Category: Media

“Metric martyrs” – what was the fuss about?

On Wednesday, 9 May, the air waves and the prints were full of fanciful stories about Brussels caving in and allowing Britain to carry on using lbs, oz and other imperial units. The so-called “metric martyrs” * (Oh no, not them again!) declared a victory for their campaign. So what has really happened?

It appears that at a recent Committee meeting of the European Parliament, one of the 27 Commissioners, Günter Verheugen, indicated that, in response to lobbying from European and American exporters, he intended to propose to fellow Commissioners that the current authorisation of “supplementary indications” alongside metric units should be extended beyond its current deadline of 2009. If the Commission approves this proposal it will then have to go through the decision-making machinery of the EU before the current Units of Measurement Directive can be revised.

This has been claimed by a spokesman for the “metric martyrs” as a victory for their campaign to be allowed to weigh and price in lbs and oz. The reality is quite different.

No difference

If Mr Verheugen’s proposal were eventually to be agreed as reported (big “if”), it would make absolutely no difference to the current situation. Traders will still have to price and weigh goods at the point of sale in metric units, with the option of an accompanying supplementary indication, which must be no more prominent than the legal metric unit. Most shops and supermarkets now comply with the law, and many have given up on showing lbs, oz, pints, sq yds, etc. Only a handful of recalcitrant market traders and small shopkeepers still hold out against the law, and their numbers are dwindling.

A special exemption for US imports and exports?

However, this is by no means the end of the story. The reason given for authorising supplementary indications is that the USA requires dual labelling (metric and “US customary” – not the same as imperial, by the way) on packaged goods. Thus, if the EU insists on metric-only labelling, exporters will require separate packaging for the two markets. It is difficult to see why putting an extra sticky label on a package is a significant business cost, but even if it is, there is a simple solution which need not affect the great majority of transactions within the EU. All that is required to solve the exporters’ alleged problem is a special exemption for imports of packaged goods from and exports to the USA. This is exactly what was proposed by the UK Metric Association (UKMA) in its submission to the EU consultation on revising the Directive, which can be seen at
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/prepack/unitmeas/depot_anwers/c-non-gov-organis/R205.pdf
It remains to be seen whether the Commission will accept the obvious logic and common sense of our proposal.

Pints and miles

Contrary to many media reports, Mr Verheugen’s proposal would not affect the status of the pint for draught beer and cider and for milk in returnable containers, nor would it affect the mile, yard, foot and inch for road signs, distance and speed measurement. The UK Government will still be required to name a date for phasing out these measures. As far as road signs are concerned, UKMA has proposed that a new deadline of 2014 should be set.

* Footnote:

The suggestion that the original so-called “metric martyrs” have been exonerated is absurd. They were properly prosecuted and convicted under the current law for using illegal scales and other offences, and all their appeals to various UK and European (!) courts were dismissed. Even if the Directive were to be amended as suggested, they would still be breaking the law. They were guilty as charged and remain so.

BBC pundit supports going metric

Mention ‘k’ to this economist, and it’s not only the size of investment capital that he’s thinking of..

BBC News economics editor and presenter of “Dragons’ Den”, Evan Davis, speaks out in favour of the simplicity of the metric system in an article on his BBC blog. Normally associated in the public eye for financial figures in the thousands of pounds, Evan Davis compares the elegance and simplicity of the metre and kilometre and of decimal currency against the confusion of inches, feet, yards and miles, pounds, shillings and pence.

Is the Moon still metric?

According to a BBC story, Dennis Hope, the self-proclaimed (imperialist?) owner of the moon, is selling plots of lunar real estate by the acre.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6533169.stm

BBC2 – Horizon – 2007-04-10 21:00

This story comes just weeks after a decision by NASA that all future manned moon missions, and permanent lunar bases, will use metric measurements exclusively.

http://www.metricviews.uk/2007/01/13/metric-moon-says-nasa/

So just how will future lunar landowners measure out their 1 chain by 1 furrow long on the moon?

Degrees of confusion

Sky News are currently giving weather forecasts for individual cities on their morning show in the form of icons in the corner of the screen.

On seeing two temperatures for each city, you might expect that they are minimum and maximum temperatures, as is conventional for city forecasts. But these temperatures are more reminiscent of those found in the Middle East.

Even after using the international standard Celsius system for 40 years, it seems that we are expected to realise that the pairs of figures shown are actually both maximum temperatures, but using two different systems.

