Monthly Archives: July 2007

Symbols understood by everyone, everywhere (unlike abbreviations)

Posted on 2007-07-26 by derekp

Do British road signs have symbols on them or abbreviations? (Martin Vlietstra asks a rhetorical question).

Posted in Consumer affairs, Road signs | 11 Comments

Tesco – trying hard but must try harder

Posted on 2007-07-22 by derekp

On Saturday 21 July 2007, I visited a Tesco store in the West Midlands. On many of the fruit and vegetable displays there were signs showing the inkorrect symbol ‘Kg’. (Article contributed by Philip Bladon, author of ’A Dictionary of International Units’)

Posted in Consumer affairs, Education | 22 Comments

Know your speeds – the voice of experience

Posted on 2007-07-18 by derekp

When one day the British roads are converted to metric units, drivers will need to get used to distances that are measured in kilometres and speeds that are measured in kilometres per hour (article contributed by Martin Vlietstra).

Posted in Road signs, Transport | 13 Comments

Metric and Wilkins compared – not quite deja vu

Posted on 2007-07-18 by derekp

A feature of the metric system, which distinguishes it from customary systems, is the use prefixes for decimal multiples and submultiples as well as the use of symbols for units. These were not part of Wilkins’ proposals of 1668. Roddy … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Technical | 2 Comments

BBC1 Six o’clock News launches a “stunner”

Posted on 2007-07-17 by derekp

New research suggests that the principles of the metric system may have been outlined originally in England. The BBC launched this discovery on an unsuspecting British public during the Six o’clock  News on 13 July. Here is the  transcript of the broadcast … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Media | 3 Comments

Is the metric system really a British idea?

Posted on 2007-07-16 by derekp

The recent discovery that the principles of the metric system were proposed in England over a century before they were adopted in France seems to deserve comment on Metric Views.

Posted in History | 9 Comments

Overheard in the deli

Posted on 2007-07-15 by derekp

Overheard at the deli counter in a Sainsbury’s in Sussex (reported by Roz Denny).

Posted in Consumer affairs | 6 Comments

Using metric – accuracy v precision

Posted on 2007-07-02 by philh

A fellow metric supporter who admits to being a little weak on mathematics owned up to not understanding the difference between accuracy and precision when it comes to measurement. He is probably right in saying that he is not alone … Continue reading →

Posted in Technical | 2 Comments