Why can't US adapt to the Metric system?
 

I grew up using the metric system but have since lived in US for almost twice as long as where I was born. I still have trouble converting feet/yards to miles, pints to gallon, sq feet to acres. What is hold the Americans back from adapting to the metric system almost the rest of the world?

Wouldn't it be easier to have one set of wrenches and sockets instead of two? Isn't a 10 increment easier to calculate than whatever we use now to calculate distance? Acreage?

:confused: :confused: :confused:

American cars have been metric since the 80's at least the nuts and bolts anyway. The only nuts and bolts that are not metric now are the type you get in the hardware store for home improvement etc. I lived in Australia for 5 years, and the metric system made a lot more sense, It would be nice if we could just bite the bullet and convert.

Yea, people dont like giving up what they are comfortable with, regardless of how much sense it makes. They have tried to convert a couple times.

Speaking as a Canadian... metric is better, even if we are caught in half assed transition.

Most people here give their height and weight in feet and pounds while driving on highways and checking the weather in Kilometers per hour and Celsius...

Yes, I agree metric is better for the most part. Industrially, the US tried in the 80's to convert to a metric system, but with little success. For the most part (as stated above), the majority of automobiles use metric bolts and nuts today.

The US was planning to become metric. In the late 1700's, when standards were being developed for economic reasons, there was a big push to convert to the European metric standard. Even Thomas Jefferson was involved. But the US Gov. was not convinced it was worth the trouble. After a lot of duscussion, the US finally decided to consider it - and was waiting for the official calibrated "meter bar" - a solid metal bar by which all meters would be measured for accuracy and consistency. It was being sent on a ship with Joseph Dombey. But as luck would have it - his ship was taken by pirates of the carribean (serously, no joke) when they were blown off course by a storm, and he was captured and died in a prison cell. The meter bar eventually made it to the US a few years later, but no one really knew what it was, or how to explain the simplicity of measure it could bring. So with Mr. Dombeys death - the hope for the US metric system also died.

When I was in college, I did a bit of research on Mr. Dombey. Being a surveyor, measurements are my life - and I can only dream of measuring things that are based on the simple number 10.

I think now, its just too late. Imagine all the databases, property deeds, road signs, standards, etc that would have to be changed. And that is just in my scope. It would cost billions of dollars to enact, and billions more to correct mistakes/transformation errors that would come along with it.

I would become confused by a transition, I admit.

I have all the standard measures already enbedded in my head. I can guesstimate the temperature, heights, distance, weight, etc all pretty well and changing to metric will screw with my brain.

As a born/raised American:
A) Me too.
B) I dunno.

I wouldn't mind, and in fact would prefer, the metric system.

Q: What did the pirates pillage from Joseph Dombey?
A: A meter barrrrrrr!

Sorry, couldn't help myself. Great story, I never would have figured pirates were to blame for the US not using the Systeme Internationale.

I think the great majority of americans would perfer the metric idea. But as "Arroe" simply stated, it would be even more confusing. Remember that Mars mission that was lost about 6 or 7 years ago? Remember why? I was because the initial engineering calculations/programing were set in meters, but the orbital entry data was set in feet. The result? A multi million dollar US built shooting star that either never even came close to mars, or is now burried underneath its surface. So, some would say thing like that would never happen if there was only one standard - and yes, that is true. But imagine how many more disasters would happen immediately if we tried to change.

Say what? Everyone doesn't that there are 5,280 feet in a mile? Weird... :D

Yeah, but is that international feet? US Survey feet? A US mile? A Nautical Mile? Just kidding, but its not always that simple. :crazy: :D

Funny thing is, I've used metrics for most of my life, yet still refer to my height in feet. Also if asking a babies birth weight and they say 4.5 kg I don't know if that's big or not, but 10 pounds, that's big.

Also pilots still refer speed to knots and height as feet, even in metric nations. I don't think we will every completely change over.

It would be nice if at least the distances were modified to metric if nothing else.

How did America get stuck on this stupid system in the first place? Did the founder think the world was going to change to this system because it was American?

When I lived abroad it took a couple of months to get the hang of metric for weight and distance. The hard part would be getting everyone to switch at the same time.

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

No, actually it's the so-called 'English' system. It's a holdover from our colonial days.

I don't remember any attempt to convert Americans to metric in the 1980s, but I damn sure remember the big push towards metric in the mid seventies. It was a failure for two reasons:

1) Other countries coverted to metric abruptly. The US tried to make the conversion gradually. Other countries told their people 'Look, on this certain day, the speed limit signs will be in KpH instead of MPH so you better get on the stick and learn it'. The US tried to make the conversion by teaching elementary school kids (like me) both systems at once.

2) The other reason is that adult Americans at that time were resistant to it for irrational reasons. 'It's un-American'
:rolleyes:

We already us the metric system, or something like it, in our monetary system. A cent is 1/100th of a dollar and we have ten and hundred dollar bills.

I use both systems at my job and I am pretty fluent in them.

Actually, it probably was in the 70's. I just know the automotive industry started in the early 80's. I dont remember much of the 70's since I was too young.


Very good point. At least we don't use Pence, Shillings, and Pounds as out monetary system. :D

I think it has a lot to do with the fnord Military Industrial Complex fnord.

Not that it's a big conspiracy, but just that a lot of big dollar hardware was built before the metric push. So, all of the replacement parts need to be in imperial units. And since you've already got the parts on hand, and on-going supply contracts... why not just build the new stuff in imperial units, too?

Even if they started today with a war of attrition on the imperial system, it would be 30 years or more until some of the stuff is out of design lifetime.

It's a sign of conservatism... I'm kidding, don't hurt me!

