It seems like Stephen makes a good point. Perhaps he can describe a typical
(even if a bit synthesized) day to illustrate the various encounters with
Imperial that pop throughout his day. I think this would give me (as a distant
American) a better feel for the everyday experience the typical Briton has of
Imperial vs metric.
thanks,
Ezra
----- Original Message -----
From: Stephen Humphreys
To: U.S. Metric Association
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 7:02 AM
Subject: [USMA:44516] Re: metric Britain
If you can ignore measures related to moving around anywhere outside your
home (whether on foot on bike or in car), or if you can avoid talking to other
Britons, or if you can avoid reading newspapers or listening to the TV or if
you can live without the radio ie - If reading the side of cartons and looking
on the edge of a bottle constitutes the extent that the UK has become very
metric friendly then.....
yes.
you have a point!
:-D
P.S. I also believe this is the way the USA is becoming regarding metric -
ie metric progress in labelling
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: j...@frewston.plus.com
To: usma@colostate.edu
Subject: [USMA:44507] Re: metric Britain
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:34:12 +0100
At the risk of flogging a dead horse, the attached scans confirm that Britain
is far more metric than people like Stephen Humphreys like to make out. One of
the scans shows a recipe that is on a small packing slip/newsletter that comes
with a weekly organic veggie box my other half has on order from a local farm,
Woodlands Farm (this really is local, not national or even county-wide). The
recipe is metric. This from a farmer in Lincolnshire, a very conservative (and
Conservative) part of the country. [For US readers, Conservatives are similar
to Republicans, i.e. right wing as opposed to left wing Labour, equivalent to
Democrats.]
The other scans are from an installation booklet that came with a new
electric shower I recently bought. Apart from a single reference to an inlet
pipe diameter, it is ENTIRELY metric.
I believe that, as I've said before, it is politicians aided and abetted by,
for whatever reason, a hostile UK press, who are trying to prevent Britain from
becoming fully metric. I believe the average person is quite comfortable with
metric - how else to explain, for example, the recipe I've attached? There was
no legal compulsion for it to be printed in metric - yet Woodland Farm
obviously felt that was what their customers wanted.
Have a good Easter everybody - I'm off now for my 400 km drive to my
cousins's flat in Bournemouth.
Cheers
John F-L
----- Original Message -----
From: Jeremiah MacGregor
To: U.S. Metric Association
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 5:44 AM
Subject: [USMA:44499] Re: metric Britain
You are deliberately trying to obfuscate the issue. The man simply did an
inventory of his kitchen cupboards and refrigerator to get a sample of how
British industry marks their packages. He proved that the vast majority are
metric only. Thus in all honest from his inventory we can say British industry
is NOT imperial friendly.
Where measurement is important, such as in engineering and manufacturing,
again metric is dominant if not the only system used. In this environment
there is no imperial and definitely no dual..
In buying a ladder, there is no measurement. You buy it by description.
In making a ladder there is measurement and those units are metric
(millimetres).
Stephen, everyone knows you use minute and insignificant details in order
to present a far different picture then reality. You really need to wake up
and get real. Your fantasy version of the use of imperial is very opposite
that of the real world.
Have you ever done an inventory like John did? Or is your cupboard and
refrigerator bare due to your personal boycott of anything metric?
Jerry
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Stephen Humphreys <barkatf...@hotmail.com>
To: jeremiahmacgre...@rocketmail.com; U.S. Metric Association
<usma@colostate.edu>
Sent: Monday, April 6, 2009 3:05:52 PM
Subject: RE: [USMA:44421] Re: metric Britain
In all honesty - you could approach this at an imperial-friendly or
metric-friendly (or dual-friendly) argument to prove a point.
I'd suggest that there's prob more metric than imperial however with things
regarding items where measurement is important you'll usually get imperial or
dual.
I had to buy a ladder most recently -you can probably guess the length
shown and the human weight it cold withstand - Thus for that shopping
experience it was excusively 'dual'.
I'm not sure why you reacted so bizzarely to this "Jerry" - most people
know how it is.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Apr 2009 19:14:09 -0700
From: jeremiahmacgre...@rocketmail.com
Subject: [USMA:44421] Re: metric Britain
To: usma@colostate.edu
John,
Shame on you for showing us that imperial is virtually dead in the UK.
Stephen wanted everyone here to believe that imperial is everywhere. I sure
would like to see what is in Stephen's cupboards and fridge. If a person
refuses to buy anything metric then I would expect his fridge to contain only
milk and his cupboards to contain chalk, pear and apple spread, Specialty
coffee for cafetierres and some Belgian Waffles (not shown).
