Regulating with metrics

[David Boyce]

"The problem with the Imperial system... aside from it being rather
archaic, is that below the unit of 1 inch... it operates exactly like
the metric system... i.e. 10 base."

Not necessarily it doesn't!  In school we used eights, sixteenths and 
thirty-seconds of an inch, more so than tenths. If fact you need those, for 
small measurements. No-one ever used Twentieths of Fortieths.

Of course we also had:

12 Pennies in a Shilling, 20 Shillings in a Pound (21 Shillings in a Guinea)

16 Ounces in a Pound, 14 Pounds in a Stone, 8 Stones in a Hundredweight, 20 
Hundredweight in a Ton

12 Inches in a Foot, 3 Feet in a Yard, 1760 Yards in a Mile, 5280 Feet in a 
Mile, 4840 Square Yards in an Acre

20 Fluid Ounces in a Pint, 4 Pints in a Gallon

My Grandfather's old measuring tape has Links and Chains on the reverse 
side. (a Chain is 66 Feet).

In school we certainly learned to use numbers and to work in different 
bases. Long division of money was the bane of my life age 8, sums like "How 
many items costing Two Pounds Seven Shillings and Threepence can you buy 
from Ten Guineas, and how muich change will you have?"  And no calculators 
either!

Best,

David.