But seriously, I'd think the change would sure be worth it on the long run. Sure, it would confuse the current generations, but would provide a much easier system for all the generations to come. The transition is a pain, sure, but has to be done..

while I do understand the metric system, and changing wouldnt bother me, I dont realy understand what is wrong with our system. It dosent seem much more complicated to me than the other.

Think about how often you say a "half", "quarter", "third", "two thirds". Mabye thats just cause I use fractions all the time. It would be tough to try to convert though, I can look at something and tell you that its about 15 feet tall, or gauge a mile just by the feel of it. Would take a while to learn to do that in cm, m, km

ohh and how do you guys deal with not havin a unit of measue between cm and m?? I dont know what I would do without feet! :D

Well, dont forget about the oh-so-popular decimeter! :D It might not be quite as mighty as our foot - being that it is only about 4 inches, but it is there nonetheless. And in reality, cm, dm, km are irrelevant anyway - they are all just different ways of writing "meter" with a different base of 10.

Yeah, but it is a lot easier to take 2/3 of 10.55 meters than it is of say 28' 7 7/8". In the metric system,you can do it in your head in most cases, or very easily on a calculator. But in the US system, its a pain in the ass.

Thanks for the flashback there; I think I stll have a sticker somewhere that reads "Take me to your liter!".

I didn't know the story about the pirates, that was interesting. I for one am glad we don't use celsius or centigrade, because our temp. is far more precise. I know they teach the metric system in elementary school now, because my wife is teaching it to her third graders. Main problem I see is that there's not really a comparable measurement to a foot. cm kinda like small inches; km kinda like a small mile, meter kinda like a big yard, etc... WE measure lots of things in feet, and it makes more sense than measuring in 1/3 of a meter.

1/3 of a metre is 33 cm... You stop using feet and just start using cm. 65.5cm or whatever. You soon start to not need feet at all.

Fractions suck. Working in base 10 with decimals just makes more sense. Our whole number system is base ten. The Imperial system just blows. It is way too complicated.

the american scientific community has been metric for a long time. it just makes a lot more sense when you deal with a variety of variables. the comprehensive english set of weights and measures is a goofy relic. to make a calculation, it's easier to first convert to metric and convert back after you have finished.

farenheit is a bit more precise, and certainly pounds, miles, and feet are second nature to americans. i don't think that will change.

Hey Coppertop, how many feet are in 9.45 miles? How many quarts make up 3.758 gals? Unless you are a mathwiz you won't need a calculator. On the other hand, it doesn't take a mathhead to figure out in terms of meters or kilos. Aren't we all pushing for effeciency and simplicity?

BTW, no personal attack on you, Coppertop.

Fahrenheit is much more accurate than celsius so I'll be sticking with that.

As far as other measurements go, I'm fairly indifferent.

Yeah I see your points, I guess im so stuck on our system it just appears to be simple, but in reality the metric system is much more efficient

I've grown up with inches and pounds, and Metric makes SO much more sense!!! I don't have problems with inches to cm, well not too much, but miles to kilometers is tricky for me. Weights, and measurements I am completely lost. When I'm using a recipe off a website I try and change the measurements to metric just so I can get an idea.

Someday I hope we Americans figure it out that increments of ten makes sense?!

[QUOTE=Locobot]Fahrenheit is much more accurate than celsius so I'll be sticking with that. [QUOTE]

How much more accurate? Does accuracy really matter to the average person deciding what to wear today?

0 = freezing
37 = body temp.
100 = boiling point of water

If it's 30 out I know it's hot.
If it's -2 it's cold.

The average person doesn't need acuracy.

too much money to be lost switching to metric, and not enough money to be gained. Sorry, until that changes, the US won't switch.

Money,all the road signs,labels.

Plus,they don't want to be easy and help the rest of the world understand them.

Congress actually passed the Metric Conversion Act in 1975, which was supposed to switch us over to the Metric system. But they didn't specify a time limit for the conversion, and the whole effort fell apart.

Interesting article here:

<a href=http://ts.nist.gov/ts/htdocs/200/202/lc1136a.htm target=new>http://ts.nist.gov/ts/htdocs/200/202/lc1136a.htm</a>

I grew up with the Imperial system. Then Oz went metric. I couldn't change over quick enough. Metric is a much better system for building. All plans have their measurements in millimetres, no muss, no fuss, no mistakes from incorrect calculations of Imperial fractions.

Story. A friend of mine was in the Air Force, and he ordered a box made to go in the cockpit of a fighter. 200 x 50 x 50. ( For the metrically challenged that's 8 inches x 2 inches x 2 inches ) The metalworkers used centimetres instead of millimetres as their base measurement, so the box was 10 times bigger than it was supposed to be.

Well it is better in a lot of respects...but like many people said...alot of stuff would be changed, Alot of old machinery and stuff we still use to the day is standard fastener sizes. Atleast we didnt' have messed up thread sizes like the british whitworth system.

I remember when I was taking a course in drafting, I had to label all my measurements in inches using proper fractions. It was safe to say I stunk in that class.

When I first moved here to the states from Canada, I had no clue how to work the farenheit system. The weather man could say it was 70 outside and I still would wonder if I should go out in shorts or grab a winter coat.

I know that in day to day interactions americans dont use the metric system but I think we do use it alot without knowing it, most labels have both systems printed SI and American Custom..... We just need to slowly start phasing out the American Custom, without anyone noticing it.

Something definatley needs to be done so another Mars Climate Orbiter doesnt happen.

Why Not? Well, because the French would never let us live it down and because it is a tool of Satan. We'd be more likely to convert from feet and yards to cubits than to meters.

I think the answer to this question is very simple, even if it does sound a little egotistical.

Because we don't have to.

There is no real reason to make a full change to metric. Science and engineering already use it, but the general public really has no need for any change when the system we use works just fine.