Can anyone give me a good reason why the US has not converted to the Metric System?

[RB TexLa]

I know people say it's because Americans are far too ignorant or lazy to learn things. If you force it, even the stupid will learn it, eventually.

[endarkenment]

1. Nation of bigoted yahoos?

That is my best guess.

[Tesha]

51. It's a system promulgated by cheese-eating surrender monkees.

What more do you need to know?

Tesha

[kenny blankenship]

141. Yeah of course there's a good reason. Who the hell wants to say Royale With Cheese ?

You know they would make that shit mandatory if the metric system went through.
Royale With Cheese s'il vous plaît and a chip in your ass at your first mandatory Socialist medicine checkup. French people and their systems...

They must think we are stupid or something.

[tabasco]

142. Baaaahahahahahaha!!

Good one!

[RB TexLa]

171. And what is royale with cheese?

[kenny blankenship]

174. These clips will explain

The Little Differences incl. the Royale w/ cheese:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLtwFugudZE

Why people remember the Royale With Cheese:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6csp2fZt2E

[RB TexLa]

175. I'm not watching any you tube crap, thanks anyway

[niyad]

2. please--there are far too many americans who cannot even speak the language, let alone learn the

metric system (and I am not sure most of them have the current measuring system in place, either)

[hlthe2b]

13. pResident George Walker Bush* will lead the way!

:evilgrin:

[EOTE]

23. That's kind of the point....

The metric system is far easier and more intuitive to learn than our system of measurements. Everyone can learn a system which is based entirely on base 10. How difficult is it to learn that there are 1000 mililiters in a liter? Or 100 centiliters in a liter or 10 deciliters in a liter? When everything is simply a matter of subtracting or adding zeros to do a conversion, it makes things a good deal easier. Now, ask a person how many yards are in a furlong or how many furlongs are in a mile. Ask a person how many pecks are in a bushel or how many drams or pennyweights are in an ounce. I'd imagine you'd get quite a few quizical looks.

Oh, and why is it still not in the U.S.? Wuushew mentions below Bob Dole, he's a good place to start. Apparently, once a country starts practicing the metric system, they're only a stone's throw away from practicing the Devil's communism. So... uh, that's why.

[Dorian Gray]

170. I think in the US, Canada, and the UK

at varying points, Farmers were the big lobbiers against going metric. Our farmers just seemed to be more successful, probably because we have a HUGE number of them. I don't know why a bushel is easier to label, but some things are just ingrained. They had instruments that measured the old fashioned way, and to update them would be costly and a pain in the ass.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

123. to be sure, that counting to ten ain't easy. Really. first

fill your skull with shit, then try counting to ten.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. Because better dead then red.

Commie.

[angstlessk]

4. I find it inexcusable..I was promised when I was in high school we would convert

and I am over 50 now! I believe some of our problems with education is because the FUCKING REST OF THE WORLD lives and thinks in metrics...we think in feet and gallons it is disgusting!

[DangerDave921]

9. Who cares

What's the big deal about whether we use feet or meters? Seriously. I remember having to learn that stuff back in middle school but it never took off.

Why does it really matter what measurements we use? I mean in practical terms, not just in the way that America seems to want to resist anything european.

[angstlessk]

Well, since we a re a 'global community' and even OUR FUCKING

NEWSPAPERS REPORT NEWS that use Celsius and meters or kilometers...UNLESS I CARRY A FUCKING CONVERTER AROUND I HAVE NO CONCEPTION HOW FAR IS A METER OR A KILOMETER..OR HOW HOT 39 DEGREES CELSIUS IS!

that is why it matters!

[DangerDave921]

81. Why such anger?

Do you really have to use the F word repeatedly to answer a simple question? That's kind of rude, in my opinion.

I'm confused. You're saying the US should switch to metric, but you candidly admit that you have no idea how far a meter or kilometer is, or how hot 39 degrees C is. How would the US converting to metrics clear up your own ignorance? You would still have to learn what all the metric measurements mean in order to use them. You can learn on your own what the measurements mean if that's your problem.

[NutmegYankee]

86. If its 39 C where he is, probably needs a bit more Air conditioning. n/t

[Dorian Gray]

172. Well, we learned it all in school

the conversions are not that difficult. I lived in the UK for two years and in Hong Kong for three. I had no problem with the conversions. They become second nature if you get used to them.

[wuushew]

19. Metric is much easier to use and results in fewer errors

Certainly area and volume calculations are trivial in metric. My friend who is a union electrician complained that English unit questions on his certification test were much harder for him than the corresponding metric formulas.

[LanternWaste]

94. Standardization is much more effective and efficient

Standardization is much more effective and efficient when everyone uses the same standard...

Seems to me that the more duplicated standards we use, the greater the chance for misinterpretation when cross referenced. That alone appears to me to be first rate reason to change over...

[DangerDave921]

100. Make them do it!

LOL

Tell Europe and the rest of the world to change to our system. I don't want to give up my feet, inches, miles, and pounds. It's just bizarre to be in France, for example, and having to order thousands of grams of sandwich meat. :)

[CTyankee]

104. And, besides, those French have a different word for everything! n/t

[Oeditpus Rex]

122. I'll have a shoe with cheese on it

Force it down my throat, and I want to massage your grandmother.

:D

[LanternWaste]

111. I'm sure you love your miles much like grandad liked his fathoms...

I'll see what I can do...

I'm sure you love your miles much like grandad liked his fathoms...

[fujiyama]

126. It's not just Europe

It's pretty much the rest of the world.

Considering we are not an isolated nation, it would make much more sense to use the simpler system along with the rest of the world. Also, standardizing would go some way in reducing errors and confusion. I recall an incident where NASA engineers may have mixed up the two systems.

[HereSince1628]

37. The reason it never caught on is because people were asked to learn conversions

That created the notion in the American public that the metric system was tedious and hard to deal with.

Almost no one who uses the metric system actually does conversions, they simply use a device designed to give metric results. This is so common a practice that when conversions must be made the process can be overlooked (think lost Mars probe.)

[Warpy]

84. Medicine has gone to metric

but there are still docs out there who write scrips in grains instead of milligrams and even more docs who, upon hearing a patient has spiked a temp of 38.4, has to ask what that means.

