Readers Digest was pro-metric at first. In 1968 it featured a pro-metric article by Harland Manchester about British metrication, and it was also printed in the Dutch language edition. Then a few years later I read another article about metric, in the US edition, and I thought at first it would support the cause, but it was the one John mentions, the one supposed to be funny. A really funny thing is the Metric site, which I think is not anti-metric at all, but which ridicules the craziness of almost all objections to metric. I really do not understand what made RD switch sides. Its article about the Gimli Glider was anti-metric and it was printed in all its anti-metric in the Dutch edition. It had a lot of praise for the antics of the Progressive Conservative party as well.
Han ----- Original Message ----- From: "kilopascal" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, 2002-11-27 15:37 Subject: [USMA:23612] Re: M&M's > 2002-11-27 > > This reminds me of Reader's Digest magazine. Back in the '70s Reader's Digest printed an anti-metric article. It basically outline the horrors that we would have to go through if we went metric. Such as the 35 mile drive between Akron and Cleveland would become 56.327 04 km. All of our precious and time honoured sayings would become bastardised. Etc. > Now, we all know RD publishes all over the world and they would never have printed such an article in any of the foreign editions. but, for some reason they did in the US edition. It just goes to show you that these companies are not as internally unified as one may think. John ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, 2002-11-27 02:41 Subject: [USMA:23607] Re: M&M's On Tue, 26 Nov 2002 07:32:36 +0100, "Han Maenen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Simple. Mars Products America is trying to prove that metric is ridiculous, difficult, always yielding monstrous numerical values and therefore it should never be adopted in the USA. On the other hand this company is trying to prove that USC is rational, simple, always yielding sane numerical values and the only sensible choice of units. > > Here all Mars products are packed in rational metric sizes with no TABD 'supplementary' indications at all As in the UK. In fact, it's Mars who bring out a Christmas special, called the 'Metre of Mars', while the good old British company, Cadbury, brings out a 'Yard of Dairy Milk' (or somesuch). Chris -- UK Metric Association: http://www.metric.org.uk/
