[!thinkmetric-highway-sign2.jpg](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/thinkmetric-highway-sign2.jpg) It has been more than thirty years since Canadian highway signs converted to metric, but these thinKMetric signs have just popped up in the past few years. Presumably intended as a courtesy to visitors from the US, the signs embody the polite/passive aggressive combo that is so stereotypically Canadian. Whatever the motive, at least this sign is clear enough to be helpful (if a little generous with the conversion). [Another version of the sign, installed at Washington/BC border crossings, reads “ 30km/h WAS 20MPH”](http://flickr.com/photos/elisfanclub/396503236/). Now, when is the last time you saw a road sign written in the past tense? Probably never… the word ‘WAS’ creates some serious ambiguity – not too desirable in highway signage.