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.

Cups, quarts, pints, feet, inches, 32f, 212f....bah, I'll take the metric system any day. It's so much easier.

If I'm not mistaken, Star Trek uses the metric system, so get used to it because you guys will change one day. ;)

If I'm not mistaken the UK didn't convert to the metric system until the early 80s.

The English system is much easier for approximations because its core measurements are based on amounts that are useful for everyday life.

A Gallon is the amount of water a person should drink a day, whereas a liter ain't enough. An ounce is about a mouthful, and a milliliter is but a drop on the tongue. A quart is a quarter of a gallon (duh?), and is the perfect amount of milk to buy and drink before it goes sour. A pint is the perfect size for a beer, whereas a liter would lose its head before you could finish it. A foot is about (duh!) the length of a male's foot and a yard is your average pace (2 steps), thus you can estimate the length of something much easier than in meters. A pound is the weight at which you have to strain slightly to hold it in your outstretched hand, whereas a gram can be blown away by a slight breeze.

The metric system just isn't convenient for everyday measures. The US uses metrics for everything that requires precise measurements, though.

You aren't serious, are you? The Europeans brought it with the when the came.

:thumbsup: ahh, thank you. I knew there was a reason that I thought our system was pretty easy, you just were able to put it into words for me. I wonder if the best system would be a combination, for some reason theare are some measurements in our system I just dont want to give up

I'm sure that people who grew up with the metric system have just as many "rule of thumb"s as you do.

me too, i would be greatly confused especially with temperature seeing as how there is so much distance inbetween a single farenheight and celcius

Once we crash enough multi-billion dollar satelites and space chips they'll start changing. Just gotta teach them youngins good and right.

I used to think we should switch but now I really don't care. The costs of changing the signs on the freeways alone would be astronomical.

By the way...

Not all engineers use metric. I work in the air quality field and I've NEVER used metric measurements at work. Every once in a while the measurement for a fan will be in standard m3/min but usually it is in both with the English system in bold and on top. Everything is expressed in feet, miles, tons, pounds, etc.

English units aren't that difficult. My engineering school was very good at making sure we were comfortable using either one.

Remember, A cm is the width of your pinkie.

Hahaha, I love that answer and completly agree with it. At the heart I am very rebellious and do not like being told that I have to do something, to a point. But to be told that now in my adult life that i have to learn metric when all my life I have known and used imperial would just about send me over the edge. I may infact, out of spite, measure everything possible thing i can get ahold of and document it in Imperial...ahhh the joy of spite......

What about people who have sausage fingers?

quite easy
it's called a dm - decimeter
10 cm or .1 m

To be quite honest the whole metric system gives me a headache. The weight and distance I pretty much get. But I cannot not seem to grasp the temperature conversion thing. I know the 0c is the temp at which water freezes. and 100c is the temp and which it boils. But when they say that's it 30c outside. I'm putting up my jacket. Because (logically) it should be about 64f. (30+32=62). But the conversion doesn't work like that at all. So if it's 30c out side. I need to on a....dang...I need an aspirin.

temp was hardest to get used to (me = american lived in europe past 2 years).

what helps, aside from boil/freeze, is to remember that body temp is ~36 degrees.

Thanks SiN. I'll keep that in mind. But it still blows me away. Because if ~36 is body temp. That means the US conversion would be 98'F.

Now try to follow me here (yeah, let's let the blind guy lead for awhile. no wonder we're lost). On the Fahrenheit scale, water boils at 212'. And the difference in between normal body temp boiling water is 114 points (212-98=114). Now on the Metric scale the difference in between the two is a mere 64 points (100-36=64). This means I need more aspirin.

OK. I'm an average US person. With education level equal to the average US citizen. Keeping that in mind, I think the above formula answer the thread as to why we are not on the metric system. (But I'm sure if we did, it would be a boom for aspirin sales)

:crazy: Uh, yeah, just like I said right after his original post. :rolleyes:

As for the temp, its a 9/5 conversion factor. Its hard to calculate 9/5 in your head, but its close enough to do a 2:1 factor (like 10/5) to get you in the ball park, and dont forget to add 32 degrees to it.

