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UK Metric Association

@ukma.org.uk
130 followers 15 following 125 posts

The UK Metric Association is an independent organisation campaigning for the UK to complete metrication ukma.org.uk

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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 20/09/2026
We are proud to announce that UKMA patron, Professor Jim Al-Khalili will be presenting this year's Royal Institution Christmas Lectures -  on the awe-inspiring physics of time. @jimalkhalili.bsky.social @rigb.org #XmasLectures metricviews.uk/2026/09/20/u...
Professor Jim Al-Khalili will tackle the awe-inspiring science of time in the 2026 CHRISTMAS LECTURES® from the Royal Institution
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 16/09/2026
We're still waiting for the UK version of this 1970s public information film from Australia: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoEg...
youtube.com
Metric conversion ad - 1974
YouTube video by drewzelcat
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Scarred For Life Books @scarredforlife.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Are you ready for D-Day? In 1971 Britain went decimal, and PIFs like these guided people through all the new-fangled coinage. A pox on halfpenny pieces, though!
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 14/09/2026
Metrication: A case study in how Westminster creates long‑running policy messes, performs the rituals of action, avoids responsibility, and ultimately moves on without ever resolving the underlying problem. #metricsystem #metrication #metric Our latest blog article: metricviews.uk/2026/09/14/m...
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 06/09/2026
"Thieves have stolen more than 800 barrels of Guinness ... The stolen barrels - which each would hold about 88 pints - had been destined for pubs" That'll be standard 50-litre kegs then. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Thieves steal 70,000 pints of Guinness in two lorries
More than 800 barrels of the stout have been stolen from a depot in Runcorn, Cheshire, say police.
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Electronics Notes by Ian Poole @elecnotes.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
The SMD Sizing Trap That Breaks PCB Layouts Have you ever fallen into the trap where there are SMT components that have the label 0402, but they can be different sizes if they are defined in the imperial or metric systems. Find out more In my video: youtu.be/dbuZxl6MiCQ
youtu.be
The SMD Sizing Trap That Breaks PCB Layouts
YouTube video by ElectronicsNotes
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 30/08/2026
As far back as 1969, teachers were already concerned that pupils were being taught exclusively in metric but that road signs were still in imperial. Check out our latest blog article: metricviews.uk/2026/08/29/r...
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 30/08/2026
Our latest blog article looks at correspondence, in the late 1960s, between county surveyors, borough engineers, police constabularies, education advisers and the Ministry of Transport concerning the forthcoming #metrication of road signs. metricviews.uk/2026/08/29/r...
metricviews.uk
Roads, Signs and the Slow March to Metrication: What the 1968–1970 Council Correspondence Reveals
Between 1968 and 1970, Britain’s transition toward the metric system generated a remarkable volume of correspondence between county surveyors, borough engineers, police constabularies, education ad…
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Bryn Buck 🏳️‍🌈💛🤍💜🖤 @showmeasign.online · 28/08/2026
We should've just got on with this decades ago, but "muh heritage" apparently.
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Andy @andydrummond.eurosky.social · 28/08/2026
Decided to do it. Persuaded much of the commonwealth to do likewise. Bottled actually seeing #Metrication through @ukma.org.uk
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Metrication UK @metrication.uk · 28/08/2026
1980s/1990s-style #metrication ▶️ width ◀️ restriction signs, featuring separate roundels for 6'-6" and 2.0 m. Photographed in 2008, the signs have since been replaced with dual-unit signs. #metric @showmeasign.online metrication.uk/transport/ro...
Width restriction signs, photographed in 2008, featuring separate roundels for 6'-6" and 2.0 m.
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 17/08/2026
In 1968, the Ministry of Technology published a comprehensive explanation of why the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 needed to adopt the #metric system and how the transition should unfold. Our latest blog article: metricviews.uk/2026/08/16/c... #metrication #metricsystem
metricviews.uk
Changing to the Metric System: Background, Progress and Lessons for Today
In late 1968, the Ministry of Technology published Changing to the Metric System: Background and Progress, a comprehensive explanation of why the United Kingdom needed to adopt the metric system an…
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Metrication UK @metrication.uk · 13/08/2026