When will the media make it easier for us all, and stick to one standard temperature scale?

Metric howlers – Times hat-trick

When converting metric units into imperial units, journalists (or more likely sub-editors) are apt to make mistakes, especially if they are dealing with subjects with which they are not very familiar. On the 9th December 2006, The Times managed a hat-trick of blunders. [article contributed by MV]

Page 8 – Airlines should pay full cost of their pollution

The penultimate paragraph contained the text “[Boeing and Airbus] Aircraft use an average of four litres of fuel per 100 km”. This sentence should have raised the alarm bells – a consumption of 4 L/100 km is what one would expect of an economical car such as the Smart Car. (The imperial equivalent is 70 mpg!). If the writer used metric units when driving they would have spotted this howler.

Page 43 – Why the Dead Sea is dying

The fifth paragraph contains the phrase “to suck 1,900 million cubic metres (2.1 million cubic yards) of water”. This phrase contains two howlers. Firstly, a factor of 1000 seems to have gone missing. Secondly, the writer appears to have used a factor of 1.1 to convert cubic metres to cubic yards when the correct factor is 1.1 x 1.1 x 1.1 (which is equal to 1.331).

Page 44 – Spend a penny, but it make you think of a tenor

The third paragraph contains the sentence “The block, in Calcutta, is spread over 3,000 square metres (3,300 square yards) and is “. Here, the writer used a factor of 1.1 to convert square metres to square yards. The correct factor is 1.1 x 1.1 (which is equal to 1.21).

Football going metric?

Viewers of “Match of the Day” on 9 December had the unusual experience of hearing football commentary in metric. Was this an aberration or a straw in the wind? (asks Robin Paice)

There was an interesting exchange on “Match of the Day”
recently.

Three football pundits (Ray Stubbs, Alan Shearer and Mark Lawrenson) are discussing the “goal of the season” scored by Matthew Taylor for Portsmouth against Everton. Lawrenson is describing the volley, voice over an action replay: “straight as an arrow, like a rocket, dipping – here’s the measurement [screen shows 42 metres]. Similar thing at Sunderland last season, like an arrow, goalkeeper on his six yard box [sic] didn’t stand a chance [screen shows 39 metres], not quite so far but still a very good goal. He won’t score many better than that. 42 metres …

AS: By the way, I work in yards.

ML: [slightly condescending] It’s 42 lots of 39 inches.

AS: [to RS] Carry on then.

ML: It’s about 45 and a half yards, give or take.

RS: Have you just worked it out that quickly?

ML: No, I’ve been practising all day.

[All fall about laughing].

Football tends to be militantly imperial despite the fact that as the sport is relatively unknown in the USA, and despite the prominence of foreign players and managers in English and Scottish football, Britain and Ireland are the only countries in the world which still cling to expressions such as the “eighteen yard box” (meaning the penalty area). So it was encouraging, and perhaps we should thank Mark Lawrenson for introducing the footballing masses to the novelty of metric measurements – albeit it was treated somewhat light-heartedly – as though metres are not real measurements.

I would guess that the explanation for this unexpected foray into the world system was that the software used by the BBC in this instance was probably metric. It was easier to use it than try to amend it.

Anyway, thanks to Mark Lawrenson.

“Animals in the womb: Mammals” – pioneering TV from Channel 4

This programme used a combination of computer graphics, physical modelling, and actual ultra-sound images to create stunning pictures of the foetus of a dolphin, an elephant and a golden retriever developing in the womb. There was a commentary, but for much of the time the amazing images spoke for themselves. [Article contributed by Derek Pollard]

Continue reading ““Animals in the womb: Mammals” – pioneering TV from Channel 4″

NHS use of kilograms

Although the NHS uses grams and kilograms, the media often dumb down the information, and politicians do nothing to help. [article by Roz Denny]

Last week I went to see the GP for my elderly father and she was pleasantly surprised when discussing his weight that she didn’t have to “translate” it for me from kg to stones. I am also of the generation of women who gave birth 28 years ago in an NHS hospital and was handed my little bundle at 3.1kg, no conversions. Thereafter my baby’s weights were entered in her clinic record book in kg, albeit with lbs in brackets. Since those heady days we’ve seemed to have gone backwards. Even to the extent that the media think all UK babies are weighed in lbs at birth particularly the babies of prominent politicians – Blair, Brown and Cameron.