Thanks Martin - I actually know how large a hectare or an acre is.Similarly so do farmers - who will translate to obey rules put upon us.Incidentally - you can see land plots in acres (ie multiples of) when you fly into the UK. Of course these exacting familiar areas can be translated into hectares. I have also read the myth about Trafalgar Square and indeed Big Ben being metric derived. Many Brits will of course know that the standard UK imperial measures of length are struck into the wall of Trafalgar Square and can be seen today - the brass plate reminds visitors that the lengths are only correct at 62F.From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]: RE: [USMA:42101] RE: BBC web site keeps it metricDate: Tue, 2 Dec 2008 19:36:40 +0000
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 now _________________________________________________________________ Live Search presents Big Snap II - win John Lewis vouchers http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/117442309/direct/01/
