Why is the U.S. still refusing to switch to the metric system?

[ronde]

Even Britain and Canada have caught up.

Whenever I read something that uses imperial units, I just keep going, hoping I can figure out what they actually mean from context. And if I can’t, well, too bad, because I’m definitely not stopping to open a calculator.

Funny enough, the U.S. did officially adopt the metric system back in 1975, but Reagan scrapped it in 1982.

I can roughly estimate miles and pounds by multiplying by 1.61 and 0.45. But ounces, gallons, acres? Yeah, no thanks.

And Fahrenheit? That one is just ridiculous. Fahrenheit arbitrarily set 96 degrees as body temperature based on his wife’s armpit. Seriously? At least Celsius makes sense. Zero is freezing, and everything goes up or down from there in a clean, logical way.

When I read that a character is six feet tall, I know that is 1.83 meters. But then what? The next unit is a whole inch, 2.54 centimeters. There is no smooth progression like 1.84 or 1.85 meters. The jump is straight to 1.865, which just feels clunky and imprecise.

So what's the deal? Why cling to a system barely anyone else uses? Why not just make the switch?

In case you hadn't noticed, it's nearly impossible to find any manufactured item in the US that still uses the imperial system of measurement. The automotive industry changed to metric about 40 years ago and the rest of industry followed. The scientific fields, chemistry, physics, medicine, etc. have used the metric system long before that.

The reason we still use the imperial system for things other than manufacturing like temperature, distance, areas, etc. is that over half the US population grew up learning imperial measurements from their parents. Using the metric system makes no more sense to them that using he imperial system does to you.

There's also he cost to change the existing infrastructure. For instance, all homes in the US are designed using the imperial system because all the building materials in the US also use the imperial system. If we made the change and you wanted to add on to your home, you'd be cutting or shimming every piece of lumber. It would cost a fortune anytime a city needed to change water piping. Every map, highway sign, and property deed would have to be changed.

 

[MiaBabe23]

Even Britain and Canada have caught up.

Whenever I read something that uses imperial units, I just keep going, hoping I can figure out what they actually mean from context. And if I can’t, well, too bad, because I’m definitely not stopping to open a calculator.

Funny enough, the U.S. did officially adopt the metric system back in 1975, but Reagan scrapped it in 1982.

I can roughly estimate miles and pounds by multiplying by 1.61 and 0.45. But ounces, gallons, acres? Yeah, no thanks.

And Fahrenheit? That one is just ridiculous. Fahrenheit arbitrarily set 96 degrees as body temperature based on his wife’s armpit. Seriously? At least Celsius makes sense. Zero is freezing, and everything goes up or down from there in a clean, logical way.

When I read that a character is six feet tall, I know that is 1.83 meters. But then what? The next unit is a whole inch, 2.54 centimeters. There is no smooth progression like 1.84 or 1.85 meters. The jump is straight to 1.865, which just feels clunky and imprecise.

So what's the deal? Why cling to a system barely anyone else uses? Why not just make the switch?

Because with all the hassle and costs that would involve for the government and businesses, and the complete lack of need or reason to do so - now’s the time, right?

 

[Robin_Starveling]

That's because someone used 8mm (you know, metric) film cameras.

And of course there was the Hubble Space Telescope debacle where (ahem) someone used the wrong measuring system to build the parabolic mirror and it didn't match up with the properly-built-because-they-used-the-correct-kind-of-math telescope.

I think it has something to do with switchery in schools. I have 8 fingers and 2 thumbs, not 10 "digits." Which, coincidentally, seems to be the common theme with the metric system which is based on 10 instead of 4. You know, 4. Like the number of fingers I have on each hand.

Actually, our ancestors used their thumbs to count the twelve segments on the other four fingers. That's one of the reasons base twelve has stuck around and is still fairly common today.

For example, the word ounce comes from the Latin uncia, meaning one-twelfth. We also still have twelve inches in a foot.

Using body parts like the foot, cubit, or digit as units of measurement was intuitive and practical at the time. But since the average human body has changed over the centuries, sticking to those old values doesn't make much sense anymore. The Roman foot, called pes, was about 29.6 centimeters, while today it is standardized at 30.48 centimeters. The Roman mile, meaning a thousand double steps, was roughly 1,480 meters, while the modern mile is 1,609 meters.

