Author Topic: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?  (Read 15289 times)

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Offline bd139

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #25 on: May 30, 2022, 05:27:10 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

Holy hell I survived that one as well.

Had to sit through Bob the builder show in a room containing more people than teeth.

The whole experienced added to the reasons the ex wife is an ex wife.
 

Offline CJay

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #26 on: May 30, 2022, 05:28:14 pm »
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. ...  ???

Have you stopped thinking about all his negative press and poll ratings or does he have to arrange for a minister to be caught buggering a corgi in view of Buck house?
 

Offline CJay

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #27 on: May 30, 2022, 05:29:04 pm »
Had to sit through Bob the builder show in a room containing more people than teeth.

The whole experienced added to the reasons the ex wife is an ex wife.

*shudders* at the thought of 'holiday camp entertainment'.
 
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Offline SiliconWizard

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #28 on: May 30, 2022, 05:38:24 pm »
Have not followed everything on this topic, but if getting back to imperial is just a way of showing ties are cut with the EU, that's just plain stupid. That's putting politics where it doesn't belong, and it's unfortunately a very concerning trend as of late.

The metric system is universally used in science, and as such, there are objective benefits to all use the same system regardless of politics. It won't rob you of your sovereignty - contrary to many other decisions that are currently a lot more concerning sovereignty-wise and that the UK doesn't seem to be very reluctant to.

I can understand why the US still uses imperial (but it's increasingly using both), but for a country that has already made the switch (which has an enormous cost), making the switch back doesn't seem to make sense and would have yet another gigantic cost for no good reason.

But since I kinda like democracy (when it's really democracy), I think if the question in the UK is a real and important one, and not just a stupid tantrum or political maneuver, they should have a referendum. Let the people decide, but giving them all implications, including the cost, beforehand.
 
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Online TimFox

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #29 on: May 30, 2022, 05:43:30 pm »
Again, the US went metric in 1959 (although they forgot to tell everyone).
We don't use "Imperial" units:  the relevant laws define "conventional" units (e.g., inch and pound) in terms of the metric units.
Both metric and conventional units are allowed in commerce.
 

Offline BrianHG

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #30 on: May 30, 2022, 05:56:18 pm »
Here in Canada, Quebec, we have some supermarkets criss-cross their $/ LB or KG to mess with you into purchasing a worse deal.  Normally, the price may be $/KG, but when there is a special, all of a sudden, it's now $/LB.
 

Offline CJay

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #31 on: May 30, 2022, 05:58:33 pm »
Again, the US went metric in 1959 (although they forgot to tell everyone).
We don't use "Imperial" units:  the relevant laws define "conventional" units (e.g., inch and pound) in terms of the metric units.
Both metric and conventional units are allowed in commerce.

Nor were Imperial units ever banned in the UK, it's just another lie, more smoke and mirrors to mislead the gullible.
 

Offline eugene

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #32 on: May 30, 2022, 06:18:25 pm »
Which is what has me a little confused (but not enough to actually study the matter; I have more important things to think about.)

What does the government have to do with any of it? Unless there are strict regulations, the people are going to use whatever units they want, or whatever units their customers want, or whatever is convenient given the situation. The government of the UK, like the government of the US, is kidding themselves (and wasting their time) if they think they have anything significant to say about it.
90% of quoted statistics are fictional
 

Offline Bud

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #33 on: May 30, 2022, 06:35:29 pm »
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...
This makes it look even more interesting from the perspective of justification.
Facebook-free life and Rigol-free shack.
 

Online TimFox

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #34 on: May 30, 2022, 06:56:24 pm »
Which is what has me a little confused (but not enough to actually study the matter; I have more important things to think about.)

What does the government have to do with any of it? Unless there are strict regulations, the people are going to use whatever units they want, or whatever units their customers want, or whatever is convenient given the situation. The government of the UK, like the government of the US, is kidding themselves (and wasting their time) if they think they have anything significant to say about it.

Article 1, Section 8 of the US Constitution states that Congress has the power to "fix the Standard of Weights and Measures".
In current US practice, the merchant and purchaser can measure substances in either conventional or metric units, but the statutes govern the definition of the kg and lb av to be used.
Prior to the Revolution, individual States had their own units and currencies.
More than you want to know:  https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-C13-691a9b38e29a85d0925f4db586b60735/pdf/GOVPUB-C13-691a9b38e29a85d0925f4db586b60735.pdf
 

Online coppice

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #35 on: May 30, 2022, 07:04:04 pm »
Again, the US went metric in 1959 (although they forgot to tell everyone).
We don't use "Imperial" units:  the relevant laws define "conventional" units (e.g., inch and pound) in terms of the metric units.
Both metric and conventional units are allowed in commerce.
Of course the US doesn't use imperial units. While most of the US units have the same names as imperial units, a number of them (e.g the gallon) are a different size.
 

