy Pints!

 

Offline xrunner

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #11 on: May 30, 2022, 12:34:29 pm »
I mostly use metric now for my own projects. But if I have to deal with contractors or friends ... nope, must be inches, pounds, and deg. F
I told my friends I could teach them to be funny, but they all just laughed at me.
 

Offline Silicium81

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #12 on: May 30, 2022, 12:42:44 pm »
With the different measurement systems NASA has missed Mars at least once...  |O
I was born with simplicity: the metric system  :-+

https://youtu.be/u4r0yrF_Wa0
« Last Edit: May 30, 2022, 12:47:11 pm by Silicium81 »
Electronic engineer with a passion for mechanics
https://vae-tech.forumactif.org/
 

Offline nightfire

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #13 on: May 30, 2022, 12:52:31 pm »
Here in the USA I do like being able to ask for "half a pound" of something at the deli counter. I never could get used to "quarter of a kilogram" or "250 grams".

If you went to Tesco and asked for "a quarter of the farmhouse cheddar" would that automatically be understood as 250 g these days?

To be consoling: Here in germany it is uncommon to say something like "ein Viertel kilogramm" (A Quarter of a kg) - but: "Ein Viertelliter" (A quarter of a liter=250 ml) is normal measurement when cooking or baking...

As the germans were still using "Pfund" (500 grams), my grandma was used to say halbes Pfund (250 g) or Viertelpfund (=125 g)
 

Online themadhippy

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #14 on: May 30, 2022, 01:16:18 pm »
Quote
to pretend they were in London (never Southampton or Skegness,
Even us poms NEVER pretend to be in smegness,and most who are there tend to pretend there somewhere else
 

Online tggzzz

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #15 on: May 30, 2022, 01:27:44 pm »
Quote
to pretend they were in London (never Southampton or Skegness,
Even us poms NEVER pretend to be in smegness,and most who are there tend to pretend there somewhere else

Quite.

Southampton has a top-notch university.

Skegness is buiit upon Butlitz Butlins holday camp, and a few people do stay at school beyond 16yo.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Offline bd139

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #16 on: May 30, 2022, 02:36:13 pm »
Viz agrees

 

Offline eugene

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #17 on: May 30, 2022, 03:09:15 pm »
Before Brexit, I had no particular opinion of Brits. Now I realize they can be entertaining to watch.
90% of quoted statistics are fictional
 
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Online tggzzz

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #18 on: May 30, 2022, 03:22:18 pm »
Viz agrees



To coin a phrase, "Well they[1] would say that, wouldn't they".

[1] "Mablethorpe Tourism Association", just up the coast from Skegness and Miami Beach (yes, really!)

Before Brexit, I had no particular opinion of Brits. Now I realize they can be entertaining to watch.

We do our best. But doesn't it get boring to watch people repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot?
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Online Zero999

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #19 on: May 30, 2022, 03:29:42 pm »
It's just a distraction to keep some who voted Brexit happy. Unfortunately it won't because the main reason many voted to leave, was due to concerns over the large number of immigrants from the EU, yet immigration has only increased since the UK left.

I couldn't give a toss. We have more important things to worry about: high inflation, immigration, no face to face consultations with the doctor and a long wait even for a telephone appointment etc.
 
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Online TimFox

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #20 on: May 30, 2022, 04:07:53 pm »
The latest "Slough House" novel about British Intelligence (MI5) by M Herron ("Bad Actors") was just published in the US. 
I won't blow the plot, but there is background noise in short bits of broadcast news from the UK government.
One:  "the PM had just shared his vision of post-Brexit Britain as a culinary powerhouse, its takeaway delivery services the envy of the world".
The last one:  "the PM had just shared his vision of post-Brexit Britain as an imperial powerhouse, its weights and measures system the envy of the world".
« Last Edit: May 30, 2022, 05:23:58 pm by TimFox »
 

Online coppice

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #21 on: May 30, 2022, 04:16:56 pm »
"the PM had just shared his vision of post-Brexit Britain as a culinary powerhouse, its takeaway delivery services the envy of the world".
Yeah, get the country playing to its traditional strengths. :-\
 

Offline PlainName

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #22 on: May 30, 2022, 04:21:41 pm »
It's a dead cat to divert attention away from <loads of shit Boris has caused>. Top of the list currently are probably cost of living and partygate, but there are plenty more stacked up.

To be fair to Boris (grudgingly), breathing life into the corpse of imperial measurements was a manifesto item when he was elected, so he would be remiss to not do it. Doesn't make it any less of a dead cat, of course - timing is everything.

Further, why should it make a difference? This is not a command that everything will henceforth be sold in imperial quantities, it's merely saying that if you want to do that you can, but it's not mandatory. Any sensible company would just keep on doing what they're doing now, and the only ones switching to imperial as the primary measure would be brexiter fascists doing it just because. If they want any chance at all of exporting to the EU they will keep metric as the primary measure.

The downside (there is always one) will likely be that with a free-for-all the legislation mandating that roadsigns use yards and miles will lapse, so we will find junctions approaching in 100m instead of 100yds (makes a big difference!). FFS, just stick with what everyone knows without carrying calculator.

Not sure how petrol will be affected. The switch from gallons to litres let them covertly bump up prices. Hard to think they would want their prices to look worse now (even if they turned out to be cheaper in reality) so I don't see gallons coming back in there.

tl;dr: nothing to see here.
 
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Online themadhippy

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #23 on: May 30, 2022, 04:44:53 pm »
Quote
Skegness is buiit upon Butlitz Butlins holday camp
Ive some very happy moments at stalag butlins, most happening  in the early hours ,but they all involve jumping into a van/bus  and driving out the gate ,however i do still suffer flash backs from the trauma caused in having to stay at the minehead branch for 2 nights
 

Offline Benta

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #24 on: May 30, 2022, 05:01:06 pm »
I look forward to the speedometers on new British cars calibrated in "Furlongs per Fortnight".
 


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