The imperial system is a mix of ancient measurements based on different and often inconsistent scales. Modern mathematics, on the other hand, is based on base ten, so the metric system naturally fits the way we already think and calculate.

That said, I would leave time out of the discussion. The Babylonians used base sixty, which is why we have sixty seconds in a minute, sixty minutes in an hour, and three hundred sixty degrees in a circle. Since a resting heart rate is roughly one beat per second, the system still feels fairly intuitive. That said, if someone ever decided to switch to a ten-hour day with one thousand time units per hour, I could live with that too.

 

[HisArpy]

Actually, our ancestors used their thumbs to count the twelve segments on the other four fingers. That is one of the reasons base twelve has stuck around and is still fairly common today.

For example, the word ounce comes from the Latin uncia, meaning one-twelfth. We also still have twelve inches in a foot.

Using body parts like the foot, cubit, or digit as units of measurement was intuitive and practical at the time. But since the average human body has changed over the centuries, sticking to those old values does not make much sense anymore. The Roman foot, called pes, was about 29.6 centimeters, while today it is standardized at 30.48 centimeters. The Roman mile, meaning a thousand double steps, was roughly 1,480 meters, while the modern mile is 1,609 meters.

The imperial system is a mix of ancient measurements based on different and often inconsistent scales. Modern mathematics, on the other hand, is based on base ten, so the metric system naturally fits the way we already think and calculate.

That said, I would leave time out of the discussion. The Babylonians used base sixty, which is why we have sixty seconds in a minute, sixty minutes in an hour, and three hundred sixty degrees in a circle. Since a resting heart rate is roughly one beat per second, the system still feels fairly intuitive. That said, if someone ever decided to switch to a ten-hour day with one thousand time units per hour, I could live with that too.

So you're good with switching and causing chaos worldwide because, fuck all?

 

[ll74]

So you're good with switching and causing chaos worldwide because, fuck all?

Our President does this daily

 

[HisArpy]

Our President does this daily

But, but, TRUMP!!!!

You need a new schtick, that one isn't working anymore.

 

[ll74]

But, but, TRUMP!!!!

Yes, our President.

You need a new schtick, that one isn't working anymore.

When he's not President, I won't have a comment on his governmental actions

 

[Robin_Starveling]

So you're good with switching and causing chaos worldwide because, fuck all?

Dude, it's just you and Liberia still using imperial units. Most of the readers aren’t American. If you don’t care that they get confused and it messes with their reading experience, then I guess I won’t either.

 

[CX726577]

We seem to be ok with it for running. 5k, 10k but then get stuck and call it a half marathon or marathon.

 

[HisArpy]

Dude, it's just you and Liberia still using imperial units. Most of the readers aren’t American. If you don’t care that they get confused and it messes with their reading experience, then I guess I won’t either.

This isn't my problem. If you can't speak the language when in Rome, don't blame the Romans.

 

[Pad_Foot]

Ultra marathon = 50 km

Unfortunately the distance from Marathon to Athens was just one marathon.

 

[ll74]

Ultra marathon = 50 km

Unfortunately the distance from Marathon to Athens was just one marathon.

Technically an ultra is anything beyond 26.2 miles.

26.3 is an ultra

 

[ChloeTzang]

I mean I figure you're a smart lad who can make sense of this data:

View attachment 2556784

https://www.factorywarrantylist.com/car-sales-by-country.html

You know what's worse - I have been to around 10 or 11 of those countries where they drive on the wrong side of the road and it's horrifying how many of them don't realize they're on the wrong side - and when you drive on the correct side of the road there, they scream and scream and scream.....

 

[ChloeTzang]

Actually what really bugs me is the way the Commonwealth countries went off the pound shillings and pence system.

I mean, the British had a lovely and totally unique currency with pounds, shillings and pence and all sorts of weird coins and notes (the ten shilling note - a shilling was also called a bob, so the 10 shilling note was called a "ten bob note" or half a quid!). And 12 pence to a shilling but 20 shillings to a pound - and because a shilling was 12 pence, you had sixpenny (a "tanner") and thruppeny and then tuppence and a penny, and then a halfpenny, a farthing (1/4 of a penny). There was also a fourpence coin called a groat. LOL. And a two shilling coin called a florin. There was a half-crown which was two shilling s and sixpence, and a Crown, which was 5 shillings. And a ten shilling coin was a "half-sovereign" which a 10 shilling note was a quid. And then there was a one pound coin (a sovereign)

24 shillings to the pound and all sorts of weird things like florins and half-crowns, sixpence and thrupenny bits and halfpennies and farthings. There was a half-guinea which was 10 shillings and sixpence, and a Guinea, which was 1 pound and 1 shilling

pounds (£ or l in some documents) shillings (s. or /-) and pennies (d.). Thus, 4 pounds, eight shillings and fourpence would be written as £4/8/4d. or £4-8-4d. The "L S D" stands for the Latin words "libra", "solidus" and "denarius". So the denominations call came from Latin.