#OTD 45 years ago, #metric restriction signs 🚗 were introduced on 🇬🇧 UK roads. From 13 August 1981, metric units 📏 could be used for the first time, alongside imperial units, to indicate height, width and length restrictions on 🇬🇧 UK road signs. Weight restriction signs went metric on the same day.
An imperial width restriction sign indicating a width restriction of 6 feet 6 inches, together with an equivalent metric sign from 1981 showing a width restriction of 2.0 metres.
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Barry Burns @barry.mogwai.scot · 08/08/2026
England abandons metric system to measure drugs. Madness.
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 06/08/2026
BBC: "the size of a five-storey building and weighs approximately 4,000 kg (630st) on Earth". "630st" - stone age measurement units for space age technology is not a good idea. #MoonCrash #BBC
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The Pub-Liking Universal Friend @johnb78.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Deeply embarrassing that I'm solidly middle-aged and this report came out 10 years before I was born. Genuinely think that flubbing metrication was one of the things that set the UK on the reactionary path it subsequently went down metricviews.uk/2026/08/04/c...
metricviews.uk
Change to the Metric System in the United Kingdom: A 1968 Turning Point
In May 1968, the Standing Joint Committee on Metrication delivered a landmark report to the Minister of Technology, Anthony Wedgwood Benn. It was a document that captured a moment when Britain stoo…
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Bruce Nye, MSCE, RN @thaumaturgern.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
The object will remain 4000kg mass while it's weight will change due to the difference in gravity. That tidbit ought to spin most of the population who don't remember metric vs imperial is not just a conversion - they hid the Newton (N) in the pound. 39.2kN vs 6.4kN (8,818lb vs 1,440lb).
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TommyCoyneBN1. Preferred Pronouns Ho/Hum @tommycoynebn1.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
I am amused by people who complain that media outlets use "hectares" rather than "acres" when describing area (as in recent wildfire 🔥 reporting). Seriously? Like you know what an acre* is (and don't give me the 'football pitches' comparison, because that's bollocks, too)? 1/2
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Tom Harvey @harveyzone.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Dear BBC et al. Please stop using football pitches as a measure of fire sizes! What is wrong with acres or hectares?
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Alan Rew @alanrew.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
BBC giving priority to imperial units, while using inappropriate levels of precision for the results. They also put the comma in the wrong place in the answer. I bet he *didn't* say "around 54992 gallons", he probably used the metric figure, so they're also misquoting him, as well.
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 30/07/2026
BBC: "He said the plants need around 549,92 gallons (250,000 litres) of water a week" Come on BBC! Are we expected to believe that anyone said, "around 54992 gallons" - Just stick with the #metric units that people use. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Farmer fears running out of water amid Devon and Cornwall drought
The founder of Riverford says it is running out of water as drought is declared in the South West.
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Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
BBC 🤦
BBC image caption reading "Around 50 tonnes (45,000kg) of tomatoes are produced at between July and September across 3 acres of polytunnels at Riverford's site"
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 30/07/2026
BBC: "This morning, the fire service told the BBC that about 24.7 acres (10 hectares) was on fire." BBC: "Suffolk County Council says the fire now covers 247.1 acres (100 hectares)." It seems unlikely that the Council and fire service are using acres. #BBC #metric www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ce...
bbc.co.uk
Suffolk wildfire updates: Blaze grows to size of 140 football pitches
A major incident has been declared - one holidaymaker tells us he was woken up by "hammering" on his door and told to evacuate immediately.
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 28/07/2026
The Use of SI Units – Why a 60‑year‑old BSI publication still matters for Britain’s future #metricsystem #metrication metricviews.uk/2026/07/27/t...
metricviews.uk
The Use of SI Units – Why a 60‑year‑old BSI publication still matters for Britain’s future
Britain has lived with a measurement muddle for generations—yet the solution has been sitting on our shelves since 1965. The Use of SI Units, published by the British Standards Institution, is one …
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Denise Breen 🖖 @denisebreen.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
#OTD in 1866, the United States Congress passed the Metric Act of 1866 (Kasson Act), making the use of the metric system legal in contracts, charges, and court proceedings across the country.
Photo of the Kassan Act