The transition is slow and spotty, but it's happening. My US made scooter has metric nuts and bolts.

[meow2u3]

5. Americans have a stubborn streak a mile wide

and just about as much deep.

OOPS! I forgot to mention the rampant xenophobia in much of the United States, which manifests itself as a perverse ignorance (I'm-dumb-and-proud-of-it mentality) just to piss off smart people.

[RaleighNCDUer]

31. That's 1.6 kilometers wide, thank you. nt

[Critters2]

95. LOL!! Thanks! I was about to get out my conversion chart!

:)

[NewJeffCT]

91. I think that is part of the reason

But, I also think it's "We're america, the rest of the world should adapt to our needs, not the other way around."

The problem is, that maybe that was true in the 1970s and earlier.

However, it has undeniably hurt our manufacturing industries here at home.

And, with the rise of Japan in the 1980s, the emergence of the EU in the 1990s, and now the rise of China and India in the 21st century, our country is in danger of looking like a quaintly backwards bystander as the rest of the world passes us by.

[CTyankee]

134. Any idea why we got so perverse about this? Did it have anything to do with

our being so stuck on the British system, we just couldn't let go? I don't get it...

[Skidmore]

6. Ah, please. We don't have enough to deal with now?

[BridgeTheGap]

7. NO - there are no GOOD reasons

end of story

[endarkenment]

36. Note quite.

It turns out that 12 inches to a foot, 3 feet to a yard is a real convenient mechanism for finding lots of whole unit divisions of moderate sized objects. 10 does not divide into whole units for anything other than 1,2,5,10 whereas 12 is factored by 1,2,3,4,6,12. So the legacy system is not entirely without merit.

[BridgeTheGap]

74. Touche!

Good point - still, a universal system is best.

[wuushew]

80. wouldn't you rather estimate concrete in metric?

since concrete is priced in cubic yards you are going to do several more steps, either by hand or calculator to convert to a common volume unit. Shifting decimal places is much less a pain than doing 1 cubic yard = 46,656 cubic inches

[endarkenment]

85. Oh absolutely.

The by 12 system is derived from and most useful for carpenters and others measuring and cutting small sized objects. I was merely responding to the categorical statement that the legacy system is without merit. It isn't, it is just that its few merits don't justify its continued use.

[Thothmes]

154. 7 mm is easer to divide in half than 23/64th.

[wuushew]

8. A large amount of blame can be given to Bob Dole

remember the U.S. will be metric by 1980.

[hlthe2b]

10. Anyone in science, medicine, technology HAS...

In these fields, you have no choice....

Unfortunately, Americans with less education are left behind to be bewildered when faced with the need to understand metric measures and conversions. Ask this question of Ms Teen South Carolina, who-- when asked why Americans can't find the US on a map-- gave her fascinating account of a map shortage facing "US Americans" and a rambling recitation of the problems with "the Iraq" and our need to help South Africa ("and such"). Our educational system is grossly uneven and in many instances, abysmal.

[NutmegYankee]

59. People can't find the US on a map?

WTF! Where are these dumb people?

[hlthe2b]

70. Statistically an amazing percentage of high schoolers can not...

I'm not sure what the exact percentage that was cited, but it formed the basis for the question that stimulated the whole inane response by this young woman.


On edit, here it is: Only 89 percent of the Americans surveyed could find their own country on the map. On a world map, Americans could find on average only seven of 16 countries in the quiz. The survey asked 56 geographic and current events questions of young people in nine countries and scored the results with traditional grades.

The surveyed Americans got a "D," with an average of 23 correct answers. Mexico ranked last with an average score of 21, just three points from a failing grade.

Topping the scoring was Sweden, with an average of 40, followed by Germany and Italy, each with 38. None of the countries got an "A," which required average scores of 42 correct answers or better on the 56 questions.

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/EDUCATION/11/20/geography.quiz/index.html

[annabanana]

177. Here she is . .

Enjoy!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WALIARHHLII

[LanternWaste]

105. I wouldn't pin the failures...

I wouldn't pin the failures on the U.S. educational system as much as I would on the students themselves. I'm pretty sure that most schools across the country do in fact, have a system in place that will teach students where the U.S. is if they want to know...

[mwb970]

161. You're right, but why don't the students want to learn?

Is it just an automatic thing that kids will resist school and learning? I wasn't that crazy about the place myself, but I took advanced math & physics etc. in high school and did actually learn a few things.

I also did a lot of learning on my own on subjects I was interested in that weren't part of the school curriculum, like amateur radio, the chords to Beatle songs, how to build detailed airplane models, etc. It seemed like I was always learning or studying something (and I still am!). Apparently this attitude is out of style these days.

Oh, and because of the ham radio (and stamp collecting) I could name and locate dozens of countries (including America, South Africa and The Iraq) on a blank map before I was 14.

The kids I know now refuse to even read the manuals for their video games because it's "too much work". Sheesh!

[LanternWaste]

183. Although I don't have any definitive answers...

Although I don't have any definitive answers, I think at least part and parcel of the overall reason is that school is an easy and obvious target for youths (the Under-30 crowd, to me) to take out their ill-defined sense of anti-authoritarianism on-- and that sense of faux-cynicism has become very trendy as of late.

Rather than seeing education as both a right and as something that has to be fought for (and fought through) to make the most of it, it's perceived as a waste of time (at best), an "institution for social indoctrination" (at its silliest), or simply beneath (in both form and content) the best and brightest of the students (at its most conceited and contemptuous).

That being said, I'm the first to admit that I didn't make the most of the education offered to me, and probably subscribed to all of the above at one time or another-- depending on what was the most trendy at the time...

I realize as an adult that in my youth I turned my nose up at "silly" notions like public education and local law enforcement. I'm finally beginning to understand what my grandfather meant when he'd say, "youth is wasted on the young..."

Ham Radio-- an electronic transmission device made out of pork, yes? (O-k, that's it-- no more jokes for me until I finished at least three cups of coffee...)

[Beelzebud]

11. Cuz I'm proud to be an Amurikan, where at one time I was free.

[D-Sooner]

12. The same reason we don't embrace soccer

and refuse to abolish the death penalty--to piss of Europe.

[Link93]

14. We are metric where it matters.

Everywhere else, it really does not matter.

