And the reverse is true here in France where metric measurements were "invented". Most board materials, esp. US or Canadian softwood ply, come in 1220 x 2440 [8'x4'] sheets, but are 'metric' thicknessed! The UK went metric in the late sixties, including our money, but we still officially use the pint, the mile, yards, horsepower and a few others there. The money was more difficult to get used to than you can imagine, and forty years later, I still confuse my kids by talking in shillings, tanners, bobs, florins, pounds, tuppence, new-pence, stones, euros and both old and new francs- plus stones, bushels and fluffteenths.
Most UK tapes have both imperial and metric markings and I use both with ease, being an adult when we changed over, but also because whenever you want to measure in an awkward corner the markings are invariably on the wrong side of the tape! Imperial is far from dead, because it's designed around practical human units. Here in France over 200 years after forced metrication of everything, you can still buy market vegetables in livres, and buy a tv in pouces.
