Spare a thought for any would-be Brysons out there
What units do you choose when you are writing travel books and other popular non-fiction for English speakers, wherever they might be found? (Article written by a reader of Bill Bryson’s books) For...
View ArticleThe use and abuse of fluid ounces
We look at some of the consequences when there is more than one option for supplementary units on product labels. In the UK, metric is the primary system of measurement for all purposes except for...
View ArticleWill EU-US trade agreement bring in metric-only labelling in the US?
A key point of President Obama’s State of the Union address on 13 February was the proposed EU-US trade agreement, which has been under preliminary discussion for the past year. (See...
View ArticleHow 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...
View ArticlePanama catches up
Readers may have come across news stories concerning the conversion of petrol pumps in Panama from US gallons to litres. In this article, Metric Views aims to provide some background information. This...
View ArticleAre 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...
View ArticleUS package labelling may be catching up
– but don’t hold your breath. One of our regular readers in the USA reports on the latest moves to permit metric-only labelling of packaging. In the UK, metric-only labelling of packaging became...
View ArticleA skirmish across the Pond
Readers may be interested in a recent exchange of views between Clay Rogers, a journalist with a newspaper in Iowa, and Paul Trusten, Vice President of UKMA’s sister organisation in the USA. From 3...
View ArticleIs the proposed EU-US trade agreement doomed?
We have updated an article that was first published in 2013. The new US President has said he wishes to renegotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), signed but not yet ratified. Does this mean the...
View ArticleSupplementary Indications revisited
Supplementary indications received a reprieve in 2007, and will now, subject to the Brexit deal negotiated with the EU, need to serve only the needs of the UK economy. Ronnie Cohen wonders where US...
View ArticleThen there were two
We ask if it is time for supporters of so-called British weights and measures to come to terms with the fact that only two systems of weights and measures are recognised world wide, and British aka...
View ArticleThe American Influence on Canada’s Metrication
John Frewen-Lord, a frequent contributor to Metric Views, has just returned from one of his regular trips to Canada. He gives us his thoughts. It is well known that metrication in Canada is in as much...
View ArticleLiberia joins the club
We comment on reports that Liberia intends to adopt the metric system. It was reported a few days ago that the Liberian Government has decided that the country should adopt the metric system:...
View ArticleMeasuring tapes – choice for some
In the unlikely event of Donald Trump deciding to buy a measuring tape while he is in Britain, he will find a wide choice of a type that is popular in the US. Indeed, he may have difficulty finding any...
View Article1819 – a massacre and a missed opportunity
This article looks at the first report of the Commissioners appointed early in the nineteenth century to consider weights and measures. It gives examples of the reasons why the Commission was...
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