[meegbear]

15. Whatever happened to adoption of the metric system in the U.S.?

Dear Cecil:

A few years ago there was a lot of noise about the U.S. finally going metric. We saw road signs with mile and kilometer equivalents and soda bottles containing peculiar fractions of liters that corresponded to quarts and ounces. Then what happened? No one talks about metric anymore. How come? Is there any serious metric movement? Is not going metric part of the decline of U.S. industry in world markets? --Eric Gordon, New York

Dear Eric:

Like hell. Had U.S. industry suffered a real (as opposed to relative) decline, Americans would have quit screwing around and converted to metric long ago, just as the UK did--and remember, the British are the ones who invented this dram-bushel-inch stuff. As it is, U.S. industry is sufficiently prosperous and the domestic market is so large that the country can afford the luxury of supporting two separate systems of measurement. Which is basically what it has. Most big multinational firms use metric for goods they sell abroad, and some (e.g., the automakers) have abandoned the inch-pound system altogether. Smaller companies serving primarily the U.S. market and of course most ordinary folks have clung to the old system, mainly for lack of a compelling reason to change. If significant numbers of midsize firms routinely had to convert from millimeters to inches (how fast can you multiply by .03937?), opposition to metrication would evaporate. But in the U.S. they don't, and it hasn't.

One of the reasons the U.S. will probably never fully convert to metric is the country's genius for compromise--its saving grace in politics, maybe, but not so useful when it comes to weights and measures. The first round of attempted metrication, which took place following passage of the Metric Conversion Act of 1975, is now remembered as the time when "we made a mistake ... trying to force metrics down people's throats," one advocate says. Baloney. It was a typical let's-please-everybody muddle. Dual posting of highway signs in miles and kilometers cost money without any compensating advantage and, by calling attention to the fact that one kilometer equals .621 miles, made the metric system seem needlessly complicated. The folly of dual measurements persists to this day. Rather than baffle consumers by pointing out that a gallon of milk equals 3.78 liters, it would be better to simply replace gallons with four-liter containers. The two-liter pop bottle no doubt succeeded because it was just that simple.

Opponents of metrication have succeeded in painting it as a one-world plot, with the introduction of an alien system of weights and measures the obvious prelude to a takeover by the Bolsheviks. To this day you'll hear media commentators moaning that recalculating football fields and baseball diamonds in meters threatens the integrity of American sport. Converting to metric will cost money, the critics say, and unless you're involved in foreign trade it confers no benefit.

These arguments are specious. If people still calculate horse races in furlongs, a medieval measure, there's nothing to prevent them from using feet and yards in sports indefinitely (although the Olympics have gotten people used to meters). And while converting to metric costs something, much of the money has already been spent. Rare is the auto mechanic, for example, who doesn't have metric wrenches.

As for the metric system conferring no benefit--come on. For many everyday purposes the inch-pound system is useless. How many people understand fluid ounces, bushels, pecks, rods, and grains? How many can visualize an acre? (A hectare, the comparable metric unit, is 100 meters on a side.) Two centuries ago the U.S. adopted a decimal system of currency, and today everybody's happy they did. A decimal system of measurement would be at least equally useful.

Officially the U.S. is still trying to convert to metric. In 1988 Congress reiterated that the metric system was the "preferred system of measurement." Federal agencies, which procure more than $300 billion in goods and services annually, are supposed to require their vendors to supply metric products. Most still don't. But who knows? In an age when every dieter can quote you "fat grams," the metric system may sneak up on us yet.

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_013.html

[slackmaster]

16. This is my pet issue - here is my take on it

Basically inertia. Two big reasons:

1. We have a lot of older machine tools and equipment that can be repaired and kept in service indefinitely, all on the English system. One of the reasons Japan was able to modernize so thoroughly after World War II was that its industrial infrastructure was destroyed. We haven't had such luck.

2. High cost of changing road signs, maps, packaging, metering devices, etc.

I know people say it's because Americans are far too ignorant or lazy to learn things.

People who say that are just intellectually lazy.

[LanternWaste]

107. Haven't many (if not most) road signs been replaced since 1975?

How did the countries that were not reduced to rubble during the war years change to metric so effectively?


Haven't many (if not most) road signs been replaced since 1975?

[slackmaster]

110. The ones they are putting in on California freeways have numbers for the exits

The numbers are the distance in MILES to some kind of MILESTONE like the Mexican border or a major intersection.

I kid you not, that conversion is underway right now.

[MUSTANG_2004]

117. Thank you for the common sense

It's not a small thing to switch systems entirely. There IS a high cost, in many small ways.

I have a science background, so can do the conversions from English to metric in my head, but it isn't second nature. Switching over a period of a few years to a system where even the simplest statement takes a hand calculator to figure out the "real" value doesn't make a good cost sense. My opinion is we're doing it the right way, gradually over a generation or so.

Even so, it is a little sad to see the old references go away - my kids will grow up thinking a 5.0L engine is awesome and give me a blank look if I refer to the 409 (cubic inch) big block...

[Drifter]

17. The same reason ...

we will never get rid of the paper $1, in favor of a dollar coin.

Americans can be pretty pig headed when it comes to abandoning things that are considered "part" of America.

Cheers
Drifter

[krispos42]

34. But what about the strippers?!?!?

you can't stick dollar coins in a G-string!!! Oh, the horror!

[Drifter]

40. Should be using $2 bills anyways - n/t

[krispos42]

152. Oh, right... inflation

:smack forehead:

[-..__...]

135. I guess they'll just have to learn to adapt.

[krispos42]

151. The bouncers may not approve...

but it does give a new definition of "golden shower"!!!!

:rofl:










Oh, I'm going to hell for that one...

[ret5hd]

18. the stonecutters!

Who controls the British Crown?
Who keeps the metric system down?
We do, we do.
Who keeps Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the Martians under wraps?
We do, we do.
Who holds back the electric car?
Who makes Steve Guttenberg a star?
We do, we do.
Who robs cave fish of their sight?
Who rigs every Oscar night?
We do, we do

[Critters2]

96. LOL!!

:rofl: I'd forgotten that..it's another stonecutter conspiracy!!

[LostInAnomie]

131. That was my immediate thought.

[Maribelle]

20. We couldn't get the cows to go along with it

And don't go getting pesky with them; they can only think in pints, quarts, gallons, and evenly divisible numbers thereof.

