Metric Britain

Having spent considerable amounts of time in different countries and having visited four continents in the past few months, I've noticed that what many (including myself) consider to be a uniquely British or anglophone problem is in fact prevalent in a number of other countries - some of which have been metric for their entire existence. I've posted images of signs in the UK using 'mtrs' for metres where 'm' should be used and I've discussed the nonsensicality of the use of kph instead of km/h in the British context, whilst lauding the metrication efforts of other anglophone countries in a similar metric limbo to the United Kingdom. Whilst I do stand by my argument that in the UK, we need to fully utilise our official system of measurements, and do so properly, I've come to realise that we're not the only country screwing this up. The most common violation of the BIPM's accepted symbols for metric units is the (mis)use of 'mtr' to re...

With the average person giving their height in feet and inches, weighing their babies in pounds and ounces, quoting distances in miles, it is very easy to forget that the metric system is the official system of measurements throughout the United Kingdom. This begs the question: Why does the imperial system still dominate our speech? To answer the sub question, I will focus primarily on road signs, the vast majority of which are in imperial measures (typically miles and yards). With these being the measurements which most people see on a day to day basis, it impacts the decision people make regarding measurements. Seeing miles and yards on the road is more likely to make an individual speak in miles and yards for distances - in spite of their education in metres and kilometres. This has the knock-on effect of using miles per gallon for fuel consumption (although you would struggle to find an imperial gallon anywhere around) and miles per hour for speed. This has wider impacts in the m...

In my travels around the United Kingdom, I've seen many progressive metric signs, such as metric-only width & height restrictions, metric fingerposts and the like. However, today, whilst walking down "Millionaire's lane" I saw the light... the use of km/h speed limits here in London. One may think of this as being too good to be true if you're a metrichead, and indeed there are some flaws: 1. The km/h speed limit is not a 'regular' number; (24 km/h rather than 25 km/h) 2. The km/h sign is not stand-alone. It is below a sign stating the speed limit in MPH (15 MPH) 3. The km/h speed sign shows uses the horrible kph abbreviation, rather than the the standardised symbol (km/h) With that being said, we have to admit, that this is still good. People are recognising that we can not remain in the dark ages of miles and yards.