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Originally Posted by ShaniFaye
Why should we have to switch? You move to a different country you have to learn different things....language and money....weights and measures are no different.
That would be like me complaining that all countries should use the same money conversions
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How very ethno/geocentric of you.
It would make commerce easier, cut down costs of manufacturing because everyone would be using the same units of measure (think speedometers, bolts, plans, etc.). I'm sure there would be other benefits too, but I'm not an economist. You can't just say, "My house, my rules" anymore. The world is a much smaller place now more than ever and it's only going to get smaller.
With regard to the money conversions, didn't 90% of Europe agree to merge all their currency?? You must have heard of the Euro. More and more countries over there want to be part of the European Union for one big reason, economic stability. Some would argue that there is a culture shift due to the money being changed resulting in some nationalistic identity loss, but those detractors aren't fervent, except maybe in the UK, which is still using the Pound.
I wish the US would convert to the metric system. It would make the traveling I do that much easier. Just going north to Canada is a challenge sometimes, let alone going to Europe. But I make do.
Having those experiences has made me a stronger advocate for the metric system. I give it another 5-10 years before the matter is broached again. Remember that Ford attempted to convert the country back in the 70's, but the measure fell flat on it's face. As Americans become more global, they will embrace the idea of a change a little bit less hesitantly. Will the conversion be painful? Probably. But no one ever said that change was easy.