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

[Hel_Books]

The acre is equal in area to a rectangle one furlong (one "furrow long" from farming terminology) by one chain (66 feet).

 

[WhiteTailDarkTip]

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.

As a veteran of the Imperial system, I thank God that we abandoned that perverse calculus. BTW It was 20 shillings to the pound.

 

[Chernosoth]

The foot is a convenient unit of length. Most people with two hands can hold them approximately one foot apart. The metric system's meter, decimeter, and centimeter are mathematically logical but lacking that one most practical unit.

 

[Rightguide]

We dominate the World with pounds and ounces, inches, feet, yards, and miles. No need for change.

 

[dmallord]

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.

Makes me wonder about my stories. A few times I've used distances or monetary denominations in American terms. I'm not sure if it deterred foreign readers from my stories.

But I won't lose sleep over it. Maybe try not to use numbers in the future to upset them...

However, I'm left wondering about that detective who left a 'Jackson' on the bar for the name of a gorgeous dame. That has me puzzled at the moment. Should I give a Frik if a foreign reader didn't know a Jackson is slang for a $20.00 bill?

 

[ll74]

We dominate the World with pounds and ounces, inches, feet, yards, and miles. No need for change.

You don't dominate anything.

 

[Pad_Foot]

The acre is equal in area to a rectangle one furlong (one "furrow long" from farming terminology) by one chain (66 feet).

66 ft by 66 ft for an acre?? I think not.
More than 100 ft by 100 ft for sure
And? I’m tired of looking up stuff for “The American System” (Liberia was a colony of sorts. I’m not blaming them ) 43,560 sq ft = 1 acre. Logically 208.71 ft rounded per side of a square. Brilliant Bulkshit

1 furlong by 10 furlongs ? Ok. Cuz we are all still farmers farming with horses or mules or oxen

 

[eric_erosfan]

Makes me wonder about my stories. A few times I've used distances or monetary denominations in American terms. I'm not sure if it deterred foreign readers from my stories.

But I won't lose sleep over it. Maybe try not to use numbers in the future to upset them...

However, I'm left wondering about that detective who left a 'Jackson' on the bar for the name of a gorgeous dame. That has me puzzled at the moment. Should I give a Frik if a foreign reader didn't know a Jackson is slang for a $20.00 bill?

What sounds more sexy?

"She pulled down his shorts and discovered this mysterious, handsome stranger's 12 inch..secret"

"She pulled down his shorts and discovered this mysterious, handsome stranger's 30.48 cm.. secret"

 

[Typo Fu Master]

I've used a mix of Imperial and metric all my life. I prefer Fahrenheit to Celsius only because it's what I'm used to. Similar for feet, yards and miles. If you didn't grow up with it, it seems strange. Like blood pudding.

 

[dmallord]

I've used a mix of Imperial and metric all my life. I prefer Fahrenheit to Celsius only because it's what I'm used to. Similar for feet, yards and miles. If you didn't grow up with it, it seems strange. Like blood pudding.

Yep... 12.48 meters of blood pudding would be about right for a meal for two!

 

[Venefica]

Any American with a science or engineering degree knows metric. That was original argument for it. That American kids would be at a disadvantage not knowing it. But you pick it up quickly.

The exception was the NASA mixing cm and inches and blowing up some rockets by this. The USA are centred about themselves and therefore see no need to harmonise with others. If you even cannot speak the languages of others, why bothering with the metric system?

I had recently a verbal brawl on bluesky with an US-American. His main argument was that I am stupid because my English is bad. I asked him which foreign language he speaks. Then there was silence.

 

[Wonderer67]

66 ft by 66 ft for an acre?? I think not.
More than 100 ft by 100 ft for sure
And? I’m tired of looking up stuff for “The American System” (Liberia was a colony of sorts. I’m not blaming them ) 43,560 sq ft = 1 acre. Logically 208.71 ft rounded per side of a square. Brilliant Bulkshit

1 furlong by 10 furlongs ? Ok. Cuz we are all still farmers farming with horses or mules or oxen

Our old property records from the county hall of records still used old fashioned units measurement.

Literally:

“ Beginning at a stake in the old tree stump nearest to the creek. South 25 minutes east 10 chains and three links to a steak at the south corner of said property. North 89° and 3/4 E. 18 chains and 48 links to stake and stones on the south side of the large white oak corner of ______ property. “

Source wiki:
In the context of surveying using Gunter's Chain, a chain is equal to 66 feet (20.1168 meters) and consists of 100 links. Therefore, one link is equal to 0.66 feet or 7.92 inches.

