Metric Britain

The press shapes the way we think. This is an indisputable fact. It is also very well established that the press is a contributor to the metric muddle through its generally inconsistent use of measurements. There is a tendency for the right-wing press to favour imperial units, whilst the left wing press favours metric units, but this is not exclusively the case and there are exceptions on both sides. The one thing that is true across the political spectrum of the press is that there is a considerable inconsistency in which measurements are used. The press is not to blame for the metric muddle, to blame the press would be unfair. Indecision by successive governments has been the problem for the past half century. This inaction has led us to live in what can only be described as a 'fudge'. A nation whose official system of measurements is metric, but with so many exceptions, that it's simply a mess. This mishmash of measurements has not just affected if and when metric units...

This year, Sri Lanka marks 50 years of using the metric system. There are still a few areas where imperial units are still common, such as acres for land registry, and there are some errors of signage (like those I spoke about when I visited Sri Lanka a few years ago. However Sri Lanka has converted to the metric system successfully.  Asela Atukorala, a Sri Lankan blogger, and lover of the metric system has written a very informative and interesting post about Sri Lanka's metrication story. It discusses the use of metric measurements prior to the changeover (and whilst Sri Lanka was a British colony), the decisions which led to adoption of the metric system, and the actual adoption of the system, including changes to legislation and the conversion process. There are some very interesting insights into how the conversion was managed across all thee languages (English, Tamil and Sinhala), as well as how guidance was issued to the general public, including Sri Lanka's famous tea i...

Anyone who has driven around any city or town in the UK over the past few months would have noticed huge changes on the roads. Some bus lanes are now operating at all times, cycle lanes have popped up, roads have been closed off, and speed limits have been reduced to 20 miles per hour in many areas. If you live in London, you wouldn't be able to miss extended operating hours of the congestion charging zone. As a driver, these things all irk me, and have been met by considerable objection from a significant proportion of people. The results are not that great either.  Additional traffic jams as a result of either side roads being closed off or lane closures to accommodate poorly thought though cycle lanes on major arterial and/or orbital roads; Drivers getting distracted because they're crawling along a long, non-residential road with few pedestrians or obstacles at 20 miles per hour (32 km/h); Having to suffer the indignity of shelling out £15 in 'congestion charge' for...