Good one. Now all I have to do is double the celsius and subtract a few degrees. Good enough to choose a coat, anyway. :)

So. if its 10c outside. Useing your conversion method it would be in the ballpark of 52' (10+10+32=52)) or jacket weather.

Exactly. Thats exactly what I do. Its the "subtract a few degrees" that makes it a lot closer. And remember, the bigger the number, the more you have to subtract.


Yep. The real conversion would make 10 deg c = 50 deg f, but its not like the 2 degrees is going to make a difference in what you wear. It works great for weather type converstions, but if you are talking oven temps, it can be way off.

I think the Federal government already uses the metric system, but states have a choice. For instance, food regulation and labels are federal laws. Hence, grams, liters, calories, etc... Gasoline inspection done on state level, as is highway control. U.S. army, 5.56 mm round, 120 mm shells, 6 clicks to target, etc... Medication (federal controlled) measured in metric. 200 mg pills, 10 ccs fluid, one liter of plasma.

I do remember as a small child seeing kph signs on the highway in Massachusetts.

Ah, sorry.
Reading through the thread I have no idea how I completely missed your post. Many pardons.

Didn't NASA crash a VERY expensive satellite into Mars some years ago because of a transition mistake? That's fucked up.
I think it's a question of proud or something for the americans and brittish. Saw on the news several years ago about the fact that the brittish had passed a law were all foodpackages had to be marked with both kg and pound or whatever. Some old bloak was interview and didn't like it at all. He wondered why they had to adapt, after all "we won the war" he said. Which war??!

Not to clear on the details of the crash, But I do know that NASA is on the metric system.

pick one, Egland has won quite a few, thanks to the help of a few friends

The metric system is wonderful for any application that requires math. Otherwise, it doesn't matter WHAT system you use. A number is a number. In fact, for most measurements (at least the ones the average American actually uses), the imperial number is easier to understand than the metric number. For example, the meter is a horrible distance to judge by. A foot is much easier to judge for a human. Same with temperature - 100 degrees is very close to body temperature, which is much easier to judge by than the boiling point of water.

If I ask what the temperature is outside, I just want to be able to know if I should put on a sweater. For that use, Imperial may actually be better (though ANY other system would work just as well with use). For anything related to math, such as scientific experiments or construction, most people, including Americans, will use metric. Sometimes they'll later convert back to imperial simply to be able to judge the result based on their experience. There's just no reason to spend all the time, money, and effort to convert over to metric, when there really isn't a problem using the current system.

You're right, but if I recal it correctly, it was another company who made a part of the satellite or something that use the brittish/american system an didn't bohter to tell NASA. :hmm:


I guess he meant WWII but that wasn't my point, England may win as many war as they want! It's still a obsolete system...right?

Edit: For the record, a couple of hundred years ago the UK promised the french to start using the metric system if the french agreed on placing the zero median in Greenwich... ;)

I'm a born and raised American, and I'm not really familier with the metric system. I would definately be willing to convert if I thought it would be benifitial to me/us. If the metric system is far superior to our system, then why wouldn't I want to convert? I love trying new things and I'm not afraid of putting a little more work into it, if it will be better for me in the long run.

That being said, many many people (not just Americans) do no like change. If the change requires any amount of effort, then you can forget it. It's quite sad that people are not willing to put forth a little effort to better themselves and the country they live in.

Again, I don't know if the metric system really is better for us or not. I'm really just commenting on why the US won't addapt the metric system.

GeePee S'r, what a great history lesson! Thanks for sharing.

I'm a fan of the metric system, but at the same time I see the current American system as a more natural format. Metric seems so harsh and mathematical. I can't guage a centimeter, but I know that the distance between my finger knuckles is about an inch. I have no concept of a meter, but I know a foot and a yard. And what simple unit in the metric system is equivalent to a foot? Americans would change as soon as foreign trade dictates some essential need, but in the meantime I'll cherish the basic foot and inch while I've got them.

