In the majority of the countries you will be able quietly to use units of measure of time, space and weight, habitual for Russia. However till a modern era each people and the state had ways of measurement. Why unification was necessary?
Pood, sazhen, vershok - all this units of measure about which you for certain heard. They were applied from the early Middle Ages before revolution of 1917. Already in Soviet period country joined the international measuring system which arose much earlier. When in the 18-19th centuries the international commercial and economic relations began to develop actively, it became clear that use of the numerous systems of measurement differing in each country, inefficiently. Still the big confusion was caused that even units of measure with the identical name in reality in various regions could differ. For the first time actions for the solution of this problem and unification were undertaken by the French scientists at the end of the 18th century. They for the first time created not only the uniform system of measures, but also standards of units of measure. The ideal meter and kilogram were placed in specially created Board of Weights and Measures. On the basis of these standards also scales of measuring devices were created. In the 19th century many other countries estimated the French undertaking and began to use a new way of measurement. The Metric convention in which desire of seventeen countries to join the new system of measures was declared was signed. In 1960 at one of the international conferences SI - the International System of Units of measurement was accepted. By 2011 this system was accepted by the vast majority of the countries. However a number of the states, such as the USA and Myanmar, the national systems of measures continue to keep as the main. Thus, as a result of unification, not only economic activity, but also everyday life of people became simpler. Now practically worldwide the person can be sure that he will understand designation of distance and weight as they say in standard units of measure.