# Rule Brittania **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 11, 2007, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791 "2007-09-11T15:23:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/1 "2007-09-11T15:23:17Z")
The EU has given up trying to force the UK to adopt the metric measures of litres etc. They have very kindly šŸ˜‰ permitted us to continue using miles, pints and pounds as units of measurement. Well thank you very fucking much oh mighty European Commission and kiss my wrinkled arse cheeks for good luck Now all we need do is get out of the EU and then normal service can be resumed ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/2 "2007-09-11T15:26:25Z")
Youā€™ll take my 568 ml when you pry it from my cold, dead hands! ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/3 "2007-09-12T03:03:16Z")
Does this make it legal to weigh and sell stuff in stores by the pound again? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/4 "2007-09-12T03:07:49Z")
Fine, but just remember when youā€™re driving in the Republic Of Ireland the speed limits are in K/PH! šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/5 "2007-09-12T03:24:13Z")
Man, you Brits really are the Quebec of Europe! (Half in and half outā€¦) ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/6 "2007-09-12T07:22:47Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] Does this make it legal to weigh and sell stuff in stores by the pound again? [/QUOTE] Yep, and beer in pints šŸ˜ƒ To clarify a bit: Before the EU gave up on us, stores had to show the weights in metric but were permitted to show the equivalent in imperial, but the latter had to be in smaller print than metric. This has now been well and truly fucked off šŸ˜› a store can show imperial inBIG print and itā€™s up to them whether or not they show metric in tiny print ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/7 "2007-09-12T11:37:26Z")
I think we should start a movement (underground to start off with ,go overt later on ) where firstly we get English as the ONLY working language for the E.U.,then force the other member nations to display all measurments in Imperial as well as metric. After theyve got used to this we compel them to abandon the metric system and use ONLY Imperial measurments. Then make the Union Flag the flag of all Europe ,move the European Parliament to London and ditch the European Human Rights act( though I suspect the latter would cause widespread upset in Britain) . And then make all the "Johnny Foreigners " kiss the feet of the Queen. Basically I think its a pretty sound plan though Iā€™ll own up to one or two teething problems and no doubt theyā€™ll be a small minority of Europeans whoā€™ll bitch about it ! But I think most of them will go along with it quite enthusiastically ,particulary our French neighbours . While weā€™re at it we could have a mass migration of British workers to Eastern Europe where we could all undercut the local working wages or take full advantage of their benefits system even to the extent of claiming tax credits for children we have allegedly left back in our home country. So hows about a few posts from our sadly non Brit E.C. posters? Iā€™ll bet you cant wait to meet up with me IRL to thank me for my idea. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/8 "2007-09-12T14:19:28Z")
Iā€™m all for that **L4L** but you forgotā€¦ 1. The Ā£ to be the single currency of the EU 2. The Queen to be absolute ruler of all Europe 3. The UK Parliaments to have the last say in ANYTHING ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/9 "2007-09-12T14:32:33Z")
Ye tried taking over the world before, yiz failed, get over it. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/10 "2007-09-12T14:33:32Z")
We managed 3/4s of it, better luck next time šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/11 "2007-09-12T14:34:44Z")
I donā€™t mind that we havenā€™t gone over to metric just yet. Bear in mind that metric has been taught in schools since the 1970s. Itā€™s simpler to wait ten or twenty years and let all the moaning minnies die out and then just convert naturally. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/12 "2007-09-12T14:34:55Z")