I mean, how cool is that. Why on earth would your replace such artistry and tradition with a plebian decimal system. Whoever made that change should be impaled on stakes to die in agony like the barbarians they were.

 

[eric_erosfan]

Actually what really bugs me is the way the Commonwealth countries went off the pound shillings and pence system.

I mean, the British had a lovely and totally unique currency with pounds, shillings and pence and all sorts of weird coins and notes (the ten shilling note - a shilling was also called a bob, so the 10 shilling note was called a "ten bob note" or half a quid!). And 12 pence to a shilling but 20 shillings to a pound - and because a shilling was 12 pence, you had sixpenny (a "tanner") and thruppeny and then tuppence and a penny, and then a halfpenny, a farthing (1/4 of a penny). There was also a fourpence coin called a groat. LOL. And a two shilling coin called a florin. There was a half-crown which was two shilling s and sixpence, and a Crown, which was 5 shillings. And a ten shilling coin was a "half-sovereign" which a 10 shilling note was a quid. And then there was a one pound coin (a sovereign)

24 shillings to the pound and all sorts of weird things like florins and half-crowns, sixpence and thrupenny bits and halfpennies and farthings. There was a half-guinea which was 10 shillings and sixpence, and a Guinea, which was 1 pound and 1 shilling

pounds (£ or l in some documents) shillings (s. or /-) and pennies (d.). Thus, 4 pounds, eight shillings and fourpence would be written as £4/8/4d. or £4-8-4d. The "L S D" stands for the Latin words "libra", "solidus" and "denarius". So the denominations call came from Latin.

I mean, how cool is that. Why on earth would your replace such artistry and tradition with a plebian decimal system. Whoever made that change should be impaled on stakes to die in agony like the barbarians they were.

When I would visit Europe decades ago I would head out with 2 or 3 pieces of paper currency (pounds or marks pre-EU) and come back to my hotel room with pockets full of rocks. I felt like like I had come back from Scrooge McDuck's vault.

 

[Pad_Foot]

When I would visit Europe decades ago I would head out with 2 or 3 pieces of paper currency (pounds or marks pre-EU) and come back to my hotel room with pockets full of rocks. I felt like like I had come back from Scrooge McDuck's vault.

Hmmm.. did Scrooge have gold coins or paper money in there. How'd the duck get all the gold coins? Was he a pirate??

We have TRIED many times to get rid of the dollar bill and switch to coins. Americans won't do it. Then again, our dollar coins are always stupidly close to quarters in their most recent versions.

If you failed to use say, pounds or euro coins as you did your business, and kept hauling out huge paper bills? That's on you.

AND............ please never ever go ANYWHERE else on the planet Earth from here on out!!

 

[Pad_Foot]

Dude, it's just you and Liberia still using imperial units. Most of the readers aren’t American. If you don’t care that they get confused and it messes with their reading experience, then I guess I won’t either.

WHAT?????????????? Myanmar switched ?? How dare they do that !!
They changed from BURMA to Myanmar and now this!!! Amerikkka's way FIRST damn it!!

 

[ChloeTzang]

When I would visit Europe decades ago I would head out with 2 or 3 pieces of paper currency (pounds or marks pre-EU) and come back to my hotel room with pockets full of rocks. I felt like like I had come back from Scrooge McDuck's vault.

LOL I have jar of them from twenty years ago, plus a photo album of English, Scottish and Irish bank notes. What sirprised me was that you have different banks that issue banknotes too - the Bank of Engliand in England, but in Scotland THREE banks issue banknotes (Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank) and in Northern Ireland - the Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, and I have some from the Allied Irish Bank, First Trust Bank and Northern Bank. I loved it that you have different banks doing bank notes. Altho I also found f you tried to use the scottish notes in England it was a bit of a mix as to whether people would take them or not.

