This flowchart is a humorous breakdown of the United Kingdom’s notoriously inconsistent "hybrid" measurement system.
While the UK officially began "metrication" in the 1960s, the chart illustrates how the British public continues to jump between Metric and Imperial units depending on the context:
- The Daily Commute: Distance and speed remain strictly Imperial (Miles and MPH).
- The Pub & Kitchen: You buy beer and milk in Pints, but wine and soda in Litres.
- The Human Body: Most Brits still measure their height in Feet/Inches and their weight in Stone/Pounds, though medical contexts often use kilograms.
- The DIY Paradox: A British handyman might measure a piece of wood in Millimetres, only to refer to it colloquially by its Imperial size (like a "2 by 4").
- Weather Drama: While Celsius is the standard, the chart pokes fun at the tendency to switch to Fahrenheit specifically when it’s "boiling" hot to make the temperature sound higher.
Essentially, it’s a guide to the "unspoken rules" of British logic where logic often takes a backseat to tradition.
flowchart LR
Start([What are you measuring?]) --> Speed[Speed & Road Distance]
Start --> Body[Human Body]
Start --> Liquid[Liquids]
Start --> Temp[Temperature]
Start --> SmallDist[Small Objects]
%% Speed & Road Distance
Speed --> Miles[**Miles & MPH**]
%% Human Body
Body --> Height{Is it height?}
Height -- Yes --> FtIn[**Feet & Inches**]
Height -- No --> Weight{Is it weight?}
Weight -- Yes --> Stone[**Stone & Pounds**]
%% Liquids
Liquid --> Type{What is it?}
Type -- Milk or Beer --> Pint[**Pints**]
Type -- Petrol --> Litre[**Litres**]
Type -- Water/Soda --> MetricL[**Millilitres/Litres**]
%% Temperature
Temp --> Context{Is it hot out?}
Context -- "Yes (Boiling)" --> F[**Fahrenheit** - for dramatic effect]
Context -- "No (Normal)" --> C[**Celsius**]
%% Small Objects
SmallDist --> DIY{Is it for DIY?}
DIY -- Yes --> Mix[**Metric** - but you'll call a 50mm plank a '2-inch']
DIY -- No --> MetricS[**Centimetres/Millimetres**]
style Miles fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
style FtIn fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
style Stone fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
style Pint fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
style Litre fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
style F fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
style C fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
Inspired by Canadian Measurement Flowchart @Reddit