Does this mean that the cursed French will have to drive on the left from now on? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/13 "2007-09-12T15:42:08Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Yep, and beer in pints šŸ˜ƒ To clarify a bit: Before the EU gave up on us, stores had to show the weights in metric but were permitted to show the equivalent in imperial, but the latter had to be in smaller print than metric. This has now been well and truly fucked off šŸ˜› a store can show imperial inBIG print and itā€™s up to them whether or not they show metric in tiny print [/QUOTE] No, this is wrong wrong wrong. What _was_ going to happen in 2009 was that it would become illegal to even mention imperial measurements on labels: all weights, volumes etc (except pints for milk and beer) would have to be metric-only. All that has happened is that shopkeepers will now be allowed to continue quoting both systems. But the imperial labelling must not be more prominent than the metric, and imperial-only labelling will still be banned. ([link](http://www.convenience-store.co.uk/articles/34999/Reprieve-won-for-imperial-measures.aspx?categoryid=138)) Pints in pubs, and miles on signposts, have now been given an indefinite reprieve, but to be honest they were never in serious danger anyhow despite EU ā€œtargetsā€ for their phasing-out. In other words, a media mountain out of a metric molehill. ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/14 "2007-09-12T15:46:58Z")
> [@](#): > > Bear in mind that metric has been taught in schools since the 1970s. Itā€™s simpler to wait ten or twenty years and let all the moaning minnies die out and then just convert naturally. Fuckinā€™ A. As a child of the 80s Iā€™m almost totally metric-orientated. Sooner we get a couple of nice cold winters to kill off you old codgers the better. Then we can get back to a _sensible_ form of measurement - one that does exactly what it says on the tin (e.g. kilogrammes and grammes) rather than requiring some arcane fucking knowledge of how many fingers there are in a bushel or how many firkins there are in a humperdink. Pints are alright though. Pints can stay. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/15 "2007-09-12T15:52:52Z")
[QUOTE=garius] Fuckinā€™ A. As a child of the 80s Iā€™m almost totally metric-orientated. [/QUOTE] Strange, I still hear teenagers even now discussing weight in pounds, height in feet and inches and so on. I certainly think that way, at least in terms of my own height and weight, despite being schooled almost entirely in metric. Iā€™s have to stop and work out how tall I am in cm, even though the conversion (1in = 2.54cm) is burnt on my brain. Weight, I know both in stone/lb and in kg, but I still think in stone first of all. I was born in 1977, btw. Also, see my post above ā€“ this thread is based almost entirely on misinformation. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/16 "2007-09-12T16:06:29Z")
What are all you wankers on about? ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/17 "2007-09-12T16:12:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Strange, I still hear teenagers even now discussing weight in pounds, height in feet and inches and so on. I certainly think that way, at least in terms of my own height and weight, despite being schooled almost entirely in metric. Its a learn-by-rote thing. I can tell you how tall i am in feet and inches and i can tell you how much i weigh in stones, because thatā€™s what people _expect_ me to tell it to them in. If i need to _estimate_ anything or am measuring something for my own benefit (Stop that! i know what youā€™re all thinking!) i have to do it in metric, because thatā€™s what i was taught in school. Then, if necessary, i convert it back into old-people speak. Going on testimony from the people around me at work, it seems the same is true for most of us brat-packers - we do it because we get funny looks otherwise, rather than because its easier (and in fact, pleasantly, weā€™ve now discovered we **donā€™t** have to do it in the office! šŸ˜ƒ ). Couldnā€™t speak for the late 90s kids though - god knows what they were taught (practically nothing if the Daily Mail is to be believed). > [@](#): > > Also, see my post above ā€“ this thread is based almost entirely on misinformation. Actually, i already knew this as well, but i figured as long as **Chowder** and co. were crowing on about this, they wouldnā€™t be harping on about how the EU killed the traditional English sausage and made us all eat straight bananas šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/18 "2007-09-12T16:14:55Z")
[QUOTE=Omegaman] What are all you wankers on about? [/QUOTE] Those masturbaters in Brussels is what šŸ˜› **Colophon** I knew this, but gimme a break willya šŸ˜ƒ Anyways, I still ask for a pound of bacon and fuck your metric measures ---
**Author:** ![Shecky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Shecky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shecky)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/19 "2007-09-12T16:20:57Z")
My car gets forty rods to the hogshead, and thatā€™s the way I likes it! Even a simple one-eighth of it would be enough. Besides, who ever heard of counting in factors of ten? Itā€™s a commie plot, I tells ya! ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791/20 "2007-09-12T16:34:20Z")
[QUOTE=Shecky] Besides, who ever heard of counting in factors of ten? Itā€™s a commie plot, I tells ya! [/QUOTE] They can take my pounds and ounces when they pry them from my sixteen cold, dead fingersā€¦ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-brittania/418791.md?page=2)