This year marks 125 years since the United Kingdom signed the Metre Convention. Continue reading “An anniversary overlooked”
Category: General
Loony Measurement System
A member of the UK Metric Association has given us permission to reproduce an amusing article from his personal blog. Acknowledgements and thanks to David Brown.
Who said that?
The standards for writing SI are very clear, those for speaking perhaps not. So this contribution to the topic from the BBC may be of interest to our readers.
A 21st Century Approach to UK Peaks
Walking has never been so attractive. It’s cheap, it keeps you fit and it gets you away from the crowds. Yesterday’s launching of a new interactive website on Ben Nevis draws together for the first time a UK-wide peak challenge and a wealth of information for hill walkers. Continue reading “A 21st Century Approach to UK Peaks”
The English language – not to be taken for granted
Martin Vlietstra suggests a possible threat to our prosperity resulting from our resistance to change.
Continue reading “The English language – not to be taken for granted”
Just how big is a trillion?
Media interest has recently focussed on the effects of the credit crunch. The UK’s stalled metric changeover is all but forgotten. John Frewen-Lord has, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, succeeded in linking these issues while providing another example of the superiority of metric measures.
Update on the fires in Australia
Our correspondent down-under brings us up-to-date on the recent catastrophic fires in the state of Victoria. Pat Naughtin wrote on 5 March:
‘User-Friendly’ metric
One of our readers, John Frewen-Lord, asks why popular resistance to the simplicity of metric measures is now limited to a few English-speaking countries. With change in the air, he makes a few suggestions to help the stalled metric changeovers. If you are a Metric ‘Purist’, turn away now…
Our Christmas Cracker
The traditional Christmas cracker usually contains a joke, a paper hat and a toy, and goes off with a bang. Metric Views, in its cracker, has an anecdote about a Christmas Fair, links to two radio programmes, and a video with some knockabout fun.
Will science training for MPs help?
A report in the Times that new MPs are to get some scientific training poses the question: will this help them to understand why we need to scrap non-scientific imperial units and embrace the modern metric system? (Article based on a draft by Martin Vlietstra)
Continue reading “Will science training for MPs help?”