Online IanB

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #36 on: May 30, 2022, 07:10:28 pm »
Nor were Imperial units ever banned in the UK, it's just another lie, more smoke and mirrors to mislead the gullible.

They may not be banned, but they are prohibited. You can go to the greengrocer and buy two pounds of potatoes, but by law the price must be shown by the kilogram and the receipt must show the weight in kg.

https://www.gov.uk/weights-measures-and-packaging-the-law

 
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Online TimFox

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #37 on: May 30, 2022, 07:16:19 pm »
Again, the US went metric in 1959 (although they forgot to tell everyone).
We don't use "Imperial" units:  the relevant laws define "conventional" units (e.g., inch and pound) in terms of the metric units.
Both metric and conventional units are allowed in commerce.
Of course the US doesn't use imperial units. While most of the US units have the same names as imperial units, a number of them (e.g the gallon) are a different size.

Before Canada went metric, gas stations in Canada used the imperial gallon (4.546 liters), which was larger than the US gallon (3.785 liters).  Most US containers will use the abbreviation "US gal" to avoid confusion.
One rarely encounters "dry measure" in the US anymore:  a dry gallon is 4.405 liters, for measuring dry ingredients, but there is still a legal definition.
 

Online TimFox

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #38 on: May 30, 2022, 07:17:37 pm »
Nor were Imperial units ever banned in the UK, it's just another lie, more smoke and mirrors to mislead the gullible.

They may not be banned, but they are prohibited. You can go to the greengrocer and buy two pounds of potatoes, but by law the price must be shown by the kilogram and the receipt must show the weight in kg.

https://www.gov.uk/weights-measures-and-packaging-the-law

From that UK legal source:  "You can display an imperial measurement alongside the metric measurement but it cannot stand out more than the metric measurement."
 

Online floobydust

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #39 on: May 30, 2022, 07:19:57 pm »
I find the US is not metric. Example Bud Industries all dimensions are inches. Cringe. Even though they're made in Asia.
Hammond is a one button click for Imperial or Metric units. What's so hard about that.
 

Online Monkeh

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #40 on: May 30, 2022, 07:20:47 pm »
Nor were Imperial units ever banned in the UK, it's just another lie, more smoke and mirrors to mislead the gullible.

They may not be banned, but they are prohibited. You can go to the greengrocer and buy two pounds of potatoes, but by law the price must be shown by the kilogram and the receipt must show the weight in kg.

https://www.gov.uk/weights-measures-and-packaging-the-law

From that UK legal source:  "You can display an imperial measurement alongside the metric measurement but it cannot stand out more than the metric measurement."

And thus you see how hilariously pointless this Brexit execise by The Johnson is.
 

Online coppice

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #41 on: May 30, 2022, 07:21:19 pm »
Nor were Imperial units ever banned in the UK, it's just another lie, more smoke and mirrors to mislead the gullible.

They may not be banned, but they are prohibited. You can go to the greengrocer and buy two pounds of potatoes, but by law the price must be shown by the kilogram and the receipt must show the weight in kg.

https://www.gov.uk/weights-measures-and-packaging-the-law
They aren't prohibited. The law only requires the same common ground units be used for comparing prices. Sometimes that can be something non-metric like price per sheet for toilet paper. We have some weirdities with units in the UK. We went metric around the time home deliveries of milk ended. Home delivered milk was in pint glass bottles. People migrated to buying their milk in litres from the supermarket. At some point, for reasons I don't know, the supermarket milk changed to pint bottles, and that's where they are today. We buy specialised (e.g. chocolate) milks in litre bottles, but plain milk in 1, 2, 4, 6, or 8 pint plastic bottles.
 

Offline CJay

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #42 on: May 30, 2022, 07:27:01 pm »
Nor were Imperial units ever banned in the UK, it's just another lie, more smoke and mirrors to mislead the gullible.