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Canadian History Ehx @cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
When he did his calculation, he used the density figure for jet fuel in pounds/litres from the refueler slip from Air Canada not the kilograms/litres used for the all-metric 767 aircraft. No fuel was loaded into the aircraft in Ottawa. 📸 Air Canada 🧵8/20
The photo shows an Air Canada Boeing 767 aircraft flying above a layer of clouds. The plane features the airline's red and white livery, with the "AIR CANADA" name on the fuselage and a maple leaf logo on the tail. The aircraft is captured mid-flight, with a backdrop of a partly cloudy sky and a distant view of mountainous terrain below.
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 21/07/2026
Commonwealth Games to replace the 1500 m by a mile race #metrication #metricmile #metricsystem metricviews.uk/2026/07/21/c...
metricviews.uk
Commonwealth Games to replace the 1500 m by a mile race
John Austin reports on the athletics programme for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, which will commence in Glasgow, Scotland on 27 July. National and International Athletics is almost entirely metric. …
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 21/07/2026
The Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) used the metric system for its calculations during the computer-controlled phases of Apollo 11's descent to the surface of the Moon. ukma.org.uk/why-metric/m...
ukma.org.uk
The Moon landings
Contrary to urban myth, NASA did use the metric system for the Apollo Moon landings. SI units were used for arguably the most critical part of the missions – the calculations that were carrie…
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 19/07/2026
Here's another article, where the orig. source likely used hectares, but the BBC preferred over-precise acre conversions and "football pitches": "a 296-acre (120-hectare) plot" "988,421-acre (400,000 hectares) wetlands" Reserve restores '168 football pitches' of land www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Lakenheath Fen re-wets land the size of 168 football pitches
Lakenheath Fen is helping wildlife to thrive again by rewetting a 296-acre plot of land.
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Louis 〓〓 @louishenwood.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
What fraction of a Wales is that? Fire destroys moorland size of 1,250 football pitches
bbc.co.uk
Wildfires destroy moorland size of 1,250 football pitches
Hundreds of hectares of "precious" moorland have been burned by wildfires, United Utilities says.
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Longtail News @longtail-news.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Feed: "Metric Views" By: Ronnie Cohen on Thursday, July 16, 2026
metricviews.uk
Report on Going Metric: How? Why? When?
During the late 1960s and 1970s, British industry embarked on one of the most significant technical transitions in its modern history: the move from imperial to metric units. This shift—often descr…
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Malcolm Wood @woodmally1979.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
BBC you can use the metric system you know. You are not going to self combust if you do.
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IF YOU DONT FOLLOW ME BLOCK ME PLEASE @lombaxikuuuu.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
THIS COMMERCIAL is wild to think in an alternate universe the US is on the metric system as everyone else www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p3o...
youtube.com
US Metric Board 1981 TV PSA
YouTube video by robatsea2009
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Mark Fraser @mfraz74.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
@ukma.org.uk A wheelbarrow is now a unit of volume www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Sixteen wheelbarrows of jellyfish wash up at Bude
They washed up at high tide and people said there was nothing they could do to save them.
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SMU Jones Film @smujonesfilm.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
A report on Dallas ISD’s plan to convert the district’s math curriculum to the metric system. WFAA Collection. June 1976. youtu.be/-u8B0219EHU?...
youtu.be
Dallas Independent School District Plans To Change Math Instruction To The Metric System - June 1976
YouTube video by SMU Jones Film
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Computing in a Nutshell @advanced-ict.info · 23/06/2026
Aaagh! I gave my GCSE Maths students an estimation homework and nearly all of them estimated the height of the bus to be 12 feet. I started school in the early/mid-70s and we only ever used metric units - what's going on? I've never known this before. Is it TikTok, or something?
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Ko Simon toku ingoa :tinoflag: @simonchulse.mastodon.nz.ap.brid.gy · 21/06/2026
Found this fascinating piece of NZ history in a second hand book while sorting my shelves. #NewZealand #history #conversion #metric #imperial
An orange informational card titled "Shopping in Metrics" includes a chart for converting pounds to grams and vice versa. 

