The Department for Transport wants to reduce sign clutter. Very commendable, you might think. So why don’t they adopt an obvious measure that would make many signs smaller, simpler and easier to read – and thereby reduce clutter? Continue reading “DfT misses another trick”
Cabinet Office gets its kilowatts in a twist
Visitors to the Cabinet Office website will see that this branch of the Government is measuring its energy use in “kilowatt-hours per hour”. It is a sad reflection on the quality of civil service support given to this crucial part of the Government machine that such an incongruous and scientifically illiterate measure should be published.
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Tips for cooking that turkey
Most of us buy our Christmas turkey from a supermarket, trussed and accompanied by cooking instructions. But for those of our readers who have obtained a bird elsewhere, and are wondering how to cook this unfamiliar monster, we have some pointers to success.
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Metric traffic signs – an issue that goes round in circles but will not go away
The reply to a recent parliamentary question prompts thoughts about joined-up government in relation to measurement units.
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Surprise choice for transport
This was the headline in a back number of a trade magazine that recently came to our attention. So who was this choice, why the surprise, and when was he or she chosen for transport?
Supersized Earth
A new series on BBC1 shows how our planet is being “re-engineered”, and it provides pointers to the future, some of them unexpected.
Thinking of buying a fridge?
A recent survey of their web sites leads us to speculate on where retailers see themselves: most plump for the present, but a few appear to favour the last century.
50 years of Celsius weather forecasts – time to kill off Fahrenheit for good?
Fifty years ago, on 15th October 1962, British weather forecasts switched over from the Fahrenheit scale to Celsius. Fifty years on, some parts of the British media inexplicably cling on to Fahrenheit measures, and the UK Metric Association (UKMA) says it’s time to kill off Fahrenheit for good.
[Press release issued on 15 October 2012]
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The Cardinals Hat calls time
A pub in Worcester, that for ten years served draught beer by the litre, has now closed due to rising costs.
Two enduring controversies are highlighted by a food labelling consultation
A recent consultation by the UK Department of Health about food labelling has drawn attention to two long-standing issues, both relating to food energy and the calorie.
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Metric Views 