this post was submitted on 24 Apr 2026
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[–] oxysis@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

While I get this is a meme, I do think the imperial measurement system deserves some credit. More the vast majority of humanity’s existence it has been an incredibly capable and powerful system. It’s only in more modern times where a system like metric is an upgrade. This is also ignoring the few ways where imperial still eke out a win, but that is besides the point.

Imperial’s weird gaps between units are pieces that come from a variety of different systems that got layered together over the centuries it lasted. 5280 feet in a mile? Based on the Roman mile which was 5000 paces from a soldier. 12 inches in a foot? From a different way people counted on their hands.

Length of an inch and length of a foot? From different parts of the body. Weird? Certainly. Practical? Amazing so. They were easier for day to day tasks and for measuring on the small, human scale. Metric is easier to calculate between different units and that is an amazing innovation.

Fahrenheit is weird today, but was more practical when it was first established. Even then it has value in how it is more granular without the necessity of decimals. Celsius is still the better unit, 0° being freezing and 100° being boiling for water is very useful. It gives you two easy to remember extremes.

Imperial had to walk, so metric could run in a way. Both systems are great in their own ways and in their own times. Imperial isn’t needed anymore, but deserves recognition for being good for its time and for being more practical historically.

The only dud metric really has is metric time, and that is because everything we have ever done has been based on the older time keeping system. Cultures have laid claim to certain dates and times of day within the old system that just have constrained us to it.

I definitely prefer metric overall, but I genuinely believe that imperial deserves more credit for getting us to the point where metric makes sense to swap to.

[–] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 1 points 54 minutes ago

A foot doesn't need to be standard, just an easy way to measure, just as a hand is.

Far as I have come across only horses are measured by hand.

[–] Meron35@lemmy.world 9 points 2 hours ago (2 children)
[–] Spezi@feddit.org 7 points 1 hour ago

Please also lets use the International fixed calendar where every month has exactly 28 days/4 weeks and the year has 13 months. Every 1st of the month is a sunday, every 2nd is a monday and so on, so you will always know which day it is by the number.

The leftover day is a dedicated new years day.

[–] portuga@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

Every other full spin it stops for 4h. There. We also get rid of DST because who can tell the time anymore?

[–] DahGangalang@infosec.pub 42 points 5 hours ago (4 children)

100 warm

Yeah, I suppose that's one way to describe 100°C

[–] portuga@lemmy.world 5 points 2 hours ago

Boiling warm is still warm

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[–] Omnipitaph@reddthat.com 7 points 4 hours ago

Yes... Thank you British Empire, French Empire, and Spanish Empire for your contributions to the system.

-British: Mile, Foot, Inch, Yard

-Spanish: Dollar, from the Spanish Pieces of 8

-French: You know what you did

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