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What went wrong with the metric system in the UK?


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The OP needs to get a grip and learn some reltively simple mental arithmetic.

 

I think its you that needs to get a grip. Why should anyone need to have to use a calculator to compare the price of milk in supermarkets because some sell it in 4 pint bottles whilst others fob you off with 2 litres.

 

Off the top of your head can you say which is best value 4 pints at £1.30 or 2 litres at £1.20?

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I think its you that needs to get a grip. Why should anyone need to have to use a calculator to compare the price of milk in supermarkets because some sell it in 4 pint bottles whilst others fob you off with 2 litres

 

You shouldn't. The price per 100ml is printed on the price tag. All you need is the ability to read.

 

 

 

Of course, if the UK had actually switched to metric back in 1865 or whenever it was that we passed the Act of Parliament that said we were going to ... we wouldn't be having this discussion. The only calculation anyone would ever have to do about anything, is to multiply or divide by ten.

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Last night I was in a pub contemplating a pint that had cost £2.90 and wondering how much cheaper it would be in a supermarket. The problem is I don't know because supermarkets sell beer in about 20 different measures but a pint is rarely one of them. Yet 40 years ago we had a great system where beer was only sold in pints halves and nips.

 

Similarly I wonder about how much petrol I need to stick in my car to do a 100 mile journey. It should be simple because the car does 24mpg. Unfortunately I have to buy petrol in litres and I haven't a clue how to work it out.

 

The whole system is a disaster. You can't even compare theprice of beans in supermarkets because they are packed in 410 grams 420 grams or425 grams. WHY?

 

What was wrong with eggs costing 3d each so they were 3 bob a dozen. A pint at half a crown meant a skin full cost a quid.

 

What a shame they cocked it all up.

 

Who is "they"?

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Just forget the old imperial sysyem and use the SI units.

You only need to know three things.

Time, mass, and distance.

For day to day usage that is sufficient.

Everything can be calculated from those three things.

It becomes more complex as you go deeper, but so did the old imperial system

 

The current system is by far better than the old one.

However people of my age are lucky.

I was apprentice in the late 1960's, just as SI was being introduced.

So I can work with either system equally.

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