Put that on a tape, and show me. Pics.
Hint: a ruler only goes to like 30 cm and is ok to have fine numbering, even just light etching on a metal ruler. In a 25m+ tape measure, have fun with that idea. If you put cumulative numbers on each cm and did not turn them sideways, it will end up looking like someone writing pi out to the 50 thousandth decimal place.
Show me this metric tape measure that you would use outside, in the field, doing framing with a circular saw, day in day out. Not a ruler for cutting paper at a desk with an exacto knife.
Choosing the size of the meter was a compromise. Belgie didn't put the same priorities on all tasks, esp when he decided there are 400 degrees in a circle.
I'm back!-- just for this one time, though.
To hand, I have two tape measures.
One is a 165 ft (50m ) long one, where the numbers restart 1,2, 3----- etc, every 10cm (100mm) on the Metric side, so are not cumulative. (yes, the people in the PRC who manufactured it made the amazing discovery that tapes have two sides).
On the Imperial side, the numbers
restart 1,2,3 ------etc, every foot (12 inches) & are not cumulative.It would obviously be impossible to use cumulative numbers of inches for a long tape like that one.(how would you fit the last one in, at 1,980 inches ?)
On both sides, the numbers read along the length of the tape, not across.
The other, small tape does use cumulative inches, but is only 10ft long (even so, it is getting a bit crowded at the top end.
On this one, the Metric scale does restart every 100cm.
Even though ISO, & the dear, departed Metrication Board didn't like centimetres, they are about the smallest unit that can easily be numbered, so won a new lease of life, by default.
When I use the big tape, I measure in metres most of the time, then translate them to mm to keep the hardware suppliers happy.
There may have been some "Metric only" tapes sold in Oz, but since they, like most other everyday things are now made in China, & to a lesser extent, India, all the ones I have use both measurement systems.