[Marr]

21. Because we haven't had a national ad campaign that says clearly to men that

6 inches = 15 centimeters.

FIFTEEN sounds alot bigger than six, doesn't it?

[Buns_of_Fire]

93. Yeah, especially when some would claim they're "just a silly millimeter longer"

(That harkens back to a cigarette ad from a while back: "Just a silly millimeter longer." I think it was Virginia Slims, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it...)

[krispos42]

22. Inertia, and leadership

For a very long time we were the leader in industry. They were trying to catch up to us, not us to them, and we had always been doing things in English. And we have an enormous amount of machinery and measuring devices already in English units.

And the English system works very well for non-scientific, everyday use. I learned to do both in engineering school, and metric was usually easier, due to it's consistant units, but it could be done in both.

Now, the science and engineering usually is in metric. At my company, the computer-controlled mills can work in either english or metric, just press a button. And for the non-precision work, a tape measure working in 1/32nds of an inch works as well as a millimeter tapemeasure.

We'll get around to it eventually.

[Benhurst]

24. Hey, give us a break! Most of us haven't mastered feet and inches yet,

to say nothing of ounces, pints, quarts, gallons, etc.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

27. Yeah, that's why we want to convert to metric.

[RaleighNCDUer]

25. I personally like the complexities of American Standard.

I liked the old English monetary system, too - 12 pence to a shilling, 20 shillings to a pound, 21 to a guinnea (IIRC).

Metric is just...boring. Anybody can count to 10.

[HereSince1628]

26. Cuz it's anti-old testament AND devised mostly by the FRENCH!

To accept the meter as a standard measure you must accept that the world is spherical.

As volume and weight are derived from this distance measure they are equally evil being created by those devilish FRENCH!

[NutmegYankee]

28. Simple. Protects our industries.

Many parts in the USA are made to the US standard, and many industries don't want to spent the $$$$$$$$$$s to convert the equipment and tools.

If that sounds bad to you, ask your European buddies just why they have 50 Hz AC power rather than 60 Hz. The answer was to protect their industry from American Imports.

[endarkenment]

41. A point of vanishing importance.

I think cars for example have mostly crossed over as they are sold globally. If they haven't then our manufacturers are forced to build two sets of nearly identical parts, which is not exactly a competitive advantage.

I know one thing for certain: my tool box has an assortment of metric and american sockets and wrenches and I just choose the one that fits.

[NutmegYankee]

48. Exported Items usually are made to Metric.

But many items are used Domestically, such as bolts, pipe, boards, etc that are easier for Americans to use in US Standard.

The problem is not laziness. We have a perfectly good system of measurement that Americans understand right now, and we don't see an advantage in changing. We already understand MPH, and Miles to a city, understand Ounces and lbs. We understand Cups and Quarts, and a refreshing Pint of beer.

It all works. Which is the real problem - why fix something that isn't broken?

[endarkenment]

65. Exactly: competitive disadvantage.

To the point where a lot of manufactures have just gone and built their products metric anyhow. Liter of Coke? Why'd that happen?

[NutmegYankee]

73. And therein is the problem...

Roadsigns don't compete with the world. Neither does the deli, or fruit and vegetable section of the grocery.

Many pipes and bolts must match domestic parts. If all the water heater companies (random example) make the heaters in US standard, the pipe makers follow. If one tried to change, he has to overcome the lack of pipes made to fit up to his unit.

Some industries broke free of this chain, others cannot. Some don't have the need. Why spend $$$$$$ if your doing nothing earns you just as much?

[napi21]

82. Yep, and the liquor & eine industry did it a LONG time ago! n/t

[LanternWaste]

108. Because there's a more effective and efficient way?

"why fix something that isn't broken?"

Because there's a more effective and efficient way? :shrug:

[NutmegYankee]

121. Is it?

Most items are no more effective with metric. A 1/2 inch bolt and a 13mm bolt do the same thing. My bandannas are just the same whether measured in lbs or kg.

If anything, I'm surprised the grocery stores haven't switched. People are so out of touch with metric for fruits and vegetables that they could rip us off and get away with it.

[NashVegas]

136. Hey Waitaminute!

Consumers are forced to upgrade all the time.

[NutmegYankee]

143. Yep.

So they can make an even more expensive product with the same machines and shove it down your throat.

Are you a happy consumer?

[agent46]

29. money as usual

The metric standard is meant to be universal. The plan was that mechanical parts manufactured anywhere in the world would conform to the metric system.

Naturally, the US retains the antiquated English standard not out of bigotry, but out of greed. The American plan was to sell our manufactured goods designed on the english standard rather than on the metric. This way, American corporations are able to profit from control of the manufacture and sale of replaceable parts as well as well as the technology itself.

...Of course that was long ago when America actually made things.

[Ediacara]

30. I'm with you on this one

it'll happen in my lifetime, I'll make it happen.

[valerief]

32. When industry sells everything metric and consumers need to calculate

costs in metric, then we'll be metric.

It's up to industry when tomatoes are no longer $$$ a pound. Maybe Wal-Mart can lead the way?

[enlightenment]

33. I sure wish we would.

I'm just finishing up a charity cookbook (with some other people, not by myself) that will be sold primarily in the UK, but also in the US and Europe. The contributors come from all over, so we had US and metric measurement.

We decided to list both sets of measurement and do conversions where necessary.

Freaking nightmare, particularly since the rest of the world measures by weight; we measure by volume.

BTW - if anyone is interested in supporting the National Osteoporosis Society of the UK, drop me a message and I'll give you the details on our book!

[NutmegYankee]

38. Measures by Mass vs weight.

US standard is weight in Lbs, ounces, etc. Metric uses Mass.

You never see the US units of mass, the slug, and Lb-mass.

[slackmaster]

45. Mass and weight are equivalent in a constant gravitational field

The variations in gravitational pull from one place to another on Earth are negligable for most practical purposes.

[NutmegYankee]

49. Makes a big difference in calculations though.

Have to watch that "g" factor.

[TransitJohn]

52. I don't think most people understand that that's the fundamental

difference between the two systems....that Standard measurement has acceleration due to gravity ("little g") built in, and SI measurement doesn't. That's why in physics problems in SI, you always have to multiply by "little g." Yes, I'm a nerd.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

83. "most practical purposes"

unfortunately, those few practical purposes aren't negligable.

