The new version of the Met Office’s weather forecasting website no longer has the option to show wind speeds in metric units. All wind speeds are now in mph-only. Previously, users could choose from a list of different units, including metres per second and km/h.
Continue reading “Met Office website drops metric wind speeds”
If, like me, you are a regular viewer and fan of QI, the BBC’s long-running “Quite Interesting” trivia game show, you are probably frustrated by the seemingly random choice of measurement units that the programme uses to convey the sizes of things. Viewers are expected to be familiar with a whole host of units that haven’t been taught in schools for more than 50 years.
Recently, when surfing the internet, I came across some correspondence between a cat lover and a supplier of cat food. When the cat lover wished to order cat food the supplier’s web site required that he enter the cat’s weight in kilograms. However, he wished to enter the cat’s weight in pounds. He went on to say that he had measured his cat’s weight by first weighing himself (13 st 4 lbs, or 186 lbs) and then weighing himself while holding his cat. The rest of the article was devoted to correspondence between himself and the cat food company in which he voiced his preference for using pounds.
Continue reading “Why can I not record my cat’s weight as five pounds?”We at UKMA are deeply saddened to learn of the death of UKMA’s longest-serving patron, Dick Taverne, Baron Taverne of Pimlico. He was a man with a stellar career both in politics and outside, and was an avid supporter of UKMA and its cause.
Continue reading “Obituary – Dick Taverne, Baron Taverne, KC”
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