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"Is this all real? Or has this been happening inside my head?"
The topic of this article is of a real-life subject that has been mentioned "in-universe" in a canon source. The Harry Potter Wiki is written from the perspective that all information presented in canon is true (e.g., Hogwarts really existed), and, as such, details contained in this article may differ from real world facts. |
The process of metrication started in 1965, by decision of the Muggle British government, so that Great Britain would switch from the imperial system of weights and measures to the metric one.[1]
Unlike their fellow Muggles, the British wizarding community, at the time led by Minister Nobby Leach, simply ignored the change, as they were not averse to laborious calculations which they could, after all, do magically. That being said, wizards and witches weighed in ounces, pounds and stones; measure in inches, feet and miles; and paid for goods in Knuts, Sickles, and Galleons.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
- After objecting to her publisher's policy of converting all measurements into metric, J. K. Rowling was invited to join the British Weights and Measures Association, which opposes the compulsory use of the metric system. Although she has nothing against the metric system, she decided to join just to elicit a reaction from her sister Di and said that she doubts "whether anyone has ever had as much fun for the price of a postage stamp".[1]
Appearances[]
- Pottermore (First mentioned)
- Harry Potter (website) (Mentioned only)