> > After a year or two about half of the service stations in this area had
> > their pumps calibrated in litres. Needless to say this caused a great
> > deal of confusion and probably a bit of price gouging.
>
> This reminds me of a business trip to Calgary, Canada a few years
> into the nearest station. 38.4 Canadian cents per liter. Hmm, how
> much is that in real money? I didn't have a clue how much I was
> paying. I just filled it up, paid, & drove away in a state of
> ignorant bliss.
This seems to have drifted quite a bit from the subject of British cars,
but what the heck...
For some products sold domestically the metric system system has stuck,
for some it hasn't. I suppose it has to do with what might get
exported. E.g., most booze is sold in metric containers while laundry
bleach is sold in gallon (or 1/2 gallon) containers. An exception is
beer which is typically sold in 12 oz (US) bottles or cans. But then I
don't suppose much Bud Lite is exported.
During the transition I recall seeing gallon and 3 litre jugs of the
same table wine sitting next to each other on a store shelf. Even
though the gallon bottles were obviously larger the 3 litre bottles were
being sold for the same amount.
Roland
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