Pat, It is not impossible to live a non-metric life in the UK but very difficult. Stephen is a perfect example of one person who has set up a fantasy world of a completely imperial UK. We have all seen examples of how he does it. You basically ignore everything metric and seek out incidences of remnant imperial usage and in your mind make it seem like it is all that there is. You may also become so frustrated that you seek out a foreign country that you perceive to be more imperial than your homeland and plan to move there. In your extreme frustration you take the article that someone else wrote and modify it to read like this:
http://metric-versus-imperial.com/viewtopic.php?t=7 Stephen's frustration just could not let him be silent. Jerry ________________________________ From: Pat Naughtin <[email protected]> To: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 1:29:41 AM Subject: [USMA:44502] Re: metric Britain Dear John, Thanks for your extensive list. I think that it is probably completely impossible to live a non-metric life (or even an anti-metric life) in the UK or the USA in 2009. You might recall that I wrote a tongue-in-cheek article called, 'Don't use metric' a year or two ago (See http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/DontUseMetric..pdf ). Since then, I have challenged several writers of anti-metric articles to live their life without using the metric system at all using my article as a basis for their efforts. So far, I have had no response describing a successful outcome from their actual and real anti-metric activities! The usual response is silence. Cheers, Pat Naughtin Geelong, Australia On 2009/04/06, at 3:39 AM, John Frewen-Lord wrote: Regarding the recent discussions on dual marking/labelling in respect of the UK, I just thought I'd do a quick check on various items I have in my house. I have listed a total of 57 items (no connection to Mr Heinz!), these I feel being somewhat representative of our shopping and DIY activities.. This is far, far from exhaustive (we obviously have far too much stuff in our house!). Some items are national name brands (e.g. Branston, makers of pickle and other garnishes), and are shown in single quotes. Tesco, Asda (owned by Wal-Mart), Morrisons, Somerfield and Waitrose are UK supermarket chains, Tesco being the biggest. I couldn't find any Sainsburys items, another supermarket chain, so I guess we don't shop there much! B&Q, Wickes and Homebase are DIY chains. I found just four items that had imperial marking as well as metric - and for only one of them was the quantity a rational imperial quantity (but shown as metric first). However, this is an item we have had in our fridge for a long time, and it is quite likely to have since been repackaged in a rational metric size. The interesting thing is that I really had to hunt for ANYTHING that had an imperial marking - everything IS metric. That said, some of the metric sizes are a bit odd (740 mL, 340 g, etc). But still metric, no imperial shown. I have shown the quantity labelling EXACTLY as it appears on the packaging, errors and all. If you like metric (and we obviously all do, with the exception of Stephen Humphreys), then enjoy!! John F-L -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garage/workshop B&Q 'Zorbo' halogen light fixture - base 50 cm long, projection 70 cm long Wickes quick drying varnish - 1 Litre B&Q bevelled edge mirror - 600 mm x 600 mm (24" x 24" approx.) 4mm thick 3.6kg weight Wickes marking chalk - 50g/1.75oz Homebase pine cladding - 94mm x 9mm, Length = 2.4metre B&Q Plastic angle - 2400 x 12 x 12 B&Q Chamferred architrave [wood door trim in US-speak] - 15mm x 45mm x 2.1M [that is an upper case M] Wickes pine Scotia moulding - 15 x 15 x 2400 Wickes silicone sealant - 310 ml B&Q foam/rubber draft excluder - 15mm x 5.1m Halfords windscreen [windshield in US-speak] washer antifreeze concentrate - 2 Litres (makes up to 5 Litres of washer fluid) Food and kitchen Specialty coffee for cafetierres, package of 8 boxes, each box - 75g/2.65oz Morrisons pre-packed bacon - 250 g 'Natures Best' cod liver oil - 300ml 'Pure' non-dairy soya spread - 500g 'Whole Foods' pear & apple spread - 227g/8oz 'Bay Tree' Christmas marmalade - 340g Morrisons pre-wrapped individually priced broccoli - 0.370 kg [and priced at 192p/kg] Morrisons pre-packaged mozzarella cheese - 200g Evian bottled water - 1l [cursive l] Tesco bottled water - 5 Litres Quaker instant porridge oats - 1 kg Tesco grapefruit juice - 1 Litre 'Veggie Wash' fruit and vegetable wash - 500ml Tesco frozen peas - 1 kg 'Julian Graves' rice crackers - 250g Somerfield custard powder - 300 g 'Amoy' soy sauce - 250ml 'Young's' 5 Coley Fillets (frozen) - 500 g 'Branston' canned spaghetti Bolognese - 410 g 'Lindt' Dark Chocolate - 100 g Tesco kitchen foil - 10 metres, 30cm wide approx. Waitrose syrup - 740ml 'Birds Eye' petis pois - 750g Cleaners/laundry 'Flash' cleaning spray - 500 ml 'Fairy' washing up liquid - 500ml Tesco dishwasher powder - 3 kg Tesco fabric conditioner - 1 Litre 'Finish' dishwasher salt - 2 kg Asda dishwasher rinse aid - 250 ml Boots [national chemist/drugstore chain] sterilising liquid - 600 ml Somerfield bathroom spray cleaner - 500 ml 'Domestos' spray cleaner - 500ml 'Delta' carper cleaner refill - 500ml 'Ecover' ecological laundry detergent - 1,5 L 'Vanish' laundry spray treatment - 500ml Asda toilet cleanser - 500ml 'Shower Shine' shower cleaner - Big 1 Litre Value for the price of 750ml Bathroom Tesco shaving foam - 250 ml RightGuard stick deodorant - 50 g 'Nivea' face wash - 30 ml L'Oreal shampoo/conditioner - 250ml 'Imperial Leather' 4-pack bar soap - 4 x 125g 'Wella' hair toner - 14ml 'Boots' SPF15 suntan lotion - 200 ml 'Nivea' spray deodorant - 92g/150ml Tesco herbal shampoo - 750ml Pat Naughtin PO Box 305 Belmont 3216, Geelong, Australia Phone: 61 3 5241 2008 Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA. Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST, and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com/ or to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter to subscribe.
