No longer alone!

[Big Tea]

They should, for good measure (get it ) adopt the “British imperial” that is slightly different then the US way of measuring stuff with body parts. Just to add to the confusion.

That was ok when people had 6 fingers on each hand. These days though it would have to be 10 inches in a foot.

[hUirEYExbN]

Will this make any difference?

It's not been illegal to give imperial measurements before this, so if anyone wanted to they could have. On top of that most people under 50 or so are more comfortable with metric, so the majority of places will not be wanting to annoy/confuse their customers.

[Big Tea]

Will this make any difference?

It's not been illegal to give imperial measurements before this, so if anyone wanted to they could have. On top of that most people under 50 or so are more comfortable with metric, so the majority of places will not be wanting to annoy/confuse their customers.

It has. Only some excepted measurements were allowed such as 'pint'. Gallons can not be sold or can pounds, unless it is a specialised transaction or in what I think is called a 'legacy unit' such as a fifth for spirits.

We have managed fine without them so far

I still can not convert MPG in my head though, and that is different to US gallon anyway)

[Rodak]

Well, I'm a winemaker in the US of A and I do everything in metric. It's so easy to calculate additions, etc. A mg/L is 1 ppm, easy peasy indeed. I have to sit down with the calculator to convert things to gallons/pounds. In my previous career I was a mechanical designer and I hated using inches and feet; drill diameters were really a pain - 13/64ths anyone?

[hUirEYExbN]

Will this make any difference?

It's not been illegal to give imperial measurements before this, so if anyone wanted to they could have. On top of that most people under 50 or so are more comfortable with metric, so the majority of places will not be wanting to annoy/confuse their customers.

It has. Only some excepted measurements were allowed such as 'pint'. Gallons can not be sold or can pounds, unless it is a specialised transaction or in what I think is called a 'legacy unit' such as a fifth for spirits.

We have managed fine without them so far

I still can not convert MPG in my head though, and that is different to US gallon anyway)

So, it has been illegal to give the Imperial measure alongside the metric? That is what I meant, but I wasn't clear about that at all.

[Big Tea]

Will this make any difference?

It's not been illegal to give imperial measurements before this, so if anyone wanted to they could have. On top of that most people under 50 or so are more comfortable with metric, so the majority of places will not be wanting to annoy/confuse their customers.

It has. Only some excepted measurements were allowed such as 'pint'. Gallons can not be sold or can pounds, unless it is a specialised transaction or in what I think is called a 'legacy unit' such as a fifth for spirits.

We have managed fine without them so far

I still can not convert MPG in my head though, and that is different to US gallon anyway)

So, it has been illegal to give the Imperial measure alongside the metric? That is what I meant, but I wasn't clear about that at all.

Yes, just google it. I dis look for some to post but there are just so many

[the EDGE]

It has. Only some excepted measurements were allowed such as 'pint'. Gallons can not be sold or can pounds, unless it is a specialised transaction or in what I think is called a 'legacy unit' such as a fifth for spirits.

We have managed fine without them so far

I still can not convert MPG in my head though, and that is different to US gallon anyway)

So, it has been illegal to give the Imperial measure alongside the metric? That is what I meant, but I wasn't clear about that at all.

Yes, just google it. I dis look for some to post but there are just so many

It has never been illegal to display imperial prices, or to sell things in imperial measurements

It was the EU… not North Korea. Heck, you could could even display the price in Klingon if you choose too

The only requirement was that metric had to be displayed most prominently

[Peter1919]

Will this make any difference?

It's not been illegal to give imperial measurements before this, so if anyone wanted to they could have. On top of that most people under 50 or so are more comfortable with metric, so the majority of places will not be wanting to annoy/confuse their customers.

It has. Only some excepted measurements were allowed such as 'pint'. Gallons can not be sold or can pounds, unless it is a specialised transaction or in what I think is called a 'legacy unit' such as a fifth for spirits.

Not true, you can sell anything using imperial measurements so long as you also give the equivalent metric measurement as well (spirits might be different as they have to be sold in legally set amounts)

So I can easily order a piece of 3" by 2" wood at the local builders merchants or half a pounds of minced beef at the butchers etc

[Big Tea]

Will this make any difference?

It's not been illegal to give imperial measurements before this, so if anyone wanted to they could have. On top of that most people under 50 or so are more comfortable with metric, so the majority of places will not be wanting to annoy/confuse their customers.

It has. Only some excepted measurements were allowed such as 'pint'. Gallons can not be sold or can pounds, unless it is a specialised transaction or in what I think is called a 'legacy unit' such as a fifth for spirits.

Not true, you can sell anything using imperial measurements so long as you also give the equivalent metric measurement as well (spirits might be different as they have to be sold in legally set amounts)

So I can easily order a piece of 3" by 2" wood at the local builders merchants or half a pounds of minced beef at the butchers etc

A quick google will bring page after page like this
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... sures.html


it is weighing machines that use pounds and ounces only that are illegal but you have to give the weight and cost in metric

[Big Tea]

Will this make any difference?

It's not been illegal to give imperial measurements before this, so if anyone wanted to they could have. On top of that most people under 50 or so are more comfortable with metric, so the majority of places will not be wanting to annoy/confuse their customers.

It has. Only some excepted measurements were allowed such as 'pint'. Gallons can not be sold or can pounds, unless it is a specialised transaction or in what I think is called a 'legacy unit' such as a fifth for spirits.

