Category Archives: General

Howe calls for metrication progress

Posted on 2012-05-15 by Erithacus

Lord Howe of Aberavon, the former Conservative Chancellor and Deputy Prime Minister, intervened in the Queen’s Speech debate on Tuesday to reiterate his call for the Government to complete the conversion of the UK’s weights and measures to metric units. … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumer affairs, General, Road signs | Tagged , , , , | 30 Comments

Understanding body weight and height in metric units

Posted on 2012-05-11 by ronniec

It was inevitable that the selection of London to host the Olympic Games would bring into focus some of the consequences of the UK’s measurement muddle. Metric Views looks at one aspect, the measurement of body height and weight, measured … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, General, Health, Sport, World Records | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Fire hydrant signs – a successful metric conversion

Posted on 2012-05-03 by derekp

Metric Views looks at a successful but unsung project that took place during the early years of the UK’s metric transition. We speculate what might have occurred had this job been the responsibility, not of local government, but of the … Continue reading →

Posted in General, History, Road signs, Technical | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

US customary measures: friend or foe of British traditionalists?

Posted on 2012-04-26 by ronniec

In the early years of the twentieth century, both US customary (USC) and metric measures were seen by some in Britain as threats to the survival of the Imperial system. The end of Empire saw metric supplant Imperial, while USC … Continue reading →

Posted in General, History, Technical | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Marathon myth

Posted on 2012-04-22 by tonyw

With the London Marathon being run today, it is timely to remember the metric origins of the marathon, and to puncture the myth that it is a race measured in imperial units.

Posted in General, History, Myths, Sport | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Just how much does not being fully metric cost the UK economy?

Posted on 2012-03-27 by derekp

One of our regular readers, John Frewen-Lord, has compiled a quiz, or rather two quizzes, to illustrate the waste resulting from the UK’s measurement muddle. The editors of Metric Views are unsure why a penalty of £1 per second has … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumer affairs, Education, General, Technical, Transport | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

DfT admits: no basis for blocking metric signs

Posted on 2012-03-16 by Erithacus

After finally admitting they were wrong to try to withhold this information, the DfT have now published their analysis of the responses to their earlier consultation on the proposed phasing out of imperial-only height and width restriction traffic signs.  What … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Road signs, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , | 31 Comments

The link between measurement skills and numeracy

Posted on 2012-03-09 by ronniec

Poor numeracy is blighting Britain’s economic performance and ruining lives, says a new charity launched to champion better maths skills.

Posted in Consumer affairs, Education, General, Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Goodbye Imperial. Hello British weights and measures

Posted on 2012-03-02 by ronniec

We, the public, are encouraged by some politicians, by the DfT and by elements of the media to pick and mix our measurement units – to use both imperial and metric. So why has imperial as a system fallen from … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumer affairs, General, History | Tagged , , | 22 Comments

Mesures usuelles. An anniversary remembered

Posted on 2012-02-17 by derekp

The comment by Han Maenen on the previous article reminds us that this is the 200th anniversary of a decree which ended temporarily the use of the metric system for everyday purposes in France and elsewhere.

Posted in General, History, Technical, Views from abroad | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments