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Metrication

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Partial Self-nom (I've worked on it lately reforming layout and adding some sections) This is an interesting article on a world-wide phenomenon - over 200 years 95% of the world has changed from using local traditional measurement to using the common SI system. Even in the two countries that haven't changed - the UK and US - many industries and most universities use mostly or only SI. The article recently had a Peer Review and has incorporated useful suggestions. One problem with it is a lack of a good iconic image for the header - but perhaps someone has a suggestion for that? Seabhcán 13:08, 9 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

  • Currently Neutral—The paragraph describing Canada not using celcius for ovens could leave the impression that metric has been adopted in other areas of Canadian Life. Imperial Units are still used almost exclusively in the construction trades (Lumber is sold in 8, 10, 12 foot lengths, etc) even with the younger generations. Wire sizes are in AWG. Television size is refered to in inches, etc. A mention should also be made of the difficulties in conversion when Canada's largest trading partner (USA) has not converted. Otherwise, it's a great article. (Never realized the metrication process had been going on so long) CanadianGuy 02:43, 16 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know much about the Canadian situation. Perhaps you can add something yourself. Are you aware that there is a full article on Metrication in Canada? Seabhcán 17:33, 16 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
  • Very interesting read, lots of excellent content, but I have a few points:
  • The 'Before metric' section is too short - three paragraphs summarising the content of the main article would be ideal.
  • The lead could do with being a bit longer, three paragraphs would be nice.
  • Although the article says that only four countries 'have not fully metricated', it then notes that Canadians use Fahrenheit and no-one has metricated time, so that could do with some rewording.#
DoneSeabhcán 15:33, 13 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
  • It doesn't really say much at the moment about why many countries go metric.
DoneSeabhcán 15:33, 13 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
  • Under 'Opposition', is 'ironically' really necessary? I don't think it's particularly ironic.
DoneSeabhcán 15:33, 13 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
  • Some images could do with brief captions.
DoneSeabhcán 15:33, 13 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
  • I'd like to read more about the practicalities of changing road signs from miles to kilometres. Has it been done overnight or does it take a lot of time?
  • There's a brief mention of the UK's habit of still using imperial units but quoting them as metric, but some more everyday examples are bottles containing 568ml of milk, or bags of peas weighing 454 grammes.
  • There's a large see-also section - if these things are worth mentioning in this context, they should be linked within the text.
Done.Seabhcán 15:33, 13 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
If those points are addressed I would support this nomination. Worldtraveller 11:50, 13 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Thats a lot of points to deal with, and will take some time. I don't agree that the 'Before Metric' section is short. This section is not the subject of the article and should just give a brief overview of the historical situation. There is a full article on this subject which is linked. I also think that the lead is a fair summary of the article, and I don't know which specific additions would improve it.
The question of 'Why' countries go metric is intersting and hadn't occured to me. I'll cook something up for it.
The road sign issue is interesting. It would only apply to recent converts such as Canada, Austrailia and Ireland (maybe Japan?). In Ireland it was done over one weekend last January. I don't know about the others.
In the UK milk is sold in bottles of Pint, Liter or rarely Two Pint sizes. But it always has both metric and imperial written on the bottle, but no one would ask in a shop for '568ml of milk'. They would buy a pint of milk - so I don;t think your example would apply. Thanks for the feedback. Seabhcán 14:06, 13 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
You've added a paragraph since I last looked at before metric, I think it looks and reads better now. It occurs to me that it might look better to incorporate the link to the main article in the flow of the text. As for the lead section, it reads like an introduction to further content at the moment, rather than a summary of all article content which could stand on its own as a mini-article. And the point about our bottles of 568ml of milk could just illustrate how stubborn we're being about going metric. Anyway, good work, I think the article looks much better now. Worldtraveller 15:04, 14 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Support: Metrication is a charged topic, and the article sticks to the facts. One thing that might be mentioned is the use of "dual units" during the conversion process. Everything from Coke bottles to construction plans were prepared in both units for a time in the U.S. so as to familiarize people with their use. Some State Departments of Transportation converted fully, and most partially, to SI — only to revert to U.S. standard units. I would break up that first paragraph in "Conversion Process" into smaller chunks. Perhaps a separate paragraph for the "first" and "second" approaches. MARussellPESE 20:20, 14 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

  • Support—But one or two more pictures would lift it. Tony 14:06, 15 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support A truly fascinating artical, with excellent prose, that reads like an adventure novel and an encylcopaedia at the same time at some points. Agree with above re: images, but more images of greengrocers in the UK selling by the lb may not necessarily help. Excellent division into sections, and nice that it links to bigger articles about, eg, the arguments for and against metrication. Factual, NPOV, thorough. Well deserving of FA status. Batmanand 17:03, 15 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you very much. High praise indeed! Seabhcán 17:33, 16 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
You are welcome. The article is excellent! Batmanand 07:02, 17 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
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