Readers may be interested in a recent exchange of views between Clay Rogers, a journalist with a newspaper in Iowa, and Paul Trusten, Vice President of UKMA’s sister organisation in the USA.
Category: General
Whitworth’s forgotten legacy
Whitworth is famous for the eponymous screw thread, and for his promotion of standard measures and interchangeability that brought about an engineering revolution. Less well known are his enthusiasm for decimal measurement and his opposition to the introduction of the metric system in Britain.
A Biblical specification and a problem solved (almost)
We are justifiably proud in England of the legal principles laid down in Magna Carta in 1215, but less supportive of its command, “Let there be one measure …”. However, weights and measures laws are as old as civilisation. In this article, Ronnie Cohen looks at a unit of length from 3000 years ago, and makes a comparison with today.
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Inside the Commons
Have you been watching this series on BBC2 on Tuesdays at 9.00 pm? Three programmes have already been broadcast, with the final on due on 24 February. They show the workings of the House of Commons and there are a few surprises, or perhaps not.
Decimal currency, metric measures and the vanished link
For over a century, the introduction of metric measures in the UK was linked to that of decimal currency. But then, while we were saying farewell to £sd, the situation changed. We follow the story and draw an unsurprising conclusion.
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Measurement muddle – a customary feature of Britain
Ronnie Cohen looks at the measurement muddle in the British Isles during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. As our nearest neighbours on the Continent might say, ‘Plus ca change, toujours la meme chose’.
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Measurement units – a daily dilemma for the media
We take a look at a uniquely British problem faced by our media and in particular the BBC, namely which system of measurement units to use.
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Hong Kong – Imperial no more
Followers of Metric Views may have noticed that one of our regular contributors, John Frewen-Lord, has just returned from a visit to the far east. In this post, he passes on some observations relating one of the countries he visited.
Government to clarify law on metric units in advertising
A Government Minister has promised to advise industry bodies that the law requires the use of metric units in all product description and advertising.
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Traffic signs and speed limits to be devolved to Scotland
The Smith Commission on further devolution to Scotland has recommended that speed limits and traffic signs should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament.
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