First metrication reversal since Napoleon?

If the current Government implement their proposals to remove the requirement to use metric units for trade, it will be the first reversal of metrication in the UK and probably the first reversal in Europe since the days of Napoleon over 200 years ago.

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Milk in a muddle

Recent reports of the difficulties facing Britain’s milk producers have prompted Ronnie Cohen to look into the muddle sorrounding retail packaging and pricing of all types of milk.

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Changing standards and definitions, including several best forgotten

After the controversy of recent weeks with bashed bridges, furlongs and novel signs, we turn to something deadly dull – the definitions of length, mass (or weight) and capacity (or volume) and their relationships.

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UKMA launches Measurement Units Style Guide

In an attempt to bring about some improvement in the sloppy and inconsistent way in which metric units are often written, the UK Metric Association has today (5 July 2012) published a “Measurement Units Style Guide”.  Aimed at anybody who uses metric units in their writing, the Guide is available in both hard copy and as a free download from the UKMA website.

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Surprisingly balanced article in the Daily Mail

An interesting article about metrication appeared in the Daily Mail Online recently, describing the current situation reasonably well – but arguing that the current British mixture of metric and imperial measurements is actually a good thing since it enables people to use the units “most apposite for the job in hand”.  As this argument is seductive but utterly misconceived, it deserves to be taken seriously and rebutted.

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