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

[Tweedledude]

I think we are still stunned by the spectacular failure NASA had when using the metric system. I still chuckle when i think of that mars landing where someone mixed systems. Kaboom ouch.

 

[Baztrachian]

Even Britain and Canada have caught up.

Britain still uses imperial measurements alongside the metric system, particularly for road signs, distances, and certain food and drink sales like beer and cider. While the metric system is more common in many areas, imperial units remain part of everyday life for many people.

- GovUK

 

[Baztrachian]

Yeah, good luck turning that cubic yard into inches spread over your yard.

27 cubic feet x 144 cubic inches = 3,888 cubic inches per cubic yard.

Damned shame you missed that in fourth grade.

 

[Typo Fu Master]

I'm probably biased but describing penis length in inches sounds much sexier.

Do people in the UK measure penis length in centimeters?

 

[dmallord]

27 cubic feet x 144 cubic inches = 3,888 cubic inches per cubic yard.

Damned shame you missed that in fourth grade.

Sorry to put ice in your underwear, Quimosabe, but that's just laughably wrong.

The statement is inaccurate because 1 cubic foot equals 1,728 cubic inches, not 144 cubic inches.

• 1 cubic foot is equal to 1,728 cubic inches. This is found by multiplying 12 inches x 12 inches x 12 inches (since 1 foot = 12 inches).
• Therefore, 1 cubic yard is equal to 46,656 cubic inches (27 cubic feet x 1728 cubic inches/cubic foot).

And to further clarify another misstatement, this topic is generally not taught in fourth grade. The concept of cubes is introduced there, but its application aspects are typically explored in middle school, where it is part of most curriculum programs around sixth, seventh, and eighth grades.

 

[dmallord]

I'm probably biased but describing penis length in inches sounds much sexier.

Do people in the UK measure penis length in centimeters?

NOt sure inches make things 'sound' sexy. I believe it's in the descriptions of heavy breathing, moans, gasps, lunges, and gargling sounds for some of the sex acts.

I hear, maybe unreliably, English penises are measured in short durations, or time to be more specific.

Based on several studies, including one published in the British Journal of Urology International, here's how penis size is generally measured:

• Length (Erect): The average erect penis length is approximately 5.2 inches (13.12 cm).
• Girth (Erect): The average erect penis girth (circumference) is around 4.6 inches (11.66 cm).
• Length (Flaccid): The average flaccid penis length, from base to tip, is around 3.6 inches or 9.16 centimeters.
• Girth (Flaccid): The average flaccid penis circumference is around 3.7 inches, or 9.31 centimeters.

None of those numbers sounds sexy to me. But maybe medical numbers are not as sexy as Lit story numbers make them out to be.

 

[Pad_Foot]

27 cubic feet x 144 cubic inches = 3,888 cubic inches per cubic yard.

Damned shame you missed that in fourth grade.

Dude .., now spread that over your 2 ft by 12.5 yard..

I think I gave you a four ft circle.

You failed. Wow? Sad!! Now you are fired cuz that’s what failure means in the real world. We will work with a different company

 

[Wonderer67]

How many pecks are in a metric fuckton??

 

[dmallord]

How many pecks are in a metric fuckton??

Well, this is another example of a train off the tracks question and answer. But I don't want anyone to go to sleep tonight wondering about the answer, so here it is:

A metric fuckton is a measurement of mass (weight).
A peck is a measurement of volume (space).

Neither is a convertible unit into the other; consequently, the question is unanswerable—unless we consult the 2024 International Bureau of Irrelevant Measurements, which states that one metric fuckton equals roughly 3.2 imperial truckloads of bad math, or exactly 42 pecks of “you clearly made this up.”

 

[Wonderer67]

Well, this is another example of a train off the tracks question and answer. But I don't want anyone to go to sleep tonight wondering about the answer, so here it is:

A metric fuckton is a measurement of mass (weight).
A peck is a measurement of volume (space).

Neither is a convertible unit into the other; consequently, the question is unanswerable—unless we consult the 2024 International Bureau of Irrelevant Measurements, which states that one metric fuckton equals roughly 3.2 imperial truckloads of bad math, or exactly 42 pecks of “you clearly made this up.”

I like to skirt on the fringes of society, sanity and structure and spread chaos liberally.

 

[Wat_Tyler]

I like to skirt on the fringes of society, sanity and structure and spread chaos liberally.

