I use metric for winter and imperial for summer. When I was a youngster, the system was imperial. By the time I took up skiing, the system was metric.
I love the story, and if this was in Sarnia I’d swear it could have been my grandmother. But, you know, the parts I selectively quoted? That clerk was looking for problems.
Sarnia?
I grew up in Sarnia. Do I know you?
I should’ve gone to Wikipedia for this. Maybe some of you would like to contribute to their article: Metrication in Canada
Edited title to better indicate subject.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
I suspect the clerk was misinformed. Surely the law was not worded in such a way to require the customer to phrase their request in metric units, or to prevent the merchant from performing some calculation on their behalf; more likely it stipulated only that merchants had to label and measure their produce in metric.
I believe that was the case, and I also believe that the clerk was either misinformed or concluding something on her own that simply wasn’t true. But that was part of the problem–when the news reported on the “Metric Cops” forcing gas stations to close, seizing butchers’ scales, and otherwise trying to wipe all traces of Imperial measurement from the landscape; it was perhaps understandable that the clerk imagined that the mere mention of the word “pound” (or “mile” or “Fahrenheit” or “quart”) would result in a visit from the Metric Cops. Or perhaps the clerk believed that the little old lady was part of a “sting” operation to see if the deli counter was selling in metric units; much like minors are sometimes sent by various authorities today, to see if they can illegally buy cigarettes and from whom. Who knows?
Today, although I haven’t tried it, I doubt very much that a request for “a half-pound of Black Forest ham” would raise an eyebrow at the deli counter. The clerk would measure out 250 grams of meat, wrap it, label it, and hand it over.
TV/Computer screens and tablets are all measured by their size in inches (10/17/40 inch etc). Being someone who regularly uses meters I always had to remind myself 30cm~12inches.
I know of no one my age who doesn’t use Celsius for either the weather or their own temperature; though Fahrenheit is still used by those old enough to remember the shows King of Kensington and SCTV (but probably not those who watched KITH).
Heck, I remember a Night Court episode in which everyone claimed they were going water skiing as an excuse to avoid helping Harry move.
Harry: But it’s thirty degrees out.
My first thought was “really?” and then I remembered: he means it’s cold.
It’s interesting that Canada allows imperial measurements to be prominent. In NZ, when both metric and imperial were allowed, they were required to have the measurements displayed in the same size or metric only.
Also, once sufficient changes had been made in particular areas such as fuel or weights, the use of old equipment using imperial units was outlawed. So, gallons for fuel disappeared because the fuel pumps weren’t certified for trade any more. Pounds for food or produce disappeared because the scales were no longer certified as legal in trade.
The only things that many NZers still quote in imperial units are birth weights for children. Every time I hear someone talk about a new child, they give its weight in pounds and ounces.
Probably not. I grew up in Ft. Gratiot (Port Huron). My grandmother was from Sarnia, and moved back when my grandfather died.