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The country I live in converted to metric around thirty years ago- first to dollars and cents from pounds and pence, then to metric measurement in length, volume, area etc...pick up any aussie newspaper today, and you will see properties in the real estate section advertised in acres first, and very rarely in hectares second. The reason is that a hectare is too large to visualize or grasp as a mental image- an acre, being smaller, is not.
A foot is just that- the length of an adult foot...again, an easy image to hold in the mind. Buy a horse, you will be advised of it's height in hands, not any combination of milimetres and or centimetres, again because these numbers are so big they are hard to visualize.
An inch, another example, is the length of an adult finger from knuckle to knuckle.
Timber is still ordered as a 4x2 in size- the salesman calls it this, you call it this- then he converts it to metric and sells it to you....total nonsense.
If the people were asked if they wanted metric here, then I sure don't remember it.
well, isn't it senseless to have two sets of measuring devices for everything? Come to realize how many imported products have to be modified to our system (speedometers, tools, parts, etc). Garages house two sets of tools. Tucked in every kitchen are two sets of measuring cups. It's a pain our as$, it's a pain in the world's as$. Think of all of the confused people who don't know how many ounces in a quart and so on. Ask 10 people if they know how many feet are in a mile. Ask 10 people if they know how many meters in a kilometer. Think of how many errors have been made as a result of two systems. It's not as if we're trying to save the world here. It's not as if this is a priority issue. It's just a small step to living a life with less frustration and more logic.
Lets see now. You claim that to import items like vehicles they have to modify things like parts and tools, but in the nest sentence you say garages have to have two sets of tools. Make up your mind. If the auto manufacturers changed tools and parts to "Our" system, then there would be no reason for another set of tools now would there? Parts and tools are not changed to fit our measuring system, parts are changed to meet our higher safety standards, which they would still have to be no matter what system of measurements were being used. Even if we did switch over, those same garages would still have to have both sets of wrenches for a LONG time in order to work on different vehicles.
And for every kitchen having to have two sets of measuring spoons and cups, I have NEVER seen a kitchen with both sets. And really, how many recipes does the average person run into that gives the measurements in metric. If that is your biggest problem, you are living pretty problem free and can probably already know that 5ml is the same as a teaspoon and 15 ml is the same as a Tablespoon.
The only frustration and problems I have with the two systems are listening to the narrow-minded folks who think we need to change everything to the way they do it in other Countries. WE don't have to, we haven't and we may very well decide to in the future; or we may not. Either way it doesn't matter in the long run. Also if somebody doesn't know how many ounces are in a quart, or how many quarts are in a gallon or miles in a foot, then they didn't pay attention in the 5th grade. My son knows those answers and that is the grade he is in.
Bydand - unfortunately, not so many people [and too many of them it seems spout about the metric system ] are smarter than your 5th grader...
And yes, as an engineer/scientist/manager I deal w/ metric on daily basis, but does not mean that I have to 'like' it or desire to change to it in our country. I like the quirky 'English' system, the silliness behind it all, its rich history,,, and most importantly, how it 'feels' right.
...as an engineer/scientist/manager I deal w/ metric on daily basis, but does not mean that I have to 'like' it or desire to change to it in our country.
I deal with the metric system every time I spend money using the American system of dollars and cents. Eh, dealing in figures divisible by 10, yeah, it's a pain, but it'll do in a pinch!
Incidentally, the word "cents" comes from "percent" meaning 1/100. So, 1 per-"cent" of $1.00 = 1¢. Whew, that was tough, but if I can figure it out.... Now why would anyone want all of their measurement systems to be so easy? Beats me!
And how many people here in the US, born, bred, & raised, right now could tell you immediately after seeing a sign that said Nashville 181.817 Kilometers means Nashville 113 miles?
And again how many of those same people could tell you that you should reach 181.817 kilometers traveling at 112.63 kph in 1 hour and 43 minutes, in under 1 minute?
However reading the sign Nashville 113 miles, anyone should be able to say oh you're 1 hour & 43 minutes from Nashville.
60 mph = 96 km/h. So if you know you have to to drive 181 km to Nashville and you are doing 96 km/h you should know that it will take you 1 hour and 43 minutes to get there
Metric - it's never gonna happen. I remember being in elementary school in the early 70's and metric was supposed to be the wave of the future! We were all gonna go metric! Well, that never happened and I don't see it ever happening.
Nope. Sorry. Not going to happen. It's too complicated to convert real time, plus we already measure in miles when traveling. If it ain't broke, as the saying goes, don't fix it.
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] are smarter than your 5th grader... 