It displays two conversion scales for various weights, ranging from 0 to 2 pounds showing the metric conversions on the left side and 0 to 30 pounds showing the metric conversions on the right.A vintage metric price guide displaying conversions between price per kilogram and price per pound. The guide includes a scale with prices listed in both cents and dollars in red, providing easy reference for pricing in metric and imperial units.

In the bottom left, there is an explainer on
how to use the card, titled
”USING THE METRIC PRICE GUIDE — examples
75 cents per kilogram is the same price as 34 cents per pound.
$1.30 per lb is between $2.86 and $2.87 per kg but is closer to $2.87”

In the bottom corner is the publisher of the card: “Metric Advisory Board, P.O. Box 10-243, WELLINGTON”

In the bottom right is what I believe could be a publication month and year: “5/74”.
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 14/06/2026
"... smaller than the Isle of Man, Curacao have surpassed Iceland as the smallest nation to reach a World Cup" www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba... Yes, but 171 sqm? (square metres?) #BBCWorldCup BBC style guide: "no acceptable abbreviation for "miles", so write sq miles" www.bbc.co.uk/newsstylegui...
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Picard Tips @picardtips.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Picard engineering tip: Use the metric system.
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 22/05/2026
... and, as per this width restriction sign, 6.88 feet is not 6'88". Definitely time to ditch the imperial conversions. #metric #metrication www.facebook.com/groups/autos...
2.1 metre width restriction road sign, with imperial conversion of 6.88 feet shown as 6 feet and 88 inches.
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Mike Trinder @chthonicionic.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
I know imperial dims are the work of the devil, but FFS people, 9.9 feet is NOT 9’9” *screams at the wall again*
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Murray Bourne @bourne2learn.com · 20/05/2026
Today is World Metrology Day. Go metric - it will make your life much easier. www.intmath.com/blog/letters/intmat…
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 20/05/2026
Happy World Metrology Day 2026. Celebrating 151 years since the signing of the Metre Convention. #metrication #metricsystem www.bipm.org/en/-/2025-05...
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Elena Saltikoff @saltikoff.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Happy World Metrology Day – and no, that's not a typo! Metrology is the science of measurement. Today we celebrate anniversary of the signing of the 'Metre Convention' 1875 and the introduction of a common system of measurement.
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 15/05/2026
Australia's successful metrication strategy. Our latest blog article: #metrication #metricsystem metricviews.uk/2026/05/15/a...
metricviews.uk
Australia’s successful metrication strategy
There is much to be learned from Australia’s highly successful 1970s metrication programme. In a previous Metric Views article, we looked at two information leaflets produced by Australia&#82…
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 12/05/2026
Road sign designs that were ahead of their time - Happy 90th birthday to Margaret Calvert. It's unfortunate though, that the international symbol for metres (m) is still being used as an abbreviation for miles. #metrication #metricsystem
Three contemporary road signs - all using the internationally understood symbol "m", but with one sign (Services 20 m) using "m" to mean miles, rather than its standard use as the symbol for metres.
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UK Metric Association @ukma.org.uk · 12/05/2026
Metric road signs in the USA @usma-metric.bsky.social #metrication #metricsystem
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alexsavin.bsky.social @alexsavin.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Road signs of Snowdonia Kodak Gold film and Hasselblad camera #wales #filmphotography
An outdoor photograph of a blue road sign standing on a grassy verge next to a winding asphalt road. The sign features white icons of a cyclist and a car with a double-headed arrow between them, labeled "1.5m," indicating a minimum passing distance.
The background shows a vast, hilly landscape with brownish-orange vegetation and shrubs under an overcast sky. Distant blue-toned mountains rise in the background, and the road curves away into the valley on the right. The image has a slightly grainy, vintage aesthetic with a square crop.
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US Metric Association @usma-metric.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Name-brand kilogram-sized kettlebells at the local sporting goods store. Per Google, "They are considered the 'standard' in the broader fitness community."
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Douglas Iannetta Hardie @bad-girls-bad-boy.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
There a truck blocking all the light into the cafe, but my attention is drawn to this notice. Metric wide, imperial high?
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