Jerry
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: John Frewen-Lord <j...@frewston.plus.com>
To: U.S. Metric Association <usma@colostate.edu>
Sent: Sunday, April 5, 2009 1:39:24 PM
Subject: [USMA:44400] metric Britain
Regarding the recent discussions on dual marking/labelling in respect of
the UK, I just thought I'd do a quick check on various items I have in my
house. I have listed a total of 57 items (no connection to Mr Heinz!), these I
feel being somewhat representative of our shopping and DIY activities. This is
far, far from exhaustive (we obviously have far too much stuff in our house!).
Some items are national name brands (e.g. Branston, makers of pickle and other
garnishes), and are shown in single quotes. Tesco, Asda (owned by Wal-Mart),
Morrisons, Somerfield and Waitrose are UK supermarket chains, Tesco being the
biggest. I couldn't find any Sainsburys items, another supermarket chain, so I
guess we don't shop there much! B&Q, Wickes and Homebase are DIY chains.
I found just four items that had imperial marking as well as metric - and
for only one of them was the quantity a rational imperial quantity (but shown
as metric first). However, this is an item we have had in our fridge for a
long time, and it is quite likely to have since been repackaged in a rational
metric size. The interesting thing is that I really had to hunt for ANYTHING
that had an imperial marking - everything IS metric.
That said, some of the metric sizes are a bit odd (740 mL, 340 g, etc).
But still metric, no imperial shown.
I have shown the quantity labelling EXACTLY as it appears on the packaging,
errors and all.
If you like metric (and we obviously all do, with the exception of Stephen
Humphreys), then enjoy!!
John F-L
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Garage/workshop
B&Q 'Zorbo' halogen light fixture - base 50 cm long, projection 70 cm long
Wickes quick drying varnish - 1 Litre
B&Q bevelled edge mirror - 600 mm x 600 mm (24" x 24" approx.) 4mm thick
3.6kg weight
Wickes marking chalk - 50g/1.75oz
Homebase pine cladding - 94mm x 9mm, Length = 2.4metre
B&Q Plastic angle - 2400 x 12 x 12
B&Q Chamferred architrave [wood door trim in US-speak] - 15mm x 45mm x 2.1M
[that is an upper case M]
Wickes pine Scotia moulding - 15 x 15 x 2400
Wickes silicone sealant - 310 ml
B&Q foam/rubber draft excluder - 15mm x 5.1m
Halfords windscreen [windshield in US-speak] washer antifreeze concentrate
- 2 Litres (makes up to 5 Litres of washer fluid)
Food and kitchen
Specialty coffee for cafetierres, package of 8 boxes, each box - 75g/2.65oz
Morrisons pre-packed bacon - 250 g
'Natures Best' cod liver oil - 300ml
'Pure' non-dairy soya spread - 500g
'Whole Foods' pear & apple spread - 227g/8oz
'Bay Tree' Christmas marmalade - 340g
Morrisons pre-wrapped individually priced broccoli - 0.370 kg [and priced
at 192p/kg]
Morrisons pre-packaged mozzarella cheese - 200g
Evian bottled water - 1l [cursive l]
Tesco bottled water - 5 Litres
Quaker instant porridge oats - 1 kg
Tesco grapefruit juice - 1 Litre
'Veggie Wash' fruit and vegetable wash - 500ml
Tesco frozen peas - 1 kg
'Julian Graves' rice crackers - 250g
Somerfield custard powder - 300 g
'Amoy' soy sauce - 250ml
'Young's' 5 Coley Fillets (frozen) - 500 g
'Branston' canned spaghetti Bolognese - 410 g
'Lindt' Dark Chocolate - 100 g
Tesco kitchen foil - 10 metres, 30cm wide approx.
Waitrose syrup - 740ml
'Birds Eye' petis pois - 750g
Cleaners/laundry
'Flash' cleaning spray - 500 ml
'Fairy' washing up liquid - 500ml
Tesco dishwasher powder - 3 kg
Tesco fabric conditioner - 1 Litre
'Finish' dishwasher salt - 2 kg
Asda dishwasher rinse aid - 250 ml
Boots [national chemist/drugstore chain] sterilising liquid - 600 ml
Somerfield bathroom spray cleaner - 500 ml
'Domestos' spray cleaner - 500ml
'Delta' carper cleaner refill - 500ml
'Ecover' ecological laundry detergent - 1,5 L
'Vanish' laundry spray treatment - 500ml
Asda toilet cleanser - 500ml
'Shower Shine' shower cleaner - Big 1 Litre Value for the price of 750ml
Bathroom
Tesco shaving foam - 250 ml
RightGuard stick deodorant - 50 g
'Nivea' face wash - 30 ml
L'Oreal shampoo/conditioner - 250ml
'Imperial Leather' 4-pack bar soap - 4 x 125g
'Wella' hair toner - 14ml
'Boots' SPF15 suntan lotion - 200 ml
'Nivea' spray deodorant - 92g/150ml
Tesco herbal shampoo - 750ml
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