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Every other country uses it. So do you think it would even be possible?
Sure. Problem is, with measurement systems, most Americans want to do things the hard (and profoundly illogical) way for some reason.
I taught college remedial math for many, many years, which included an intro to the metric system. I don't remember one instance of a student not saying "why didn't they teach this in the first place" after I explained the system.
Of course, there are many industries that have converted. Just not in popular culture or general education.
The metric system is base ten just like our number system. our "American system" is base... well, base 2, base 3, base 12, base 16, base 5280, base 36, etc. Take your pick. No logical or convenient grounding at all. None.
Sure. Problem is, with measurement systems, most Americans want to do things the hard (and profoundly illogical) way for some reason.
I taught college remedial math for many, many years, which included an intro to the metric system. I don't remember one instance of a student not saying "why didn't they teach this in the first place" after I explained the system.
Of course, there are many industries that have converted. Just not in popular culture or general education.
The metric system is base ten just like our number system. our "American system" is base... well, base 2, base 3, base 12, base 16, base 5280, base 36, etc. Take your pick. No logical or convenient grounding at all. None.
What so illogical or inconvenient in feet, inches, pounds, ounces? The imperial system is the superior to the metric system when it comes to measuring the lengths of objects of small or medium sizes (such as the height of a person, or the length of a dinning table). It is better to use feet and inches than meters and centimeters.
When it comes to feet and inches the imperial system uses a base 12 system, so instead of counting by 10’s (as in the metric system) you count by 12’s. One foot is 12 inches, so two feet is 24 inches, three feet is 36 inches and so on. While it may appear to be more difficult to count by 12’s than 10’s, the advantage that 12 has over 10 is in its divisibility. Twelve can be divided by 2, 3, 4, and 6 (these numbers are called “factors†of 12), ten can only divided by 2 and 5. In our daily lives being able to divide things up evenly easily is a huge plus. For example if you had 12 slices of pizza you could share it evenly with 2 people ( 6 slices each), 3 people (4 slices each), 4 people (3 slices each) or 6 people (2 slices each). On the other hand you had 10 slices of pizza you could only share it evenly with only 2 people(five slices each) or 5 people (2 slices each). Therefore a foot unlike a meter can be cleanly divided by two , three and four, which for a carpenter or tailor makes it the better unit to work with.
It has work for the U.S. in creating the best economy in world's history. So We are NOT changing.
Canadian here. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: there was no good reason for Canada to convert to metric.
I lived through the conversion. Confusion everywhere. People putting stickers on their speedometers, so they knew when they were going 50 km/h instead of 30 mph, and they often misplaced them, so many speeding tickets were handed out. Little old ladies telling deli clerks at the supermarket to "f--- you!" when the deli clerk said they had to order their sliced ham in grams instead of pounds. People cheering at how gas was 21 cents per liter--until they saw how many liters their car needed. They had no idea of the size of the liter compared to a gallon, and when they figured it out, they realized there was little-to-no difference in price per unit. Still, they screeched, because metric.
Canada is so integrated with the US in so many ways that metric, while the official measuring system in Canada, will never take hold fully unless the US goes metric. Railroads in both countries use Imperial, and Canadian railroads use miles from divisional points everywhere; cross-border trucking uses Imperial (see, e.g. PSI on the air brake system), horse racing is shared between the two countries, and uses miles, furlongs, and yards for statistical purposes; Canadian football uses yards; the Toronto Blue Jays have feet distances posted on their outfield walls in Toronto, with meters in smaller numbers underneath. Why? Because baseball players, no matter where they are from, understand feet. Canadian golfers have no problem with yards, and more than a few Canadians play on the PGA tour in the US, on courses measured in yards; and their fans understand yards.
We were told, "Oh by going metric, now you'll know the temperature in Paris," or "Now you'll know the distance from Rome to Milan." Thing is, most of us Canadians never went any place other than domestically or to the US (due to distance and expense); and had no need to. As a huge country, very closely tied to the US (trade, roads, railroads, sports) which never went metric, we should have stayed Imperial. If I'm going to Las Vegas, I sure don't need to know the temperature in degrees C in Paris. I want to know the temperature in Las Vegas, which is in degrees F and which I know and understand. And, as the only road country I can drive to, I'd like my speedometer to reflect what speed I'm travelling at, rather than trying to figure out what 75 mph translates to on my Canadian-mandated km/h speedometer.
It's too late to stop the charade, but let's just admit that "Canada is metric" has been a failure. There was no good reason to switch; and as a result, we use a crazy mix of Imperial and metric. Baby weights, height, adult weights, all in Imperial. In many distance instances, we just use time: "Calgary's two hours up the road," (i.e. not 190 km or 120 miles away) or "Vancouver's a five-hour flight from Toronto." Never mind kilometers or km/h. If Europe/Asia/Australia/etc. has a problem with the guy in Canada who prefers a 70F room temperature or a 60 mph speed limit on a Canadian freeway, or a seven-hour drive from Calgary to Regina, that's on them. Given our relationship with the US, there was no reason to go metric.
Every other country uses it. So do you think it would even be possible?
With political will - it's as easy as lifting a 12-centimeter pencil. Without political will, it will never happen, before h*ll gets below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
I can convert the miles/kilometers and gallons/liters in my head easily, but I've driven in a number of other countries. I can also do meters and yards easily, but going smaller than that I don't like.
The Metric System is solidly installed in many parts of our lives already. I've become pretty good at making quick conversions. I always use it when I'm corresponding with those in other countries. The hardest conversion for me is temperature----I doubt I'll ever give up 32 degrees as being the freezing point of fresh water. The easiest conversion is meters to feet----just multiply by 3.28. Meters to yards, multiply by 1.0936.
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