I should’ve realized that there was a catch to the UK being “metric.” It certainly applies to weights and measures in the stores. Everything is clearly labeled in grams or cc without a secondary conversion to Imperial for those who just can’t comprehend or do calculations in their head.
But distance and road speeds? That is a completely other thing. I started to twig a few days ago when I saw a road sign with a “20” inside a red circle. 20km seems to be awfully slow so I asked. No, 20 miles an hour. We changed weights and measures but not speed and road distance.
This almost makes sense for a country that clings Royalty, French spellings of words adopted in the 1100-1300s, and driving on the opposite side of the road from the other 90% of the world. Just about all cars that I have seen have both scales on the speedometer. Brits don’t do change well. Further more, they take pride. Why would you change something that is working? And seriously, when you look at the cost of replacing road signs, saving money is as good a reason as any other for stubbornly maintaining the old system.
At least there is no argument about time, or the calendar. Those seem to be in agreement, at least for the Western World.