Metrication in the United Kingdom
Adoption of the metric system of measurements in the United Kingdom / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Metrication, the process of introducing the metric system of measurement in place of imperial units, has made steady progress in the United Kingdom since the mid-20th century but today remains equivocal and varies by context. Most of government, industry, commerce, and scientific research use the metric system. Imperial units are officially used to specify journey distances, vehicle speeds and the sizes of returnable milk containers, beer and cider glasses, fresh milk is often still sold in multiples of pints, with the metric equivalent also marked, and precious metals are sold by the troy ounce. Metric units must be used when selling other packaged or loose goods, and imperial units can stand alongside the metric units, but it cannot stand out more than the metric units. Imperial units are also often used to describe body measurements and vehicle fuel economy. The national curriculum requires metric units and imperial units that still remain in common usage to be taught in state schools.
Adopting the metric system was discussed in Parliament as early as 1818 and some industries and government agencies had metricated, or were in the process of metricating by the mid-1960s. A formal government policy to support metrication was agreed by 1965. This policy, initiated in response to requests from industry, was to support voluntary metrication, with costs picked up where they fell. In 1969, the government created the Metrication Board as a quango to promote and coordinate metrication. The treaty of accession to the European Economic Community (EEC), which the United Kingdom joined in 1973, obliged the United Kingdom to incorporate into domestic law all EEC directives, including the use of a prescribed SI-based set of units for many purposes within five years. In 1978, after some carpet retailers reverted to pricing by the square yard rather than the square metre to try to make the prices appear cheaper, government policy shifted, and they started issuing orders making metrication mandatory in certain sectors.
In 1980, government policy shifted again to prefer voluntary metrication, and the Metrication Board was abolished. By the time the Metrication Board was wound up, all the economic sectors that fell within its remit except road signage and parts of the retail trade sector had metricated, and most pre-packaged goods were sold using the prescribed units. Mandatory use of prescribed units for retail sales took effect in 1995 for packaged goods and in 2000 for goods sold loose by weight. The use of "supplementary indications" or alternative units (generally the traditional imperial units formerly used) was originally to have been permitted for only a limited period, that period being extended a number of times due to public resistance, until in 2009 the requirement to ultimately cease use of traditional units alongside metric units was finally removed.
British scientists, philosophers and engineers have been at the forefront of the development of metrication – in 1861 a committee of the British Association for Advancement of Science (BAAS), including William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin), James Clerk Maxwell and Joule among its members, defined various electrical units in terms of metric rather than imperial units, and in the 1870s Johnson, Matthey & Co manufactured the international prototype metre and kilogram.