See, for instance, the case where we lost a multi-million dollar mars probe because some fuck-up got an english-to-metric conversion wrong.

[RaleighNCDUer]

87. Nah, that was just the story they gave us.

It was shot down by the aliens.

[slackmaster]

99. I buy a lot more sacks of flower than I do Mars probes

:D

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

102. You buy sacks of flower?

I usually by them by the dozen.

Or is that a metric spelling?

:P

[slackmaster]

109. Busted for Metric spelling!

I yoused the spel chequer!

[backscatter712]

35. Metric is slowly working its way into society.

We buy soda in 2 liter bottles, we measure doses of medications in milligrams and cubic centimeters.

Heck, we even buy guns with calibers measured in millimeters.

Where the metric system is useful, people use it, even with the inertia in place from the old system.

[FredStembottom]

39. Funny thing is, if you are my age (50).......

you HAD to learn the metric system!:crazy:

Back in the 60's, all public elementary school children had to learn - and use daily - all aspects of the metric system.

Why? Because we were supposedly "just a couple of years away" from adopting it!

I never even heard an official withdrawal statement from government - but that goal was, indeed, withdrawn (or something). :freak:

[slackmaster]

44. I'll be 50 soon - partial list of other things we were supposed to have by 1980

- 30-hour work week
- Clean, safe atomic power in unlimited quantities
- Anthropmorphic robot servants
- Flying cars
- World peace
- Picture phones

[endarkenment]

88. hey we got the damn picture phones

well at least we have something reasonably close. 1 out of 10,000 or so aint bad.

[slackmaster]

98. Yeah, in about 1999

A little late.

[CTyankee]

106. Years ago my mother was just petrified that she'd wake up one day

and find that all the road signs had changed and she wouldn't know how far away anything was. An overnight deal and she wouldn't be able to do a thing about it.

After a while, when it didn't happen, she calmed down...

[Sanctified]

42. Whats the point?

Seriously when was the last time you saw a weight or measurement and thought, "You know it would be so much better if that was in Metric." I know the metric system and I use the metric system when I am overseas and it's not that complicated but I really don't see how it's superior to our current form of measurement.

[krispos42]

75. It matters a lot in science

Thermodymamics in english is a bit less fun than in metric.

But for everyday stuff, consistancy of units is not relevent. The fact that a mile is not 1,000 feet doesn't matter. We know long a mile is, and we know how long a foot is, and it works.

We've simplified the english system over the years, too. A lot of the intermediate measurement units have been obsoleted. When's the last time anybody said a place was a furlough or a rod away? Or we weighed things in drams? Or drank a gill of water?

A lot of traditional english units we've just applied the decimal process to, anyway. Scales work in XX.XXX pounds and XX.X ounces and parts are measured in thousandths of an inch.

[NutmegYankee]

78. Exactly.

That's my take. We adapted our system and it continues because their isn't a need to change it in certain areas.

But do I wish we would put BTUs to their final death. :evilgrin:

[The2ndWheel]

43. Remember diversity?

If only we wanted it.

"If you force it, even the stupid will learn it, eventually."

A sad state of affairs. Quite the world we've created.

Anyway, anything to crush diversity is good to do. Too much diversity, and nothing would get done. I wish 1000 different countries would have 1000 different ways to measure(or not measure), but that's not how it works.

And no, it's not because ImmanAmurkindammit. The fact that America even exists is because of the general trend of history being one that destroys diversity at every turn.

No, there is no good reason why we haven't switched to the metric system. There will be an official switch at some point though. Either the world goes to what we have, or we go to what the rest of the world has. Both can't co-exist. Since everything is forced(aka, the destruction of diversity), then someone will "get it", eventually.

[AngryAmish]

46. Because Amerikkkans are shit

[cobalt1999]

47. I'd say the US is more metric than not now.

Almost any vehicle made in the US is metric now (boats, cars, motorcycles), we buy liter bottles of soda, all science and engineering is now done in metric units.

We are more converted than you may think. The roadsigns will be the last to go, but that doesn't mean the conversion isn't well underway.

[NutmegYankee]

50. Engineering is not all in Metric. Quite the contrary.

I know this from experience.

[cobalt1999]

53. I can't get a non-metric part or component anymore.

At my company are and have been totally metric for years. Speaking to suppliers, it's not even an option for most to build non-metric subcomponents.

I guess it may vary industry to industry.

[NutmegYankee]

58. I'm a mechanical in shipbuilding.

Everything we use is in US standard.

[cobalt1999]

101. Well, shipbuilders aren't exactly cutting edge

I mean you just got over not measuring in cubits. :)

I guess I'm too isolated in my own field.

[zipplewrath]

66. Widely

Tires still use "english" units world wide. Air traffic control uses feet for altitude, world wide. Mil-HDBK-5 and its current replacement (structural materials specifications) are all still in units of inches and pounds. Truth is, I still have trouble getting high strength bolts in the US in metric. Oh, I can order them and get them in 3 months, but they are not stocked. Sheet steel, lumber, concrete, are all still sold, shipped, specified, and delivered in "english" units. Changing that will not be a trivial exercise, especially "legally" where various building codes and contracts specify exactly what will be used.

[DaveJ]

56. Ya, I noticed that in micro-electronics

Some still like using mil's = a thousandth of an inch.

[NutmegYankee]

62. I'd prefer metric.

Only takes a few Thermodynamics issues to get you to that point.

I really really hate work and power and energy with BTUs and HP.

[Tesha]

67. Electronics is a mish-mash...

Printed circuit board trace width? Often in "mils"
(thousands of an inch).

Integrated circuit trace width? Always in microns
(millionths of a metre) or now, more often, the
thousand-times-smaller nanometres.

Standard form factors for surface-mount components?
Hundredths of an inch. "Hey man, when you sneezed,
you blew away 1,000 0201 chip resistors!"

LED/laser lightwavelengths? Nanometres.

Electronic equipment racks? Still 19" worldwide.
A "rack unit"? 1.75" worldwide.

Voltages? Amps? Currents? Been metric since the
dawn of time.

Bolt/screw sizes? metric more and more often but
still often #6x32, #4x40, or other "English" sizes.