This story is sad, too, considering how the meter is no longer defined by a steel bar but by some fundamental properties of the universe...

Hehe. Yeah! Star Trek can't be wrong, can it? :D

Well the USofA is slowly kind of sinking into the metric system: we have two liter bottles!

Additionally, in and around the small hamlet of corvallis, oregon the road mileage signs now come in both miles and kilometers. I suppose that in the future, there will come a point where both are displayed next to each other, and then one day the Imperial system will just fade away.

Man it's a pain in the ass. I hate having metric units in physics and having to convert to metric. The americans have such a huge pull on the air industry that I'm stuck using imperial in the air too. I can't escape it! It would make research and the likes a lot easier if the world were on the same page.

Yep! One meter is about the length between my (left) shoulder and the fingertips of my (right) outstretched hand or the height from the floor to my waist. My foot is a decimeter (0.1 meter) wide, and one cubic decimeter is exactly one liter. Our milk comes in one liter cartons by the way. One liter of water weighs one kilogram. One kilometer takes ten to fifteen minutes to walk, depending on the terrain and how much in a hurry you are.

The world of sports is already using the metric system. 400 meters is one lap around the arena, 50 meters is the length of the pool. If you can jump 236 centimeters high you win the gold. The goal in handball is two meters high and three meters wide.

I hate not being meteric. Life would be much simpler.

Not quite. Think about American sports. A football field is 100 yards long. Ten yards per down. Baseball is measured in feet. Its a conspiracy!!!! :eek: Pro sports are the real reason the US hasnt switched to the metric system. J/K :D

I refuse to acknowledge non-metric sports.

I know some of the metric system ,but i still perfer the america system.The only part I hate about metric or america system is when i have to convert one number into the other.I have to pull out a paper and check out the formulas.America system is pretty easy though

8oz=1 cup
2 cups=1 pint
2 pints=1 quart
4 quarts = 1 gallon

16oz=one pound
2000 pounds = 1 ton

Now, the only time I ever use the metric system in practice is, when I am brewing, I weigh my hops in grams. The only reason for this is that my scale will measure to eighths of an ouce in English, but to the gram in metric. With 28 grams to the ounce, it's just more sensitive. I really can't envision every having to weight more than about 4 oz of hops at once, so the precision is nice. The way I am using it amounts to making the gram another English unit with a typically oddball conversion ratio.

If beer needs the metric system then it is without question the right way of measuring.

Americans just have to be different to the rest of the world anyway.

For example, Who else in the world writes dates as month/day/year ?

Also, Ameirca's "imperial" system isn't the same as the imperial system used by the rest of the world when going nostalgic for pre-metrication.

For example, US pints are smaller than the 568ml pints used everywhere else. That makes a glass of beer smaller and that is serious ;)

but the metric system is a billion times easier than that, you can't get much easier than multiples of ten. for example, even with your "easy" conversions, it would still take too much calculation to convert... say... oz to gallons. with the metric system, you would just need to divide it by a multiple of 10

Now don't be silly. Beer is to be dispensed in Pints. There is not other civilized way to drink a beer (no, litre steins are not civilized). If I had a scale that did Lbs, Oz, and Grains, then I wouln't bother with Grams at all.

I grew up in a country that uses the Metric system and when i came to the USA I had a few problems, but they are all gone and foot and inches are not that bad at all, allthough weight is a different issue all together the temps I have down pretty good even on the freezing side -40C is -40F lol


Easier
Read this

meter

The meter (abbreviation, m; the British spelling is metre) is the International System of Units (SI) unit of displacement or length. One meter is the distance traveled by a ray of electromagnetic (EM) energy through a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 (3.33564095 x 10-9) of a second. The meter was originally defined as one ten-millionth (0.0000001 or 10-7) of the distance, as measured over the earth's surface in a great circle passing through Paris, France, from the geographic north pole to the equator.

