The metric system

[Hitchabrut]

Scientists have long been using the metric system, but no on else seems to use it.

It really makes a lot more sense than the system we use.  Basing everything on a 10-factor makes it a lot easier to compute than the hodgepodge system we use. 

1 mile = 5,280 feet 
1 acre = 43,560 square feet
1 foot = 12 inches
1 yard = 3 feet .....

...on and on.  It's hard to remember.  The metric system makes a lot more sense, if we could ever bring ourselves to learn it.

[muon2]

In the 1970's there was a great push from the government to get people to "think metric". It was mostly a bust, since as dazzleman posted, popular use of units is mostly about having a mental sense of the magnitude of the unit.

Since then, the commercial sector has very successfully introduced some metric measures that are now well accepted. A one-liter or two-liter beverage container is standard in the US (except for milk). Liquor is also measured in metric containers. US dieters worry about grams of fat and carbs, but don't worry that those are metric units. Metric tools are also pretty common, and with their continued use the millimeter will be more frequently used as well. The illegal market pushes drugs in kilos (kilograms).

The government started with centigrade and kilometers, but those didn't have market use to back them up. The market picked units that it needed or found more economical. Over time, I expect more and more metric units to find their way naturally to the US.

[PBrunsel]

No, I wish to stick with the English System. Why do what everyone else was doing? If everyone else was jumping off a bridge, would you?

[ilikeverin]

\/\/007 Metric System all the way!

[7,052,770]

sure, why not convert?  It'd take a little time of heartache getting mental images of the new measurements, but in the long run it'd be much easier.

[Gabu]

No, I wish to stick with the English System. Why do what everyone else was doing? If everyone else was jumping off a bridge, would you?

As I said before, which you would know if you knew how to read (), switching to the metric system is a way to make things easier, not just to do it for the heck of it.  The metric system makes a lot more sense and is a lot easier than the English system.

[David S]

Metric is definitely easier to learn and to use. It takes some getting used to though. Most Americans have a feel for the english system. For example we know car tire pressure should be around 30 lbs per square inch, but how much is that in pascals or megapascals? Gas is $2.30 per gallon and it takes 16 gallons to fill up but how much does it cost per Liter? And how many liters does it take to fill up? Yeah we can look it up but we don't have a feel for it. Speed limits can be a problem for a while too especially in older cars that don't have speedometers calibrated in KPH.

All of the other countries made the transition; I don't see why America couldn't.

Yeah we could and to be honest I don't know why we haven't . Just stubborn I guess.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Our resistance to change largely had to do with us having a large internal market compared to most countries.  I suspect that we will eventually go entirely metric except for land.  After all, we still use a slightly different definition of the distance units for maps and deeds because converting all the maps and deeds from 1 yard = 3600/3937 meter to 1 yard =  0.9144 meter was considered to be too much effort.

The sooner we go metric the better, but political reality requires that we go slow.  Dual unit road signage and requiring new ovens to have dual temperature scales I think should be the next frontier for promoting metrification.

[Bugs]

Many countries that use the metric system today had mo standard system before the metric system came along, so making the change wasn't much of an issue.  Countries that actually did make a change, such as Australia and Canada, had a major headache while making the change, but no regrets now.  The English system is much more deeply intrenched in the US now than it was in Canada when it changed, and so the problem isn't whether or not the metric system is a good system, but making the change.  Some things would never change, such as the NFL.  Cooking and auto mechanics would be much easier with the metric system. 

[Bandit3 the Worker]

If Canada had waited until now to implement the metric system, it probably would have been much more difficult.

In fact, it probably would have been next to impossible.

[Inverted Things]

The first step is to change all the road signs from miles and miles per hour to kilometers and kilometers per hour. Then, change drink sizes.

We use so much metric anyways. We buy our pop in 2 liter bottles, we measure fat in grams, we count calories, our liquor is generally measured metrically.

We already use the metric system extensively, just not exclusively.

We shouldn't bother changing acrea to hectares, or redesigning every real estate legal descriptions for a LONG time.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

I read somewhere that there are three countries that don't use the metric system.  One is Liberia, which has picked up a lot of quirks from us...I don't remember the other one.

I would favor going to the metric system.  I don't really see why it would need to affect sports.  A lot of other countries play baseball, for instance, and I don't think they've made the base paths 30 meters...but I could be wrong.   And even if we don't do it for distance, there's no reason not to do it for weight and volume.

Temperature, I'm not sure.  Celsius isn't really "metric" in the same was as other measurement systems, since there is only one "unit," and it does have it's disadvantages.  It's not really very informative to say its in "the 20's" outside in Celsius.

[Hatman 🍁]

Personally, I like the metric system. It is almost impossible to get through school without using it. Besides, are we the only country that hasn't converted?

Not quite, Myanmar and Liberia still have not converted either. Some great company there. Other than that, every other country has converted.