It's like a secret handshake you just have to know...

Tesha

[ozone_man]

173. Electronics is mostly metric

especially IC level electronics, while mechanical is often English. I think mechanics is where the biggest resistance to change lies.

Just remember "a pint's a pound the world around." But is that a pound mass or a pound weight? And how many slugs would that be? What a god awful system it is.

[DaveJ]

54. The best I can think of is, fewer syllables?

Mile vs Kil-o-me-ter

Inch vs cent-i-me-ter

etc.

:shrug:

[flyingfysh]

55. there is a very simple reason

The US industrialized before the introduction of the metric system. Most other countries industrialized later. So for them the expense to convert was much less that it would have been for the US which had a substantial investment in non-metric machinery and tools.

[pansypoo53219]

57. only if we can kep farenheit.

celsius temp nubers are just stupid. 30 is hot?

[endarkenment]

61. No 50 is hot. 50 is the new 30.

Numbers are numbers. Go live anywhere else in the world and you will stop doing the conversion within a few weeks.

[fujiyama]

144. Actually that scale makes a lot more sense

0 degrees C is freezing.

100 degrees C is boiling.

[zipplewrath]

60. Depends upon your definition of "convert"

I buy soda in 2 liter bottles. We speak of "grams" of fat. The military writes specifications in kilometers. So it really comes down to who you want to start using the "metric" system (really SI and probably more specifically some ISO specification for unit use). Do you really think/care/want football played on a 100 meter field? Do you care how the distance between bases in baseball are either measured or expressed?

People are using the units which they need/want to use. Science uses metric/SI extensively. Engineering uses a mix of units, predominately associated with the particular area of technology involved. (Alot of industrial standards are still expressed in US units). It would be expensive to force these industries to change. The three basic areas which seem to bother metric "evangelists" the most are road signs, consumer packaging, and temperature. Road signs are the toughest because it affects the most people. There is no incentive here for any political body to force change. Even Britain still has extensive use of miles in their road signs. There just isn't the political need/desire to make such an extensive change. Consumer packaging is the easiest and is already underway. This is one area where if the government would actually get out of the way, I think much of what the metric folks want would come about. As I said at the beginning,I already buy in 2 liter bottles. The biggest problem world wide is that various governments specify which units must be used on packaging. Loosen up these rules and the packaging will follow the path of least resistance. Although I'll admit that England still has "militant" grocers that fight to be able to sell beef in "british" units. Temperature is the one that will be the hardest in many ways because there is little if any "advantage" to celcius and it is the one people will naturally have trouble converting, especially on grandma's stove, not to mention her receipe books.

[rasputin1952]

63. Two reasons,

arrogance and the producers of goods have said it would be too expensive to retool. Both are BS answers and we should have changed over 30 years ago.

[alfredo]

64. The bicycle industry went metric except for companies like Huffy and

Columbia.

When I was in the industry, (70's and early 80's) and we had some problems with metric. There were several metric standards. We had BSA, French, Italian, Swiss. Oh, and there was Witworth, the original metric. We could mix, but some were B or C fits. A fit was perfect, B would work by would mung up the threads a bit. C, now that did not work at all. Witworth was only found in those old English bikes. the Brits, US (except department store) and Asians use BSA. I haven't been around bikes for a long time. I wonder if the rest of the world has settled on BSA. The French standard was so different, even tube size was different. Their bikes were excellent, but a pain to upgrade.

[RobofSWVA]

68. stonecutters

There is no real logical reason to stay with non metric systems.

[endarkenment]

69. birkenstock

its all their fault. They only sell in metric sizes. It explains everything.

[TahitiNut]

77. Indeed. My under standing of Life, the Universe, and Everything is certified by Birkenstock

It's very clear. All I have to do is look at my Birkenstocks - where it says "42." Simple. :dunce:

[TahitiNut]

71. If Gawd wanted us to be metric, She wouldn't have measured the ark in cubits.

:dunce:

[LiberalAndProud]

72. My very favorite argument against converting to metric ...

Then they'll try to change our money to metric!

???

I still chuckle to remember the funny look when I explained that our money is already base ten.

[HughBeaumont]

76. Weren't we about to . . . then Reagan got elected?

I know Carter was in favor for it, so maybe that was one of the things that was demonized?

Americans still use big fiber dollar bils rather than $1 or $2 currency.

We simply aren't as adaptable to change as the rest of the world is. Most every president we put into office has a right-wing bent to them in some aspect (the noteable exceptions being Carter and Kennedy). Some are downright nutjobs, ones that sometimes get elected (or selected) to two terms!

[MUSTANG_2004]

116. Not as adaptable to change?

The US is a world leader in technology. It's a cop-out to say that we're not adaptable to change.

I'd say the answer is that we only change if/when there's a reason. In science, medicine and engineering where the reasons are clear (calculations/conversions are far simpler in metric) we're already metric and have been so for many years. In other areas, what's the big deal about being metric? If Americans find it easier to buy apples by the pound instead of the kilo, who cares?

[Warren DeMontague]

79. Because Hardware stores make out like fucking bandits.

Shit! Metric Screws and Standard bolts! @(&%&(*&(!!!!!

[depakid]

132. Ain't that the truth

Double fucking tool sets....

[KatyMan]

89. "The metric system is the tool of the devil!!!!111!

My car gets forty rods to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it."


According to Abe Simpson that is...

[bikebloke]

90. Either way for me.

I can think both in metric and imperial. I prefer the former. Yet when asked distances I'll tell them in metric. There have been a couple outraged responses, "Where did you go to school?" My response, "Did you go to school?"

[The Straight Story]

92. "America...FUCK YEAH!" Cause we are a super power and don't have to do it

Metric is soooo snobbish euro-crap.

And hell - could you imagine foot ball in metric instead of yards? College football and the pros will never let us change.


:rofl:

[razzleberry]

97. pay more for everything, consider Canada

gasoline taxes on Imperial gallon -->
gasoline taxes on a litre.

what a bunch of stupids shits.

something similiar happens in every conversion

[TrogL]

103. Inexpensive calculators

The purpose of the metric system was to reduce the complexity of manual calculations. Many calculations required simply moving the decimal point. With the advent of modern calculators, it's just as labour intensive to do Imperial measurements as Metric.