 

[Pad_Foot]

Our old property records from the county hall of records still used old fashioned units measurement.

Literally:

“ Beginning at a stake in the old tree stump nearest to the creek. South 25 minutes east 10 chains and three links to a steak at the south corner of said property. North 89° and 3/4 E. 18 chains and 48 links to stake and stones on the south side of the large white oak corner of ______ property. “

Source wiki:
In the context of surveying using Gunter's Chain, a chain is equal to 66 feet (20.1168 meters) and consists of 100 links. Therefore, one link is equal to 0.66 feet or 7.92 inches.

Do they supply these chains ?
Links have been stretched for them to measure correctly. And chains? What a pain!

 

[Wat_Tyler]

Our old property records from the county hall of records still used old fashioned units measurement.

Literally:

“ Beginning at a stake in the old tree stump nearest to the creek. South 25 minutes east 10 chains and three links to a steak at the south corner of said property. North 89° and 3/4 E. 18 chains and 48 links to stake and stones on the south side of the large white oak corner of ______ property. “

Source wiki:
In the context of surveying using Gunter's Chain, a chain is equal to 66 feet (20.1168 meters) and consists of 100 links. Therefore, one link is equal to 0.66 feet or 7.92 inches.

There is a piece of a town not too far from here which was laid out wrong. The story goes that the surveyor was a drunk. He broke his chain somehow and took it to his drunken blacksmith buddy to have it repaired and then off to the saloon. The blacksmith opened a link and repaired the chain. Problem is, now it only has 99 links, so it is now two-thirds of a foot short. This chain was then put to work, resulting in some fucked-up plats.


It's an old town and an old story about people who are all long dead. Take it for what it's worth.

 

[Wonderer67]

There is a piece of a town not too far from here which was laid out wrong. The story goes that the surveyor was a drunk. He broke his chain somehow and took it to his drunken blacksmith buddy to have it repaired and then off to the saloon. The blacksmith opened a link and repaired the chain. Problem is, now it only has 99 links, so it is now two-thirds of a foot short. This chain was then put to work, resulting in some fucked-up plats.


It's an old town and an old story about people who are all long dead. Take it for what it's worth.

Maybe the chain the drunken blacksmith fixed was a metric link.

“I’ll just put this 10cm link on this old chain and see what happens…”

 

[Hel_Books]

Hel_Books said:
The acre is equal in area to a rectangle one furlong (one "furrow long" from farming terminology) by one chain (66 feet).

66 ft by 66 ft for an acre?? I think not.
More than 100 ft by 100 ft for sure
And? I’m tired of looking up stuff for “The American System” (Liberia was a colony of sorts. I’m not blaming them ) 43,560 sq ft = 1 acre. Logically 208.71 ft rounded per side of a square. Brilliant Bulkshit

1 furlong by 10 furlongs ? Ok. Cuz we are all still farmers farming with horses or mules or oxen

A furlong is 1/8 of a mile. A furlong by a chain (66 feet) is 43,560 square feet, or one acre.

 

[Wat_Tyler]

Maybe the chain the drunken blacksmith fixed was a metric link.

“I’ll just put this 10cm link on this old chain and see what happens…”

This would have made sense to him because he descended from French revolutionaries. Of course! That's brilliant.

 

[Rightguide]

You don't dominate anything.

Your state of ignorance is yours and yours alone, luckily for the rest of us, logic and common sense refuse to do the heavy lifting on your behalf, and we’re in no hurry to start.

 

[PersonalFavors]

We use the metric system in a few places that make sense. But having to convert recipes to metric would take all the fun out of cooking. Already on a thread here, some recipes get posted in metric. They looked good to. But converting all the measurements. Who needs the tediocracy.
Buying a used car trying to convert the kilos back to miles so you could know how far it was driven. Nonsense.
Billions of dollars to change all the road signs to kilos and have people trying to convert to miles on their phones.
Plus everything in the hardware store would be the wrong size. Or trying to figure out what 2.657890001053 centimeters was in inches is just too much work when looking for the right wrench for the job.
Countless other ways to make no sense of changing to metric and only a few lamo reasons to convert.
Next the Brits will be telling us to count stone.

 

[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.