Only the USA, Liberia and Myanmar still use imperial weights and measures

Here in Australia, we get those TV shows from the USA, house restoration, building off the grid, etc., and I find it amusing when they talk in imperial units.

For example, they will measure a length of timber as 5 foot, 3 and 3/8 inches. The thing is, math calculation is messy when doing it in fractions. It is also messy to have non-metric conversions, for example 12 inches equals 1 foot.

Then there is ounces, which could mean a weight or a volume. Messy again.

And of course there is degrees Celsius -- so much neater to have zero degrees the freezing point of water, and 100 degrees the boiling point.

Australia converted to the metric system of measurements in the 60s, and today I wondered what countries in the world are still using imperial measurements -- got reminded of this today when publishing weights in grams in the previous blog post.

According to this link, only the USA, Liberia and Myanmar:

https://www.statista.com/chart/18300/countries-using-the-metric-or-the-imperial-system/

However, most countries that were previously part of the British Empire are still using imperial measurements here and there. There are some measurements where it was just more convenient to stay with imperial. TV screen size for example.

The UK, where the imperial measurements originated, is still using miles-per-gallon, and gallons when filling up the petrol tank.

There were apparently moves in the USA to become metric, and I wonder why it didn't happen. I was in high school here when it happened, and I recall the government mandating that things like measuring tapes had to become metric -- in other words, the Federal Government forced it to happen. In the USA, the homeland of the "rugged individual" and "free will", perhaps the government did not have sufficient authority (or cohesiveness, or motivation) to force it? or were the State governments insufficiently aligned to force it to happen? Just speculating.

EDIT 2021-02-26:
David, in the UK, commented:

We buy petrol in litres but range is mpg. We buy beer in the pub in pints but litres in cans.

John G., in the UK, clarified that petrol has been sold in litres since the 1980s:

In the UK petrol has been sold in litres, rather than gallons, ever since the 1980s! See https://ukma.org.uk/the-case-for-change/problems-arising-from-two-systems/fuel-consumption/

For fuel consumption, the UK still uses miles per gallon rather than miles per litre or even kilometres per litre. Bizarrely the EU uses an inverse measure, litres per 100 kilometres.

Yes, we also use litres per 100km here in Australia. The link sent by John G. is very interesting, it has information about Australia:

https://ukma.org.uk/what-is-metric/australian-experience/

...which shows conversion milestones in 1971 and 1974. My memory, though, is of conversions happening while I was still in high school, in the late 60s.

Now I'm curious, is my memory faulty? Found this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrication_in_Australia

...ah, it started in 1966, with change from pounds, shillings and pence, to dollars and cents.

The Wikipedia also explains the situation in the USA, Canada and the UK:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrication_in_the_United_States

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrication_in_Canada

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrication_in_the_United_Kingdom  

EDIT 2021-02-28:
David W. in the USA commented that the US has embraced metrication somewhat:

I'm in the States, and do recall an attempt in the mid-1970s to sell
gasoline by the liter, but it failed -- I believe because of massive
pushback by the public.

Since then it's been a series of baby steps. Goods are often labeled
with both imperial and metric measurements, in that order.

Speedometers have been labeled with miles *and* kilometers for decades.

The only metric measurement I can recall Americans having more or less
fully embraced is vehicle engine size. You basically don't hear it
referred to in cubic inches anymore, just liters. And of course,
Americans have fully embraced motorcycle engine sizes in cubic
centimeters for at least 50 years.

Yes, engine sizes in litres ("liters" in the US) is something that I noticed on those TV shows from the US where they restore old cars, or greatly enhance a car. Just looking at Channel 96 here in Perth: "Garage Squad", "Overhaulin", "Diesel Brothers" -- shows from the US. There is one from the UK, "Wheeler Dealers" -- where I picked up the info about the UK is still using miles and mpg.

Michael A. in Australia commented that the car manufacturers probably pushed back metrication attempts in the US:

Tags: ethos