[Puregonzo1188]

112. It's for Communist and it's Unamerican.

[Orsino]

113. Why should we go back to the primitive "Metric" system...

...tailored as it is for dimwits who can only multiply and divide by ten?

(:sarcasm:)

[KitchenWitch]

114. Laziness

[ismnotwasm]

115. Let's see.............Nope

There is no reason. I could make something up, maybe, like sentiment? Fondness for the old system? (I didn't say I could make up a GOOD reason)

[AZBlue]

118. Honey, most of them don't know the English system we currently use.

And you expect them to be able to learn Metrix, Matrix, Metris, what was it again??

[MUSTANG_2004]

119. See, that's just so wrong

I know it was meant to be humorous, but it was exactly OPPOSITE of the real answer. Even the half the population with below average intelligence has a fundamental grasp that:
1) A 300 pound man is obese,
2) a day that gets over 100F is hot as blazes,
3) pies get cooked at 350F
4) At 6'4", Abe Lincoln was very tall.
5) At 80 mph, you're going too fast.

All those simple references that we intuitively grasp without thinking about become non-trivial if we suddenly switch to metric.

[AZBlue]

120. I think it's sad that it's been talked about for 40+ years but never happened.

You're right - it shouldn't be that hard an idea to accept. And, it's not. But, it's different. And it's European. And, I think there's a real prejudice in this country against anything that can be defined by either of those words. It's an unspoken (and perhaps unconscious) aversion and bias toward anything non-American. While I love my country and feel that pride in one's country is vital, I think that we Americans take that to an extreme sometimes, to our own detriment. "That's how they do it, that's not how we do it" should not be an acceptable excuse. That's just my own opinion, but it explains why a fairly simple concept is still not understood after 40+ years.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

124. "Cause it's an attack on FOOTBALL!

that's why. Those evil frenchies want us to replace it with Sockey or Pog or cricker, or something.

[Apollo11]

158. Good point!

100 yards is only 90 meters.

So if you convert football to metric, the field would be more than 11 yards longer.

Right there that makes it harder for either team to score a touchdown.

Plus your endzones would be cramped right up against the seating.

So life would be even more dangerous for Wide Receivers!

[Stephanie]

125. Get a life.

:)

[Fla_Democrat]

127. Hey Mike,

cut me a 5.08 X 10.16, 75.40625cm, and put a compound cut on both ends, 9in12 hip cuts. :wtf:

(cut me a 2X4, 29 and 11/16 inches... rest is self explanatory )


damn lazy and stupid carpenters. :evilgrin:

[wuushew]

128. 2x4s haven't been true dimension in a long time

n/t

[Fla_Democrat]

133. true, but

I'm not sure if Mike would know what a 1 1/2 X 3 1/3 is. Might spend an hour walking around like when I asked for that 50lb box of toenails, or the left handed pipe wrench. He would have company, the painter sent his helper looking for the can of striped paint. :evilgrin:

[NutmegYankee]

145. And while your at it, get me a spoon sharpener. n/t

[Fla_Democrat]

157. Haven't heard that one before

mind if I use it? :toast:

Hey Mike, before you take lunch, run up to the job trailer and grab that spoon sharpener off the rack.

Oh, thats gonna work like a charm. :thumbsup:

[depakid]

129. Not a good reason- but it was the ignorance of Ronald Reagan

We were well on our way to a system of weights and measures that everyone could understand until he derailed it with a presidential proclamation.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

130. If the Brits and Canadians can, why can't we?

:shrug:

I had to adjust to the metric system when I lived in Japan, and it's not that hard. Just learn a few key values, like your height in centimeters, your weight in kilograms, and the distance of a trip you make frequently in kilometers.

You learn that 500 grams of bulk food is just a little more than a pound, and a liter is a little more than a quart.

You learn that 0°C = 32°F, 10°C - 50°F, 20°C = 68°F, 30°C = 86°F, and 40°C = 104°F. The rest you can figure out.

[Apollo11]

159. Brits use a mixture

All the roadsigns in Great Britain show distances in miles.

Speed limits are shown in miles per hour.

Most people measure their height in feet.

Beer is sold in pints (at least in pubs).

[bridgit]

137. just stubborn...

x(

[rucky]

138. If it weren't for our system of measurement...

we'd all be speaking Latin by now.

[Nimrod2005]

139. Metric would be like France and we hate the French!!! lol....

[ileus]

140. It allows the auto industry to build junk.

[Blue-Jay]

146. Because we don't need to?

It has been pointed out several times that the metric system is used in scientific circles, and is generally not used by laymen. Nobody, however, has been able to make a convincing argument other than "OMG we're so stoopid" as to why anyone should bother converting to metric. Miles are fine. Fahrenheit is OK. A pint of beer is wonderful.

[Gretchen]

147. Metric system was invented for illiterate people. I think Americans can handle it.

The metric system is easy! Especially for those challenged with math. Life is so much easier when everything revolves around 10, vs. 1/16 0r 1/32 etc. Fractions suck! Decimals are a breeze. I welcome the metric system with open arms.

[BlooInBloo]

149. Aaahh... another sucker... Betting against the stupidity of the American public.

[BlooInBloo]

148. We have, in the places that count. Universities.

[Vinnie From Indy]

150. We seemed only inches away from making the change back in the 70's and early 80's

[opihimoimoi]

153. A Big Reason is SPORTS and all those records...in inches/feet/yards/miles

[Apollo11]

155. Millions of speedometers that measure miles per hour

[Apollo11]

156. Thousands of roadsigns showing distance in miles

Who in Congress would vote the money to replace all those signs? :eyes:

I think Ireland has done it. But they have fewer signs to begin with.

[ProfessorGAC]

160. Distance In England Is Still Not Metric, Either

They still do mph, not kph, and the road signs say "Such and Such" exit, 2 miles. I've seen "Shoulder Narrows, 300 Yards", as well.


So, we're not really the only ones.
The Professor

[BlooInBloo]

168. mph is speed, not distance.

[ProfessorGAC]

169. Duh!

It's DISTANCE DIVIDED BY TIME! Without the MILES there is no MPH! I comment truthfully, and this reply is the best you can do?
GAC

[BlooInBloo]

176. :) What I was getting at is that the units for speed doesn't furnish *another* example....

