This week, Ronnie Cohen takes a look at the long-forgotten 1972 White Paper on Metrication.
Category: Myths
The flip side of SI
Charlie P, a regular if occasionally critical contributor to MV, promised he would on his return from holiday give his thoughts on “the flip side of the SI as far as the average man in the street is concerned”. These now appear below. They are of course not endorsed by the Editors of MV, but may provide food for thought.
Novel signs around the UK
Following on from our article last week about those curious signs in Southend, Ronnie Cohen, one of our regular readers, now reports on a few others that have attracted his attention.
Waterloo 1815 – what if?
We speculate on the consequences if there had been a different outcome at the Battle of Waterloo.
Dying embers and a few flying sparks
The concluding article of this series looks at the ignominious end of the UK’s attempt, began fifty years ago, to make the transition to a single, simple and universal measurement system.
Are imperial units ‘British’?
Continuing with our series on myths, misinformation and fallacies, we look at the claim occasionally made by defenders of imperial units that they are British and that they should continue in use for this reason.
Santa’s weighty problem
“Oh my goodness!” exclaimed Mrs Claus, as midnight approached on Christmas Eve. “I swear you put on more weight each year! You do give those reindeer a really hard time, you know.”
Salisbury points to a solution (and to a problem)
Metric Views’ attention has been drawn to a Victorian piece of legislation under which signs may be authorised.
Continue reading “Salisbury points to a solution (and to a problem)”
Was the metre invented by the Ancient Egyptians 4500 years ago?
One of our readers, John Frewen-Lord, speculates that the metre may be the modern version of a measure that was familiar to the Pharaohs.
Continue reading “Was the metre invented by the Ancient Egyptians 4500 years ago?”
Imperial units and decimals. Not a winning combination.
The signing of the Metre Convention on 20 May 1875 by 17 nations, including Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, Russia and the USA, sounded the death knell of the imperial measurement system. In this article, Ronnie Cohen looks at an earlier proposal that was intended to make this system better fit for purpose.
Continue reading “Imperial units and decimals. Not a winning combination.”
Metric Views 