Balancing act The two systems of measurement – imperial and metric – are often used together in UK shops. (Courtesy: iStock/Paolo Paradiso) When I was at primary school in the 1960s, measurements were ...

The inch, based on the length of a thumb, and the foot based on, well, the length of a foot, are inherently associated with human scale (Getty/iStock) Sign up to our free Brexit newsletter for our ...

Sign up to our free Brexit newsletter for our analysis of the continuing impact of Brexit on the UK Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's ...

Americans have long used diverse weights and measures, reflecting their diverse origins. From colonial times, converting from one unit to another was part of courses in commercial arithmetic. The ...

It is one of the most important developments in human history, affecting everything from engineering to international trade to political systems. On the facade of the Ministry of Justice in Paris, ...

The Imperial Measurement System, originated in Britain in 1824, is now primarily used by only three countries: the United States, Liberia, and Myanmar. Defined by non-decimal units like inches, pounds ...

America’s reluctance to convert to the metric system was once famously lampooned by television’s longest-running animated sitcom, "The Simpsons," in an episode from way back in the Nineties. During a ...

On April 19, 1973, Wilson Riles, superintendent of public instruction for California. called to announce that beginning in 1976 the metric system would be taught in California. The reaction from the ...