In American recipes and in some old recipes, you might come across units such as teaspoons, dessert spoons, tablespoons and cups. In recipes, they do not refer to any old teaspoon, dessert spoon, tablespoon or cup but to specific physical quantities. How many are aware that these names refer to volume measures rather than physical kitchen utensils? These units are non-standard, and each unit has several definitions – a range of different teaspoons, dessert spoons, tablespoons and cups have been used.
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London City Airport recently scrapped 100 ml liquid rule, which still applies in airports worldwide.
On 4 April 2023, London City Airport scrapped the 100 ml liquid rule. 1 Since 2006, airports worldwide have insisted that travellers can only bring liquids in containers of up to 100 ml in their carry-on bag. 2 These days, we take it for granted that the 100 ml limit for liquids at international airports around the world is exactly the same quantity. This is a triumph for the metric system, which replaced many different national systems long ago. Before the metric system, the same unit names were used for different quantities in different national measurement systems and there was no common definition for these units. The worldwide 100 ml liquid rule shows the benefits of a world standard measurement system for international travellers (i.e., the metric system).
Continue reading “London City Airport recently scrapped 100 ml liquid rule, which still applies in airports worldwide.”Odd and inconsistent product descriptions
We highlight an oddity in Waitrose product description and pricing, recently picked up in an article on msn. And no, this is not a belated April fool story.
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The curse of conversion factors
In this article, Ronnie Cohen looks at lists of plausible conversions in both directions between imperial units still in use in the UK and metric units.
How US labelling requirements undermine honest labelling in the UK
On EU product labels, metric units are mandatory whereas non-metric units are optional. On US product labels, both metric and US customary (USC) units are mandatory for most products. So a company that wants to sell a product in the EU and the US must use metric and USC on the label unless it produces separate labels for the two markets.
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US customary measures: friend or foe of British traditionalists?
In the early years of the twentieth century, both US customary (USC) and metric measures were seen by some in Britain as threats to the survival of the Imperial system. The end of Empire saw metric supplant Imperial, while USC has endured. Could it become the saviour of the few Imperial measures that survive in the UK, despite the differences between the two systems?
Metric Views 