Ask questions via twitter! Message any question to @answers on twitter. We'll publish the question and send you a reply each time there's a new answer.
Next Question

Answered Question

 
February 14, 2009 03:05 AM

Does England use miles or kilometers?

Does England use miles or kilometers?

Sent on the go from my Peek
Interesting Question?  Yes (1)   No (0)   
RSS
 
 

Best Answer  Chosen by Asker

 
February 14, 2009 03:20 AM
The United States and Myanmar are the only countries that have not adopted the Metric System.

However it turns out the UK does use Miles instead of Kilometers.

--quote--
Longer distances in England are traditionally measured in miles. The mile is a Roman unit, originally defined to be the length of 1000 paces of a Roman legion. A "pace" here means two steps, right and left, or about 5 feet, so the mile is a unit of roughly 5000 feet. For a long time no one felt any need to be precise about this, because distances longer than a furlong did not need to be measured exactly. It just didn't make much difference whether the next town was 21 or 22 miles away. In medieval England, various mile units seem to have been used. Eventually, what made the most sense to people was that a mile should equal 8 furlongs, since the furlong was an English unit roughly equivalent to the Roman stadium and the Romans had set their mile equal to 8 stadia. This correspondence is not exact: the furlong is 660 English feet and the stadium is only 625 slightly-shorter Roman feet.

In 1592, Parliament settled this question by setting the length of the mile at 8 furlongs, which works out to 1760 yards or 5280 feet. This decision completed the English distance system. Since this was just before the settling of the American colonies, British and American distance units have always been the same.
--/quote--
Source(s):
http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/custom.html



Helpful Answer?  (1)   (0)    Tip jeffhoard for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 

Other Answers (2)

Sort By
 
February 14, 2009 03:19 AM
"Contrary to what some people might tell you that haven't been here, the Brits DO measure their speed in Miles Per Hour, not Kilometers. The UK is the ONLY country in Europe to do so. Even though Ireland drives on the wrong side of the road too, they measure in Kilometers, but while in England you'll be at home with MPH."
http://www.travelfurther.net/dictionaries/driving.htm

Helpful Answer?  (1)   (0)    Tip bernices for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 
 
February 15, 2009 12:15 AM
Yes they use miles to measure travel distance here in the UK, the thing I do not get is that they sell fuel in liters. It is a hybrid system here. A person's weight is measured by the stone.

Helpful Answer?  (0)   (0)    Tip rosshann for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 

Answer this Question

How tips and payments work

This question has already been resolved. You may add an answer to it but you will not be eligible to win best answer or any associated tips.

Ask a Question


140 characters left
Top of Page
Buy Mahalo Dollars with Credit Card or PayPal

Top Members

This Week All Time
  • buddawiggi
    buddawiggi
    2nd Degree Black Belt
    26207 Points
    M$761.64 Earned
  • kty2777
    kty2777
    Purple Belt
    4930 Points
    M$188.41 Earned
  • opher
    opher
    Purple Belt
    3450 Points
    M$146.42 Earned
   See All
 

Most Popular Tags

mahalo(1534)
iphone(458)
music(449)
google(343)
food(303)
online(283)
beer(275)
money(258)
apple(247)
movies(240)
aotd(235)
health(208)
dog(200)
video(199)
free(198)
   See All
 

Categories

Welcome New Members


 
 
Mahalo Dollars are the currency of Mahalo Answers.

Each Mahalo Dollar costs $1.

Once you earn more than 40 Mahalo Dollars, you can request to be paid via PayPal. Each Mahalo Dollar is currently worth $0.75 when paid out via PayPal. Learn More

 
 

Please log in to use this function.