Steve,
Most people in the UK do not know what an acre is either (at any rate, they would not be able to pace one out it they were on a large piece of land). Moreover it is rare for estate agents to mention land area at all unless the piece of land is very big (typically a hectare or more). Farmers however know exactly how large their farms are in hectares - after all EU subsidies are computed using hectares! Steve, allow me to educate you. A hectare is the approximate size of an international rugby pitch (including the dead-ball area). It is also the approximate size of Trafalgar Square. (Apologies to US readers, but these are concepts that Steve, who is British, would understand). _____ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Stephen Humphreys Sent: 01 December 2008 23:52 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:42101] RE: BBC web site keeps it metric <<I wonder if usage for larger areas in the UK (aside from real estate transactions) is trending toward metric only, namely, hectares and square kilometers exclusively.>> 'fraid not - especially hectares - most people would not understand what an 'ha' is. I would say that smaller areas are more likely to show metres (I've seen one or two estate agents including room dimensions in metres in brackets) > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: [email protected] > CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [USMA:42095] BBC web site keeps it metric > Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2008 04:24:59 +0000 > > > I was pleasantly surprised to see the BBC News web site describe the area of the Amazon rain forest being lost in square kilometers: > > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7756241.stm > > (The unpleasant surprise was to read about the acceleration in the loss of rain forest. :-( > > I switched to the UK version of the site just to be sure they didn't edit the wording differently there ..... but the article is exactly the same. > > Based on previous articles I've seen, I was bracing myself to see "square miles" listed in parentheses afterwards. > > I wonder if usage for larger areas in the UK (aside from real estate transactions) is trending toward metric only, namely, hectares and square kilometers exclusively. > > Ezra > _____ Win John Lewis vouchers with BigSnapSearch.com Search <http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/117442309/direct/01/> now
