The Irish Border has appeared frequently in the news as a major obstacle to a withdrawal agreement between the UK and the remaining 27 EU member states. In this article, Ronnie Cohen looks at a ‘soft’ characteristic of the current border – the change of measurement units on road traffic signs.
Category: General
Liberia joins the club
We comment on reports that Liberia intends to adopt the metric system.
Carry on muddling
In these uncertain times, politicians are often keen to point out areas where Britain leads the world. We have a suggestion: creating a measurement muddle. Examples follow.
cm versus mm
As the UK’s metric changeover drags on with no end in sight, we consider if the advantages of encouraging widespread use of the centimetre outweigh the risks.
An Imperial Royal baby
Our post on 23 April reported briefly on that day’s addition to the Royal family. John Frewen-Lord, one of our regular contributors, now discusses some related issues.
Metric vs Imperial. Which?
We comment on a letter and the reply recently published in Which?, the magazine of the Consumers Association.
Deficits, the global measurement system and global trade
In this article, Ronnie Cohen looks at the deficits of some major economies and asks if apparent reluctance to use the global measurement system is a symptom of a wider problem – adapting to a changed world.
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A storm in a champagne glass
We look into the recent story that appeared on BBC TV about the possibility of champagne becoming available again in the UK in pint bottles.
The DfT’s duplicated reports
When Ronnie Cohen was researching the use of miles and kilometres for other articles, he came across several instances of metric and imperial versions of the same report produced by the DfT. In this article he gives details.
Olympics – metric in Winter too
The Department for Transport has always maintained that the measurement system used on road traffic signs can be considered in isolation from the UK, European and global economies. The Winter Olympics in Korea, now drawing to a close, provide us with yet another reminder, should one be needed, that this might not be so.
Metric Views 