It has been quite some time since Ireland officially renounced most forms of imperial measurement. Although we still casually use inches, feet and pounds in some contexts - and we still love our pints - most official measurements are now metric. Certainly compared to places like the UK and Canada - where there is much stronger resistance to going fully metric - Irish people have managed to shake their connection with the 19th century imperial units. 

But what is it about imperial that has provoked so many authorities to commit so much time and resources to move away from it? This video by Head Squeeze and posted by Gizmodo tries to explain some of the oddities, obscure relationships and impractical numbers of measuring length and height in the imperial system of inches, feet, miles, rods, fathoms and all manner of peculiar subcategories. Some commentators have pointed out that imperial units such as nautical miles remain much neater and effective for navigation than any metric equivalent. However, as the video illustrates, many imperial units are not exactly suited to modern measurement requirements...

Check out the video below for a breathless adventure through the wacky world of one of the world’s most common measurement systems, which, as the host helpfully explains, always loops around to good old barleycorn:

Image: Wikimedia Commons