Here in Canada, everything but cooking and personal meausurments  (height, weight) are done in metric. I find the U.S. system very difficult to figure out. Especially farenheit. It makes no sense. why is 32 the freezing mark?

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Hey, what do countries that use metric system call 8.5"X11" paper?  How about 3x5 cards?  Do these convert cleanly into metric, or do they use different sizes?

[Hatman 🍁]

Hey, what do countries that use metric system call 8.5"X11" paper?  How about 3x5 cards?  Do these convert cleanly into metric, or do they use different sizes?

Those terms are not common enough in someone's vocabulary to be of concern. At least, not mine.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

8.5x11 is regular letter-size paper in the US; the kind everyone buys for their printers.  I think it is slightly different than "A4", which I believe is standard in other contexts.  "Legal paper"  is 8.5x14.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Hey, what do countries that use metric system call 8.5"X11" paper? How about 3x5 cards? Do these convert cleanly into metric, or do they use different sizes?

Most of the world uses the ISO (aka DIN paper sizes) with the A series being the most popular set of sizes.  They are all based on having a consistent ratio of √2 to 1 rounded to the nearest millimeter.  The base size in the A series A0 has an area of 1m².  You get a sheet of A1 by cutting an A0 in half and so forth.  The closest equivalent  to US letter size paper is A4 paper, which is 210mm × 297 mm (±2 mm) compared to the US letter size of (216 × 279 mm).  The B series is sized in between the various A sizes, but is not as commonly used,  the C series fills in gaps between the A and B series and is mostly used to make envelopes used to hold sheets of A series sized paper.  The D series (a DIN standard, but not an ISO standard like the A, B, and C seriies are) fills in the gap between the B and A series and can be used for envelopes for B series sized paper.  Officialy, Canada uses a metricated version of the US standard, rounded to multiples of 5 mm.  P4 is thus (215 × 280 mm)

Considering that as Governor I put in place the Southeastern Paper Size Regulations, I think it can be said that I know far too much about paper sizes.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

BTW, you can fairly easily find A4 paper here in the US, altho it usually sells for a small premium over letter size, but no more than legal size.  (In fact it’s often the same price as legal).  Considering that A4 is larger than letter and smaller than legal, that’s about right.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Not quite, Myanmar and Liberia still have not converted either. Some great company there. Other than that, every other country has converted.

Including Iran, Singapore, and North Korea. Some real great company there!

[Gabu]

Hey, what do countries that use metric system call 8.5"X11" paper?  How about 3x5 cards?  Do these convert cleanly into metric, or do they use different sizes?

I just call them "eight and a half by eleven paper" and "three by five cards"; as was the case in yardage in football, there's no real reason to convert things into metric if it doesn't make them simpler.

Temperature, I'm not sure. Celsius isn't really "metric" in the same was as other measurement systems, since there is only one "unit," and it does have it's disadvantages. It's not really very informative to say its in "the 20's" outside in Celsius.

The only reason it's not informative to you to say that it's 20 degrees Celsius outside is because you don't have a feel for what that is.  Me, I say things like "it must be 30 degrees outside today" all the time, because I know that that's a very hot day.  I have absolutely no clue what the heck an "80 degree day" is - to me, that sounds like it's almost boiling water!

Here in Canada, everything but cooking and personal meausurments (height, weight) are done in metric. I find the U.S. system very difficult to figure out. Especially farenheit. It makes no sense. why is 32 the freezing mark?

The story that I heard behind Fahrenheit was that the guy who invented it decided to set 0 to be the lowest temperature measured in his town in a year, and 100 to be the highest temperature measured in his town in a year.

Of course, these baselines are not very useful if you aren't in his town.

If Canada had waited until now to implement the metric system, it probably would have been much more difficult.

In fact, it probably would have been next to impossible.

Why?  What exactly has changed between now and then?

[Redefeatbush04]

It is a good idea but if it is done it must be done gradually, preferablly by teaching kids both.

[Lunar]

I think gradually shifting to the metric system makes a lot of sense.  Our scientists and whatnot have already done so in order to communicate with their international colleagues.

It would make international business and transactions a bit smoother, which would ultimately benefit us.

[dazzleman]

It is a good idea but if it is done it must be done gradually, preferablly by teaching kids both.

I learned the metric system in 4th grade......in 1972.  If that isn't long enough, I don't know how much more gradual we can make it.

[minionofmidas]

Other - I do not favor switching away from the metric system.

[Redefeatbush04]

It is a good idea but if it is done it must be done gradually, preferablly by teaching kids both.

I learned the metric system in 4th grade......in 1972.  If that isn't long enough, I don't know how much more gradual we can make it.

I meant that you can't just change our speed limits to kilometer per hour overnight . Kids should be taught both at a young age. Once they have learned the US version there is no need to keep re-emphasyzing it in schooling, because they will be regularly exposed to it. The metric system should be used throughout their education.