You therefore should come up with/develop your very own measuring system. It might catch on if presented properly.

 

[Wonderer67]

You therefore should come up with/develop your very own measuring system. It might catch on if presented properly.

Smidgeons would be a unit of measurement to be sure.
Fucktons would be a unit of weight.
Volume would be in dickaliters.

 

[Wat_Tyler]

Smidgeons would be a unit of measurement to be sure.
Fucktons would be a unit of weight.
Volume would be in dickaliters.

And as-fucks could be a unit of temperature.


Smidgeons could be calibrated from a particular cat's tail length.


And then divided by 23 to make measuring small stuff more practical.

 

[dmallord]

I like to skirt on the fringes of society, sanity and structure and spread chaos liberally.

You did well with this one. Carry on... but tread carefully... the room is filled with gullibles and most of them have no sense of humor. You could cause more than chaos among them, and we'd have to find a way to put out those flames again.

As it is, many of the insane people who came across the borders, north and south, seem to have landed here. So there is that.

 

[dream_yahoozie]

I don't know if it's been said already, but probably because American men refuse to measure in anything but inches lol

 

[PersonalFavors]

I don't know if it's been said already, but probably because American men refuse to measure in anything but inches lol

I have a ruler that’s a foot. I have little rulers that are 6 to 8 inches that have metric on them. And I have a meter stick. None of my 25 feet tape measures have metric on them. Carpenter’s rule, nope no metric.
When you buy nuts and bolts the thread count on metrics have thread count that matches the standards Set in inches.
I’m American and measure in inches because when you try and do things metric you always reach a point where it has to be inches or nothing matches up. None of the standard size wood products are metric. I remember being in the hardware store and a guy that looked like tweedledudes avatar was trying to explain metric inches. I had to wait for him to finish before I could think straight.

 

[VictoriaWrites]

I’ve participated in 5K events the tee shirts look more impressive than if they said 3.2 miles.

 

[eric_erosfan]

Funny thing is in the Army on the M-16 range you fire at pop-up targets for qualification between 75 and 300 meters. We learned to read grid maps divided into 1 KM "clicks" So American kids becoming soldiers quickly figure out the metric system to learn how to stay alive.

 

[dmallord]

Funny thing is in the Army on the M-16 range you fire at pop-up targets for qualification between 75 and 300 meters. We learned to read grid maps divided into 1 KM "clicks" So American kids becoming soldiers quickly figure out the metric system to learn how to stay alive.

M-16 basic training focuses on hitting targets, not on measuring how far down range they are. Staying alive isn't taught in terms of metric or yards. You achieve that level in an actual battle, under live fire, in the first minute of combat; metric be damned when it comes to staying live. My $0.02.

 

[eric_erosfan]

M-16 basic training focuses on hitting targets, not on measuring how far down range they are. Staying alive isn't taught in terms of metric or yards. You achieve that level in an actual battle, under live fire, in the first minute of combat; metric be damned when it comes to staying live. My $0.02.

Well you better hope the guy calling in artillery strikes figured out metric distances.

 

[dmallord]

I have a ruler that’s a foot. I have little rulers that are 6 to 8 inches that have metric on them. And I have a meter stick. None of my 25 feet tape measures have metric on them. Carpenter’s rule, nope no metric.
When you buy nuts and bolts the thread count on metrics have thread count that matches the standards Set in inches.
I’m American and measure in inches because when you try and do things metric you always reach a point where it has to be inches or nothing matches up. None of the standard size wood products are metric. I remember being in the hardware store and a guy that looked like tweedledudes avatar was trying to explain metric inches. I had to wait for him to finish before I could think straight.

Me too! Just a wordy vocab note. They are called rules. Rulers are people. We often use 'ruler' for tape measures and similar tools, to the point where no one is aware of the distinction. I think I learned that tidbit in my sixties.

When I was much younger, all my measuring devices were Craftsman. Later replacements had both, but it was clearly a lost cause since not many people I worked with used that system. Plywood thickness today, oddly, is metric, while the LxW is standard. That change caused issues with router bits over that, unless you special-ordered mm router bits.

Once I set out to convert my woodworking to metric. I tried to do the mental gymnastics of converting those in my head. Even bought metric-specific rules, etc. Followed the Englishman, Peter Parfitt, and his designs and tools. At just the point where I had some grip of the conversions, life issues rose, and I've not been back into the workshop since. Spiders and rust have settled in partnership without me.

