Pick A Number

[douglas9401]

What is the obsession at the BBC with putting equivalent in brackets for various measurements or demominations when they appear in online articles?

Miles (Km), £ ($ and Euros), Pounds (Kgs), Tons (Tonnes),

degC (degF) etc.

[THECORBYLOON]

The guidance is in the BBC News style guide under weights and measures.

It looks odd to me when measurements which were a rough estimate in the first place are then converted with a degree of accuracy to two decimal places.

I was on one website a fair few month ago and was presented with a list of nearby stores and the distances to them.

I'm used to seeing 10.2 mile or 10.15 mile for example but on that website the distance in miles went to something stupid like twenty decimal places.

[douglas9401]

Roolz is roolz then. I suppose it keeps somebody busy. Ta.

[youngmafbog]

Many now do it as News is International, so including miles/KM etx covers Europe and the US.

 

[1ozzy]

It's to ensure the yanks and pommies understand what the rest of the world already do.

Er, um, the metric system😏

[youngmafbog]

Dont worry no one will be putting a AUD equivalent.

[ToraToraTora]

12:56 BA!

[Buenchico]

The BBC, along with CNN and Al Jazeera, is one of the 'big three' international news sources, which are widely respected around the world for their impartiality.  So, inevitably, people from many different countries will access the BBC News website.  It therefore makes perfect sense that the units displayed will be meaningful to everyone.

[Cloverjo]

I'm sure we all 'think' in different measurements. It's useful to have these 'translations'.
My immediate thoughts are height in feet and inches, weight in stones and pounds, distance in miles, but temperature in Celsius. Currencies when ever necessary

[1ozzy]

//12:56 BA!//

 But not yet.

😏😒🙄