... because it inherits from the units used for distance and time. It's the *same* example.

[ProfessorGAC]

178. I See

My examples were meant to describe roadway measures. I wasn't making any other claim to various units of measure.

Merely that the British have yet to convert to metric on their roads. So, we're not the only ones.

They do use kilos for weight, and meters to describe height and length of objects. But, they still use pints and half-pints for ales and beers. (That's different, no?)

And also in pubs, they use one ounce shots, and the little glasses have a "one ounce" mark right on them. So, go figure on that, too.

The golf courses i've played on are in yards, and i've seen milk by the GALLON! (I don't know if that was imperial gallon, or not. But, it did say GALLON, on it.) Yet, gas is sold by the liter.

So, they seem to have been caught between two systems.
GAC

[BlooInBloo]

179. They really don't have *a* system, it appears, but rather a melange of several.

[ProfessorGAC]

180. Yeah. Kind Of Weird

Like i said, i think they kind of caught in the middle of a conversion and never completely pulled out of it.

Geez, people weigh in STONES, but cheese is in kilos. Huh?

You used melange! I think you got that right.
GAC

[BlooInBloo]

181. I also use meringue, but for rather different purposes. :)

[NoPasaran]

162. I expect we'll switch to Celsius to make global warming more palatable

115 F is damned hot

Converted to 46 C makes me think I need to put on a coat

[Vinca]

163. Did you see little Miss South Carolina? Case closed.

"even the stupid will learn it, eventually."

[ProfessorGAC]

164. LOL!

That young woman is a world-class twit.

And, i'm not laughing with her. I'm laughing AT HER!
The Professor

[WinkyDink]

165. Why should we? It's more than money (conversion signage, e.g.);

it's an entire VISUAL PERCEPTION we're raised with.

I.e., I'll bet you can "see" 100 yards better than you can 100 meters (Olympics notwithstanding); or a quart better than a liter (litre? Heh.); a mile better than a kilometer; an inch better than a centimeter; etc.
We are culturally conditioned to think of someone as, say, 6'1", 180 lbs.

Nope, sorry, can't see the metric system as a necessary cultural shift.

P.S. The metric system isn't sacred. We still have 365-day years with Leap years; 12 months; 7-day weeks, 52 per year; 24-hour days; etc.

[yellowcanine]

166. Ben Franklin was a big supporter of a metric system - likewise Jefferson and Quincy Adams.

One has to wonder if Washington's work as a surveyer using English units of measurement didn't have something to do with the failure of the founders to institute the use of the metric system from the beginning. It would have been one more way to cut ties with England. But of course England was the source of most manufactured goods so that may have been a factor also. And the truth is that the metric system was slow to establish in France also even though it was legally mandated before 1800 - people are just resistant to change - it almost takes several generations growing up with a new system for it to become the norm.

[spindoctor]

167. Officially the US IS still converting to metric

The Straight Dope on metric conversion:

<snip>
Like hell. Had U.S. industry suffered a real (as opposed to relative) decline, Americans would have quit screwing around and converted to metric long ago, just as the UK did--and remember, the British are the ones who invented this dram-bushel-inch stuff. As it is, U.S. industry is sufficiently prosperous and the domestic market is so large that the country can afford the luxury of supporting two separate systems of measurement. Which is basically what it has. Most big multinational firms use metric for goods they sell abroad, and some (e.g., the automakers) have abandoned the inch-pound system altogether. Smaller companies serving primarily the U.S. market and of course most ordinary folks have clung to the old system, mainly for lack of a compelling reason to change. If significant numbers of midsize firms routinely had to convert from millimeters to inches (how fast can you multiply by .03937?), opposition to metrication would evaporate. But in the U.S. they don't, and it hasn't.

One of the reasons the U.S. will probably never fully convert to metric is the country's genius for compromise--its saving grace in politics, maybe, but not so useful when it comes to weights and measures. The first round of attempted metrication, which took place following passage of the Metric Conversion Act of 1975, is now remembered as the time when "we made a mistake ... trying to force metrics down people's throats," one advocate says. Baloney. It was a typical let's-please-everybody muddle. Dual posting of highway signs in miles and kilometers cost money without any compensating advantage and, by calling attention to the fact that one kilometer equals .621 miles, made the metric system seem needlessly complicated. The folly of dual measurements persists to this day. Rather than baffle consumers by pointing out that a gallon of milk equals 3.78 liters, it would be better to simply replace gallons with four-liter containers. The two-liter pop bottle no doubt succeeded because it was just that simple.

Opponents of metrication have succeeded in painting it as a one-world plot, with the introduction of an alien system of weights and measures the obvious prelude to a takeover by the Bolsheviks. To this day you'll hear media commentators moaning that recalculating football fields and baseball diamonds in meters threatens the integrity of American sport. Converting to metric will cost money, the critics say, and unless you're involved in foreign trade it confers no benefit.

These arguments are specious. If people still calculate horse races in furlongs, a medieval measure, there's nothing to prevent them from using feet and yards in sports indefinitely (although the Olympics have gotten people used to meters). And while converting to metric costs something, much of the money has already been spent. Rare is the auto mechanic, for example, who doesn't have metric wrenches.

As for the metric system conferring no benefit--come on. For many everyday purposes the inch-pound system is useless. How many people understand fluid ounces, bushels, pecks, rods, and grains? How many can visualize an acre? (A hectare, the comparable metric unit, is 100 meters on a side.) Two centuries ago the U.S. adopted a decimal system of currency, and today everybody's happy they did. A decimal system of measurement would be at least equally useful.

Officially the U.S. is still trying to convert to metric. In 1988 Congress reiterated that the metric system was the "preferred system of measurement." Federal agencies, which procure more than $300 billion in goods and services annually, are supposed to require their vendors to supply metric products. Most still don't. But who knows? In an age when every dieter can quote you "fat grams," the metric system may sneak up on us yet.
</snip>

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_013.html

[Romulox]

182. The Metric System is poorly scaled to human beings and their environment...

For example, most people are around 1.75-2.25 meters tall. Or is it more convenient to say 175 centimeters? The metric system would be more useful if it had a new unit of measure, around 1/3 a meter (roughly the size of my foot...)

Another example: It's currently 20 degrees Centigrade outside right now. It's nice, but I really prefer 19.75 degrees.