 

[73Seahawks]

Subscribed and following this discussion thread with intriguing interest.

 

[eric_erosfan]

Hmmm.. did Scrooge have gold coins or paper money in there. How'd the duck get all the gold coins? Was he a pirate??

We have TRIED many times to get rid of the dollar bill and switch to coins. Americans won't do it. Then again, our dollar coins are always stupidly close to quarters in their most recent versions.

If you failed to use say, pounds or euro coins as you did your business, and kept hauling out huge paper bills? That's on you.

AND............ please never ever go ANYWHERE else on the planet Earth from here on out!!

I mean paper currency fit in my wallet better. I had to tighten my belt so all the coins I received as change wouldn't pull my pants down as I walked through the streets of Europe.

Hopefully it is all cashless over there now like in America.

 

[Pad_Foot]

I mean paper currency fit in my wallet better. I had to tighten my belt so all the coins I received as change wouldn't pull my pants down as I walked through the streets of Europe.

Hopefully it is all cashless over there now like in America.

I understood you issue
Me? I liked the poundage in my hand with pounds for avoiding muggings
And yes(?) even Greece has gone plastic

 

[HisArpy]

LOL I have jar of them from twenty years ago...

I know Asian girls tend to age well, but there's your avatar and now this? Not believing it. Not one bit.

 

[Wat_Tyler]

I don’t care either way.

I learned all about the metric system in the army cuz NATO is all metric. 30mm wrenches for tank end connectors (links), 25mm for the tracks themselves. Didn’t have to do much conversion there.

100 m is pretty much 100 yards
A kilometer is about 2/3 of a mile

The temperature thing kind of threw me at first but zero is 32 and 16 is 61 and I can kind of estimate it and figure it out. I know 40 is hot as fuck.

Tracer burnout for an m240 machine gun is at 900 m. Maximum effective range 1200 m. Max range 1800m which was a little over a mile.

M2 .50 cal (or 12.7mm if you wish) had a max effective range of 1800m and max range of 2400m (about a mile and a mile and a half respectively)

Doesn’t make a lick of fucking difference to me.

I've measured shit all my life and couldn't care less which system we use and anyone else uses. I have tools for all occasions.


I do know this: if you can't read a fucking measuring tape, you still can't read one no matter which system it is.

 

[ChloeTzang]

I know Asian girls tend to age well, but there's your avatar and now this? Not believing it. Not one bit.

LOL I've been on Literotica for 10 years - joined in 2015. It's giving away my age, lol, but I went there when I was 12 LOL with my mom and dad for an entire summer. Canal Boating, the Lake District, Scotland, Ireland, lots of old castles and things, hiking on Hadrians wall, it was great fun.

 

[Wonderer67]

Actually what really bugs me is the way the Commonwealth countries went off the pound shillings and pence system.

I mean, the British had a lovely and totally unique currency with pounds, shillings and pence and all sorts of weird coins and notes (the ten shilling note - a shilling was also called a bob, so the 10 shilling note was called a "ten bob note" or half a quid!). And 12 pence to a shilling but 20 shillings to a pound - and because a shilling was 12 pence, you had sixpenny (a "tanner") and thruppeny and then tuppence and a penny, and then a halfpenny, a farthing (1/4 of a penny). There was also a fourpence coin called a groat. LOL. And a two shilling coin called a florin. There was a half-crown which was two shilling s and sixpence, and a Crown, which was 5 shillings. And a ten shilling coin was a "half-sovereign" which a 10 shilling note was a quid. And then there was a one pound coin (a sovereign)

24 shillings to the pound and all sorts of weird things like florins and half-crowns, sixpence and thrupenny bits and halfpennies and farthings. There was a half-guinea which was 10 shillings and sixpence, and a Guinea, which was 1 pound and 1 shilling

pounds (£ or l in some documents) shillings (s. or /-) and pennies (d.). Thus, 4 pounds, eight shillings and fourpence would be written as £4/8/4d. or £4-8-4d. The "L S D" stands for the Latin words "libra", "solidus" and "denarius". So the denominations call came from Latin.

I mean, how cool is that. Why on earth would your replace such artistry and tradition with a plebian decimal system. Whoever made that change should be impaled on stakes to die in agony like the barbarians they were.

£SD