We used to have a wonderful duodecimal system.
We used to have :-
Half crowns (8 in the pound)
Florins (10 in the pound)
Shillings (20 in the pound)
Pence (240 in the pound and hence 12 in a shilling)
Half-pennies (480 in the pound)
Farthings (960 in the pound)
Just look at these numbers . They are all divisable by 2 or 4 or 8 and 10 except for the half crown. This made dealing with fractions of a pound very easy.
However, we used to have to learn funnies like 6/8 was a third of a pound and 13/4 was two thirds.
6/8 means 6 shillings & 8 pence
2006-08-24 23:54:44 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
It was part of Traitor Heath's sell out to europe at any cost. It also conveniently masked the effects of inflation for a day or two.
2006-08-25 09:29:51 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was bon in 1989 so this confuses me, if I had been around earlier I'm sure I'd have been able to cope. However imagine how hard it would be for tourists who are used to their sensible decimalised currency! Having to deal with money of a different value in a different language is hard enough but when it works in a completely different way, sorry, if I was a European tourist and Britain still had this system I'd go to Ireland instead!
I know making everything simpler sounds like a weak argument but I think it is actually quite a strong one. If people found it hard to get to grips with our currency it would seriously damage international trade and so our entire economy, thats why we should adopt the Euro. I'll be quiet though since this is in the maths section rather than the economics section...
2006-08-25 02:45:54 · answer #2 · answered by Thesmileyman 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I agree why change what works but apparently it was done to get in line with Europe, just as I found out this week when I went to buy a pair of trousers from my favorite shop that I had to now get the next size up as size charts had changed so ALL shops you go to sell the same size 12 now , no more saying MS is a little bigger than BHS they are ALL the same??? Maybe a good thing ???
2006-08-25 00:02:19 · answer #3 · answered by TRUEBRIT 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think you show why we went decimal...240 pence in the pound?! Now the system is divisable by 10, pretty much anyone can divide by ten.
2006-08-25 00:03:47 · answer #4 · answered by Gavin T 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try subtracting one pound three shilling sixpence from 4 pounds one shilling fourpence. How quickly can you do it? School children in the UK have better things to do with their time.
2006-08-25 00:02:24 · answer #5 · answered by stevewbcanada 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It was Wilson's fault not Ted Heath's for starters. It had been decided before Ted got in.
the old £sd was the best, and that is why my generation is numerate.
I used to do foreign exchange, mental arithmetic, no computers and no calculator, you could use a calculator to check your answer, which you had written down first. This was in the sixties.
2006-08-25 15:30:39 · answer #6 · answered by Tropic-of-Cancer 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
some bright spark fugured that the poor and stupid, would be better able to deal with 10's. turns out they were wrong, and as a knock on effect, not having to do a few sums when buying a loaf of bread, is one of the reasons 50% of our kids cant get a c in maths
2006-08-25 00:03:58 · answer #7 · answered by yeah well 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The government made an absolute fortune out of decimilisation in 71.
2006-08-25 04:07:22 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not on earth. But in UK.
I think the bottom part of your question answers the top part. Just look at the mess.
2006-08-25 00:16:48 · answer #9 · answered by blind_chameleon 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's true, it makes commerce and travel easier. Euro's and Dollars are confusing enough but imagine trying to deal with them with that monetry background.
2006-08-25 03:37:51 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