 

[dmallord]

Well you better hope the guy calling in artillery strikes figured out metric distances.

That's a different skill set, AIT level, and lesson in survival. Our training there definitely depended upon knowing those calibrations. If you didn't, you became a cook.

 

[Robin_Starveling]

Me too! Just a wordy vocab note. They are called rules. Rulers are people. We often use 'ruler' for tape measures and similar tools, to the point where no one is aware of the distinction. I think I learned that tidbit in my sixties.

When I was much younger, all my measuring devices were Craftsman. Later replacements had both, but it was clearly a lost cause since not many people I worked with used that system. Plywood thickness today, oddly, is metric, while the LxW is standard. That change caused issues with router bits over that, unless you special-ordered mm router bits.

Once I set out to convert my woodworking to metric. I tried to do the mental gymnastics of converting those in my head. Even bought metric-specific rules, etc. Followed the Englishman, Peter Parfitt, and his designs and tools. At just the point where I had some grip of the conversions, life issues rose, and I've not been back into the workshop since. Spiders and rust have settled in partnership without me.

What’s so hard about getting used to the metric system? It’s simple decimal arithmetic: multiply or divide by ten, or powers of ten.

One hundred centimeters make a meter. A thousand meters make a kilometer. A thousand grams make a kilogram, and a thousand kilograms make a ton.

Zero is freezing, 100 is boiling -- basic.


Meanwhile... 12 inches in a foot, 3 feet in a yard... and 1,760 yards in a mile.

 

[dmallord]

What’s so hard about getting used to the metric system? It’s simple decimal arithmetic: multiply or divide by ten, or powers of ten.

One hundred centimeters make a meter. A thousand meters make a kilometer. A thousand grams make a kilogram, and a thousand kilograms make a ton.

Zero is freezing, 100 is boiling -- basic.


Meanwhile... 12 inches in a foot, 3 feet in a yard... and 1,760 yards in a mile.

Robin, the concept of changing the system isn't difficult. The U.S. has a history of engaging with the metric system, including being an original signatory to the Treaty of the Meter in 1875, a few years before I was born so most of us have forgotten we have a lengthy connection with metrics. It's been legal to use the system for a long time but was refreshed somewhere along 1988. Congress created the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act and declared the metric system the preferred system for trade and commerce. Now, it may not seem like it, but it's mandated for use by federal agencies where feasible. And no one jumped up and down over it or even celebrated the refresh of our experiences with metric!

We could, if we really wanted to, start training children in school; those who have just finished will adapt. As elders, we'll complain about it until they close the casket, and then the complaining stops. Transition is like a speed bump, a curve in the road that slows you down, but eventually you're back on smooth ground, and the straightaway is in sight.

Hey, it's the same concept as french fries with ketchup or with mayonnaise! [Americans or Europeans] Marketing would go nuts. Can you imagine the effect of changing Subway's foot-long commercials or McDonald's quarter-pounder? It's where you grow up, not that the system is complicated. Mindset.

[It's like learning Chinese; it's a difficult language to learn; I don't really know how those Chinese people understand it so easily. Geniuses, I suppose. Is that why they are so good at mathematics?] *Humor implied for those who think I might be a stereotyping nut.*

Mindset: if the system isn't broken, don't fix it. Fixing it costs billions of dollars in converting equipment that builds things to a new standard, costs of signs, and changing all those public land records would be a pain in the neck as well. Not to mention changing all those 'zeros' and 'ones' in the computers to metric would be absolutely mind-bending! [More humor.]

 

[PersonalFavors]

Me too! Just a wordy vocab note. They are called rules. Rulers are people. We often use 'ruler' for tape measures and similar tools, to the point where no one is aware of the distinction. I think I learned that tidbit in my sixties.

When I was much younger, all my measuring devices were Craftsman. Later replacements had both, but it was clearly a lost cause since not many people I worked with used that system. Plywood thickness today, oddly, is metric, while the LxW is standard. That change caused issues with router bits over that, unless you special-ordered mm router bits.

Once I set out to convert my woodworking to metric. I tried to do the mental gymnastics of converting those in my head. Even bought metric-specific rules, etc. Followed the Englishman, Peter Parfitt, and his designs and tools. At just the point where I had some grip of the conversions, life issues rose, and I've not been back into the workshop since. Spiders and rust have settled in partnership without me.

Ducky wannabe. You are a humorless prick. Just needed saying.