Martin Vlietstra wrote:
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! … 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.
Dear Martin,
I recall researching the size of Trafalgar Square some time ago (this
was for Metrication matters 14, see http://www.metricationmatters.com/mm-newsletter-2004-07.html
)
Here is what I wrote back then:
3 Oddities
In a report about an anti-war protest in London a local newspaper
reported: In London, two anti-war protesters climbed the landmark Big
Ben clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, unfurling a banner
reading 'Time for Truth' after they reached the clock face 328 feet
(100 metres) above the city.
I wonder whether the clock faces of the Westminster Clock* really are
exactly 100 metres above the ground. That would be in keeping with the
size of Trafalgar Square, which was designed to be exactly 100 metres
along each side. Trafalgar square was named for Lord Nelson's success
at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Admiral Lord Nelson is
immortalised with a statue atop Nelson's Column, designed so that the
Nelson's statue is 50 metres above the ground.
* Big Ben is the bell that strikes the hours. The clock is the
Westminster Clock. Even tourist books in London get that wrong.
It appears that in about 1805 and in the few years after that, there
was a mood to 'Go metric' in the City of London and in the Parliament
— it's a pity that they chose the slow way to go about it. As you
know, I have seen metrication programs that can be done in a day, and
I watch in amazement and, sometimes, amusement as the UK and the USA
choose to take the slowest possible methods for their inevitable
metrication upgrades. See http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/ApproachesToMetrication.pdf
for a description of the various methods you can choose for a
metrication transition. As you can see from the UK experience 200
years is not too long if you choose the slow methods of hidden
metrication, metric conversion, and trying to ignore it so it will go
away.
By the way, I am currently writing a short article about the fastest
metrication transition program that I ever saw, or even hear about. In
this program a group of about 200 plumbers made their metric
transition in less that a day. This article is not yet ready for
publication, but please write to me at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
to let me know if you would like to see a draft.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has
helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the
modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they
now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for
their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many
different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial
and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA.
Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST,
and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com
for more metrication information, contact Pat at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
or to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter
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