One meter is a little more than three English feet, or about 39.37 inches. One foot is approximately 0.3048 meter. There are about 1609 meters in a statute mile. The official span was at one time formally defined as the separation between two scratches on a platinum bar in Paris. This was, of course, intended mainly for show, and not for use in the laboratory.

Power-of-10 prefix multipliers facilitate the derivation of other, often more convenient, distance units from the meter. One centimeter (cm) is equal to 0.01 m, one millimeter (mm) is equal to 0.001 m, and one kilometer (km) is equal to 1000 m. These units are found in nonscientific as well as scientific literature. Smaller units are the realm of the scientist and engineer. One micrometer (symbolized ?m or ?), also called a micron, is equal to 0.000001 (10-6) m. One nanometer (nm) is equal to 10-9 m. One Angström unit (symbolized Ä) is equal to 10-10 m, or 0.1 nm.

The meter and its kin are used to specify the wavelengths of EM fields. The so-called radio spectrum occupies an informally defined range of wavelengths from roughly a millimeter (microwaves) to several tens of kilometers (myriametric waves). A 3-m radio wave falls near the middle of the standard FM (frequency modulation) broadcast band; a 300-m radio wave is near the middle of the standard AM (amplitude-modulation) broadcast band. The range of visible light wavelengths is from approximately 390 nm (violet) to 770 nm (red). The speed of EM-field propagation in a vacuum, to nine significant figures, is 2.99792458 x 108 meters per second. In this sense, the meter can be derived from the second if the latter unit has been previously defined in absolute terms; one meter is the distance a ray of light travels through a vacuum in 3.33564095 x 10-9 second.

In engineering applications, and also in an everyday sense, the term meter refers to any instrument used to measure the magnitude of a quantity. Examples include the volume-unit (VU) meter in home audio systems, the ammeter to measure electric current, and the kilowatt-hour meter to measure electrical energy consumed over a period of time.

we made a mess we can not clean up ourselves. it's very american in a way that we are very individualistic.

Does anyone know in terms of ratio, what percentage of countries (in the world) use Metric vs Standard? It's just plain dumb to have two sets of tools, units when you work on something. Don't US scientists and engineers also use Metric?

Metric bases on 10-increment, Standard - anything goes???? 2 pints to a quart (2), 4 quarts to a gallon (4), 12 inches to a foot (12), 3 feet to a yard (3), 5280 feet to a mile (5280!). Now for currency, it's a perfect 10-increment!?

I think they do. But it's sad that you have to be a rocket scientist to understand the benifits of the metric system ;)

It's Å actually, as in Ångström. ;)

Not here. That's short-sleeve weather, baby! Woohooo!

Rocket scientist??? Perhaps not, ANY engineer should know how to measure in Metric, and the technicians. Don't think we are too old to learn new tricks, are we?

:D :D :D

I dont know, are you? :hmm: ;)

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. :)

As someone stated... the US already is a Metric nation... It just isn't being enforced.

Maybe I like the US system because it's easier to measure when you have measuring tape.Like alot of people been saying.

Imperial might seem easier to you because you may not be used to the metric system. I use both and am comfortable with both. That said, the metric system is much simpler to use.
what's easier?
16mm + 23mm =?
or
13/16 of an inch + 9/32 of an inch =?

Damn you got me,yeah guess you guys are right.

let me give you the answers so people don't think i don't know.

39mm
35/32 = 1 3/32

Umm neither is much harder... its simple maths there...

I know,but there more steps with the fraction.

No one said they were hard, just that one is easier than the other.

as a pharmacuetical scientist in training, all i use is the metric system, no one wants a pint of medication or a gallon of fluid. Its just so much easier and less fool proof

Beg to differ. All depends on what you're medicating....
<img src="http://ip.rhps.org/gallery/sn/01/ed-yelling.jpg">
and the prescription...
<img src="http://www.brunningandprice.co.uk/images/beers/8.jpg">
That should be prescribed by the pint or gallon. (Take 8 pints before bedtime.)