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.

Continue reading “The curse of conversion factors”

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.

Continue reading “How US labelling requirements undermine honest labelling in the UK”

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?