They may not be banned, but they are prohibited. You can go to the greengrocer and buy two pounds of potatoes, but by law the price must be shown by the kilogram and the receipt must show the weight in kg.

https://www.gov.uk/weights-measures-and-packaging-the-law

Thank you for proving my point.
 

Online TimFox

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #43 on: May 30, 2022, 07:35:51 pm »
Before 1974, the price of gasoline in the US was well below $1.00 per US gallon.
With the oil shock, the price rose, but most gas-station pumps could not use a price above $1.00.
However, most could be set for liters, so Americans found themselves buying gasoline by the liter until the pumps could be replaced.
Now, the US retail price is above $1.00 per liter, but the electronic pump controls can handle much higher prices than that.

Similarly, wine and spirits used to be sold here by the "fifth", which was 1/5 gallon = 0.8 quart = 757.0 ml = 25.6 fl oz.
Taking advantage of the standard European size for spirits and wine bottles, we now buy them in 750 ml size = 25.4 fl oz.
We all know what happens to prices when units change.
 

Online TimFox

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #44 on: May 30, 2022, 07:38:17 pm »
I find the US is not metric. Example Bud Industries all dimensions are inches. Cringe. Even though they're made in Asia.
Hammond is a one button click for Imperial or Metric units. What's so hard about that.

So you would rather they change all their drawings, which are now "even" in inches and use US sheet-metal gauges, rather than do the exact conversion (since 1 inch = exactly 25.4 mm) on your calculator?
 

Offline james_s

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #45 on: May 30, 2022, 07:48:50 pm »
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!

I work pretty much fluently in either one and don't have a particularly strong preference one way or the other. For some applications metric is clearly superior, for a lot of other things it doesn't really matter. I do prefer F for room temperature and weather due to the resolution aspect but even that doesn't matter too much to me. At a house I rented for a while around 20 years ago the electronic thermostat somehow got set to Celsius and I couldn't be bothered to figure out how to switch it back so I just left it that way. I've never really understood why some people get so passionate about the topic.
 

Online IanB

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #46 on: May 30, 2022, 07:49:07 pm »
From that UK legal source:  "You can display an imperial measurement alongside the metric measurement but it cannot stand out more than the metric measurement."

I think the point is that if you are selling loose goods from a market stall, you are not going to go to the effort of displaying prices in £/kg and also £/lb. It's just not practical. And you cannot choose either or. If you display only one, it has to be metric. Furthermore, automatic point of sale equipment can only work with one or the other, and is calibrated with one or the other.

So while "in theory" you can use the old measurements, this is something of a pointless provision in practice. You will not find any market traders or deli counters showing weights or prices in pounds and ounces any more.
 

Online tggzzz

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #47 on: May 30, 2022, 07:50:02 pm »
I find the US is not metric. Example Bud Industries all dimensions are inches. Cringe. Even though they're made in Asia.
Hammond is a one button click for Imperial or Metric units. What's so hard about that.

So you would rather they change all their drawings, which are now "even" in inches and use US sheet-metal gauges, rather than do the exact conversion (since 1 inch = exactly 25.4 mm) on your calculator?

Don't forget "soft metric" vs "hard metric. Thus with ceramic tiles 150mm is the same as 6". Or not.

Some buildings will continue to be imperial until they are demolished :)
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 TimFox

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #48 on: May 30, 2022, 07:53:36 pm »
I go with both systems as I see fit.  I even own a 305 mm Crescent wrench.
When I turned 32 (many years ago), I started converting my age to Celsius.  A few years later, I converted to Réaumur.  After that, I went to radians.  I have now run out of options and can continue to age gracefully.
 
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Offline Benta

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Re: UK back to "imperial" measurements ?
« Reply #49 on: May 30, 2022, 08:00:24 pm »
The power of the Metric units is, that they all have a common reference/size, defined after the French revolution.
All stored in Paris (standard metre, standard litre, standard kilogram etc.). Today, they are replaced by physical/atomic constants with the exception of the kilogram. That one's still being worked on.
On the other hand, an inch could be practically anything until 1959.
In industry, the inch was standardized by the Ford Motor Company after it bought the C.E. Johansson company and its "Jo Blocks". Those nail the inch at 25.4 mm - yes, mm. So the Paris Metric standard was the basic reference.
I think you'll find that all UK and US units are in the end based on the Metric units from the French Revolution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Edvard_Johansson

Note that I'm not saying that one system is better thant the other. A unit is just a unit, use what you feel comfortable with.
 


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