Hello, do you mean the British Imperial Standard? This is standardisation of units established in 1824 to ensure that all countries in the British Empire were "speaking the same language" when it came to things like weight, volume and length.
Under the BIS, weight was measured in ounces, pounds and stones, volume in pints and gallons, and length in inches, feet and miles.
In 1922 the British Empire contained more than 400 million people, a fifth of the world's population, (and that's without America, which gained its independence in 1783). The British like order, so it made sense that someone in South Africa, say, should use the same units as someone in India, Australia or even Canada.
Over the last few decades, many countries chose to adopt a metric system instead (kilograms instead of pounds, litres instead of pints and kilometres instead of miles) since it is considered easier to work out. Now, Britain no longer has an Empire, as such.
In Britian we use both Imperial and metric systems now, depending on what you're doing, which can get a bit confusing.
Hopes this helps.
by James Kenny 9 years ago
If WW1 and WW2 had never taken place, would the British Empire still exist today?
by peter565 10 years ago
What will the modern world be like if WW2 is Japan and US vs Britain?US' history museum lately added a 1930s classified document that is only declassified when Bill Clinton was President. It was US' plan to conquer the British Empire. During those days, US saw the British as a major threat, a...
by James Kenny 12 years ago
Does America have an Empire?This question was inspired by Unamed Harald, who answered my previous question about the British Empire.
by Randy Godwin 6 years ago
This unbelievable charge was reported to be made to Canada PM Trudeau on a phone call between Spanky and the PM. It seems Spanky has no more grasp on American history than the nitwit Sarah Palin.Any schoolchild knows the British burned down the WH in the war of 1812. Or perhaps this is...
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