Imperial versus Metric System (Or Something Else?)

[Wintercat]

So, I have used both of these systems, I live in Finland so the Metric System is what I am more familiar with, and my go-to system in most matters, but I like writing stories on the internet, and in many cases those stories deal with either American setting, or a world set in earlier ages where Metric System would make far less sense, so the Imperial system would be more logical to use.

I found it amusing when the question popped up in someone else's story discussion, that the person in question believed Imperial system was the one that most of the world uses, as opposed to Metric System. From all I've seen, both are in use, sure, but America leans heavily on the Imperial system, but Metric System is one that is in use in most other places. That said, both exist, and there is likely other, perhaps older, systems out there that have their own fans and at least regional use, perhaps back in history or even the present day.

I was considering what folks run into in their daily lives more, and what their impressions are of the opposite side of the debate, and additionally what other systems there might be that get less attention when the Imperial versus Metric system arguments pop up?

Mostly it came to mind because I was amused to run into a clip about British Measurements.. well, definitely made with humor, but hope folks get a chuckle out of it.

Spoiler: SFW Video (Youtube Short), but Spoilered for Phone users convenience

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IPbrOi5cOGM

So, I'm living in Finland and I use metric system, but I find the Imperial system amusing to use in fantasy stories and I can make reasonable comparisons and conversion into Imperial if I need to use it in a story taking place in America as a setting. How is it in other countries and experienced by other people?

EDIT: The previous video is British version, but I only the American one afterwards, and felt it ought to be added in for humor and amusement.

Spoiler: SFW Video (Youtube Short), but Spoilered for Phone users convenience

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oNoh4i6G-js

 

[humon]

In Canada we use both for different purposes. We are officially on the Metric system, but people also throw around Imperial measurements day-to-day as a legacy of being a British colony and also having a lot of cultural overlap with the States. The way I see it is this:
- If you're doing science, Metric is far superior, just because it makes all of the math a lot easier.
- If you're describing day to day things, Imperial has more charm to it, because Imperial measurements are based on common experience.

For example, a pound is meant to be the weight of a stone that fits well in the hand. A foot is meant to be the length of a man's foot, an inch the width of his thumb and a yard the distance of his stride when running. A gallon is the ideal size for a bucket of water that you can carry in one hand. An ounce is the ideal amount of liquor to fill your mouth with in one gulp, etc, etc. So things like measuring a person's height, it's always easier for me to think about it in feet and inches. Centimetres is just one big number that I have to pause and convert. But when it comes to anything where I rely on signs or packaging, like driving on the road in km/h or reading the weight of a cereal box in grams or the volume of a pop bottle in mL, then I'll always use metric because that's what external information I'm working with. For temperature, I normally use Celsius as a personal preference, because it's a lot simpler than Fahrenheit, but I convert readily because some thermometers will only show one or the other, and it's useful to be able to convert when traveling in the States for example.

When writing, I just use whatever system I'm accustomed to. I don't try to fit it to the setting. Sometimes I'll even use both systems at once, like I'll talk about traveling 10 miles between towns, but then I'll say that something's happening 200 metres away (because for short distances I'm used to the Olympics using metric), and then later that two swordsmen are standing five or ten feet apart (as in D&D). I just go with whatever I would normally say in conversation. One notable exception is when I was writing a story about ancient Rome, and I listed distances in Roman miles (and in one case, Gallic leagues), but then I felt compelled to also state how many Imperial miles that would convert to, so as not to confuse the reader with the ambiguity of the word 'mile'. The most important thing is that the reader understands what you mean, and if you're writing for an international audience then just do whatever and accept that half of them will just need to do conversions in their heads.

 

[Soupervan]

I use what I'm used to- metric, but when reading stories I don't care which the author uses, if I want to know what it means it's as easy as googling for a convertor.

Custom measurement systems can be amusing too, I love how the Naruto fandom has collectively decided to use Kakashi as a unit of measuring energy for example, it's even better when poor Kakashi learns about it since the comparison is often rather unfavorable.

 

[Colonel "Bardak"]

The metric system in all cases.

Although for some of the settings and fanfictions that I sometimes try to write, I use the closest and most similar system.