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Petrol was put in litres as it made the price seem cheaper.
OK what happened as far as I can remember from reading it in various news sources is that the UK got a dispensation for alcoholic beverages measured in pints from some EU committee.
Everything else including loose fruit and veg at market stalls had to be sold in metric measurements.
Then due to a back lash as many people over 40 (at that time) couldn't work out what a quarter of a kilo was for loose goods they allowed such places to continue to use the two different measurements.
However someone like me who has grown up with long distances in miles, short distances in metres, packaged goods in grammes or kilos and loose goods in pounds is completely confused.
Especially when milk came in pints but now is in litres and babies were measured in pounds and now are measured in kilos.
All I want is not to be ripped off by dodgy shop keepers.
Agree with the history lesson there but it doesn't explain how everything being metric helps the weights and measures police to nick the rip-off artists.
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