Saw this picture today, thought it illustrated the point very well.
Metric system > imperial !!
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r17/xbora_vr6x/60835_4623311154502_949753228_n.jpg
Have you seen beemercer’s signature recently? That really illustrates the difference.
Add to that:
1 UK gallon = 1.2 US gallon
i.e. a UK gallon is bigger but when my dad compares fuel prices across the pond, doesn’t take this into account. Similarly my 50 mpg in my old A3 sounded impressive but was really 40 mpg in NA
Similarly, 1 UK pint = 1.2 US pint = 20 fl oz i.e. a pint of beer is bigger in the UK than the USA. In Canada, I’ve found it varies from pub to pub. Our local does UK sized pints.
Most interesting to me is
1 ml of water weighs exactly 1 gram and takes up exactly 1 cubic centimeter of volume
That is the basis of the metric system
at 4*C
that relation makes things massively easier though
While we’re at it, WTF is with paper sizes over here? Letter and legal seem to be randomly sized.
A3 = 2 x A4
A4 = 2 x A5 etc…
What’s annoying is that in Canada, everything should be metric but half our stuff is still feet and inches and lbs and ounces due to our proximity to the USA. Very annoying. I feel like we’re on a fence.
Oh, and that image has a typo, can you spot it? 
what do we do in feet or inches or lbs here?
Ask someone their height or weight, 99% will answer in feet/inches and lbs.
During my apartment renovations, almost everything and everyone I worked with worked in feet and inches.
Ask the size of a house or condo in real estate, it’s in square feet, not square metres.
Most gym equipment is in lbs
Many Canadian recipe books use ounces and lbs (and cups, etc.)
Fly Air Canada and they’ll tell you your cruising altitude is xx,000 feet
Etc.
My point is, it’s in our culture to switch back and forth. Sure, the more official stuff is in metric, however, in every day life, as a civilian, I’m constantly exposed to both.
Most aviation stuff will be in lbs, ft and nautical miles.
Air Canada tried ordering fuel in kg at one point in their history but someone fucked it up and a plane ran out of fuel mid flight. Google the “gimli glider” or this: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider
I think lots of those are in both but you default to lbs. I.e. you look at your driver’s license and it says your height in centimeters, (mine says 197)
Also things like recipe books are written for America and Canada and guess who wins there…America.
I know what you mean but those things are not ‘officially’ metric…just colloquially.
Agreed, but I they’re part of my daily life more than official measurements that are in metric.
Arbitary! 
See its the phone that does all the typo’s … not me! LOL
Go 'merica!
What’s really weird is that on Top Gear, they talk about a cars weight in Kg, but they always use MPH when they talk about speed
Top Gear is not example as it is British… and our choice of units is just as inconsistent. The most common expression of personal mass… stone and lbs.
lol stone is the oldest school ever
14 lbs = 1 stone
I once went skiing with a British girl who honestly only knew her weight in stones. We were in French Switzerland and I was helping her out with the rental equipment and the guy asked for her weight for the bindings. So I translated and she responds, xx stones (forgot the exact number) and I was like huh…what’s the conversion again?
The French Swiss guy was looking at me with a “stupid Brits” look on his face when I explained to him I had to convert stones to kgs.
lol
That’s because Kgs --> small number and MPH --> BIG number!
130kph always sounded more impressive than 80mph
Ya i was backwards on that MPH comment 