i know someone who sticks the end of match in there to slow the movement of the dial

( well, Fri 10 Jul 2009, 20:50, archived)

That's the old style meters.
New ones are digital, with the older ones, sticking magnets either side of the meter would slow the dial down.
( The Doveston haunted by the memory of his own amnesia, Fri 10 Jul 2009, 20:52, archived)