Originally Posted by
Italuminium
I can't believe how those blimey brits buid an empire on measures and standards as complicated as quantum physics, and on top of that beat the French with their beautiful, simple elegant metric system!
If you think the British system of weights and measures was perverse and complex,
read the about the history of the Meter. 
It makes the length of a mans foot, or the reach of Henry I's (1068-1135) arm seem pretty easy to relate to.