Not true, you can sell anything using imperial measurements so long as you also give the equivalent metric measurement as well (spirits might be different as they have to be sold in legally set amounts)

So I can easily order a piece of 3" by 2" wood at the local builders merchants or half a pounds of minced beef at the butchers etc

Timber yes, but I doubt you wil find it beef I think not.
Not making a stand on it, but I think so


Edit
This seems to cover it

https://ukma.org.uk/why-metric/myths/co ... rotection/

[Stu]

It has. Only some excepted measurements were allowed such as 'pint'. Gallons can not be sold or can pounds, unless it is a specialised transaction or in what I think is called a 'legacy unit' such as a fifth for spirits.

Not true, you can sell anything using imperial measurements so long as you also give the equivalent metric measurement as well (spirits might be different as they have to be sold in legally set amounts)

So I can easily order a piece of 3" by 2" wood at the local builders merchants or half a pounds of minced beef at the butchers etc

Timber yes, but I doubt you wil find it beef I think not.
Not making a stand on it, but I think so


Edit
This seems to cover it

https://ukma.org.uk/why-metric/myths/co ... rotection/

You can ask a timber merchant for a length of 3x2, however it will be invoiced in metric (and probably be 75 x 50 mm).
One strange carry over is tubing sizes, they are still the same size as imperial, but are never referred to as such, just bizarre metric measurements!

[Peter1919]

It has. Only some excepted measurements were allowed such as 'pint'. Gallons can not be sold or can pounds, unless it is a specialised transaction or in what I think is called a 'legacy unit' such as a fifth for spirits.

Not true, you can sell anything using imperial measurements so long as you also give the equivalent metric measurement as well (spirits might be different as they have to be sold in legally set amounts)

So I can easily order a piece of 3" by 2" wood at the local builders merchants or half a pounds of minced beef at the butchers etc

Timber yes, but I doubt you wil find it beef I think not.
Not making a stand on it, but I think so


Edit
This seems to cover it

https://ukma.org.uk/why-metric/myths/co ... rotection/

That link says pretty much exactly what I said. You can sell anyhing in imperial measurements you just have to provide the metric equivalent and all pricing must show the metric measurements at least as prominently as any imperial measurements.

I have yet to see butchers that does not have dual measuring weighing scales as they will get some cutomers asking for things in imperial weights and some asking for them in metric weights.

[Tommy Cookers]

You can ask a timber merchant for a length of 3x2, however it will be invoiced in metric (and probably be 75 x 50 mm).
One strange carry over is tubing sizes, they are still the same size as imperial, but are never referred to as such, just bizarre metric measurements!

I can order 10' roofing sheets but the supplier says they might be 3m (which isn't 10') or 10'
no-one can supply 10' sheets as advertised

tubing is presumably still today copies of c.150 year old GB sizing ie Standard Wire Gauge (for wire or sheet metal)
or copies of the American Wire Gage (sizing) aka Brown & Sharpe
if eg reproducing an existing spaceframe or metal monocoque consider how different SWG and AWG are ....
eg 16 AWG is 1.29 mm but 16 SWG is 1.63 mm - as 14 AWG is 1.63 mm 14 AWG is 16 SWG

copies because the metric 'system' is nonsense for material manufacture
the metric 'system' imposes sizing from an arbitrary (denary) number system - and then arbitrarily discards some sizes

the WG sizing doesn't ...
having chosen by intent a consistent dimensional ratio between successive sizes (ie geometric progression)
it satisfies both design and inventory interests

the metric 'system' is the strange one - the 'wire gauge' system designed by people working in the real world isn't

[Stu]

You can ask a timber merchant for a length of 3x2, however it will be invoiced in metric (and probably be 75 x 50 mm).
One strange carry over is tubing sizes, they are still the same size as imperial, but are never referred to as such, just bizarre metric measurements!

I can order 10' roofing sheets but the supplier says they might be 3m (which isn't 10') or 10'
no-one can supply 10' sheets as advertised

tubing is presumably still today copies of 150 year old GB sizing ie Standard Wire Gauge (for wire or sheet metal)
or copies of the older Birmingham WG sizing which was the first system in GB ....
or copies of the American Wire Gage (sizing)
AWG is the Birminghan GB (not Birminghan Ala) WG that was taken as the standard for the USA
(yes a common WG system for the 2 countries would have been better)

copies because the metric 'system' is nonsense for material manufacture
the metric 'system' imposes sizing from an arbitrary (denary) number system - and then arbitrarily discards some sizes

the WG sizing doesn't ...
having chosen by intent a consistent dimensional ratio between successive sizes (ie geometric progression)
it satisfies both design and inventory interests

the metric 'system' is the strange one - the 'wire gauge' system designed by people working in the real world isn't

It is always good fun trying to explain to people at work that have only ever known (or used) the metric system why flat plate is in “such weird thicknesses” or why you need “weird drill/hole-saw sizes” to cater for tubing. We have, however, moved to a totally metric measure for electrical cable (both domestic and automotive), rather than retaining SWG equivalence.

Through school I was always taught in metric, University brought an appreciation of imperial equivalent, work brought an understanding of imperial (to the point where I learned to convert between the two in my head) because I was surrounded by people that were taught in imperial and ‘struggled’ with metric.
Not so much of an issue now (as it was 30 years ago), but you soon gain respect with the ‘old boys’ when you can confidently talk imperial with them.

The one benefit that I do see with metric over imperial is that it aids complex calculations.