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Should the US Adopt the Metric System?

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  • Jedidiah
    replied
    Fixed it for you, there is no civilization anywhere in this world.
    Originally posted by Raphael View Post
    'cause the rest of the Civilised World uses the Metric system.
    When I was a kid I thought it was a great idea. Now that I am old, not so much.

    Leave a comment:


  • Raphael
    replied
    Originally posted by Teallaura View Post
    No. It wastes a lot of materials, time and energy because very quickly you end up having to replace all the new signage, et al in order to eliminate the rampant confusion.

    We tried it. We didn't like it. So no. Besides, three feet make a yard is just not that complicated. The only time most people need to convert miles to kilometers is when looking at a foreign map - which they are probably doing on Google so how hard is it to use Google for the conversion assuming you even really care. Industries that want to use metric are free to do so - and some do. You can buy bolts in either system from any hardware store (and it's easy to tell who is fixing a foreign made product or building their own ). If you don't own a calculator, Dollar Tree is just down the street - you don't even have to do the math anymore.

    Y'all keep your danged metrics to yourselves. You got the Coke bottles years ago - why ya gotta take everything?
    'cause the rest of the Civilised World uses the Metric system.

    Leave a comment:


  • Teallaura
    replied
    Originally posted by stfoskey15 View Post
    It seems to me that it would make sense for the U.S. to adopt the metric system as its official system of units. It is much easier to convert units in the within the metric system, and it would (eventually) end the need to convert from the U.S. customary system to the metric system. With only one set of units needed for manufacturing products, foreign trade would also be easier. While there would be some costs to adopt it, it seems as though the time saved from no longer having to use the old system would eventually pay off.

    I figure we should pick up where we left off and finish changing all the highway signs to metric. There are already a couple highways with metric signs that were put up when the U.S. first tried to switch in the 1970s (eg. I-19).

    And just for reference, here is a history of the metric system in the United States: http://science.howstuffworks.com/why...ric-system.htm

    No. It wastes a lot of materials, time and energy because very quickly you end up having to replace all the new signage, et al in order to eliminate the rampant confusion.

    We tried it. We didn't like it. So no. Besides, three feet make a yard is just not that complicated. The only time most people need to convert miles to kilometers is when looking at a foreign map - which they are probably doing on Google so how hard is it to use Google for the conversion assuming you even really care. Industries that want to use metric are free to do so - and some do. You can buy bolts in either system from any hardware store (and it's easy to tell who is fixing a foreign made product or building their own ). If you don't own a calculator, Dollar Tree is just down the street - you don't even have to do the math anymore.

    Y'all keep your danged metrics to yourselves. You got the Coke bottles years ago - why ya gotta take everything?

    Leave a comment:


  • shunyadragon
    replied
    Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
    And medical.

    I think the US should adopt the metric system the day after I'm dead.
    When you are dying in the hospital the IV drip and meds you're on will be in metric. If you die in a car accident, all the parts in the car are metric. If you are speared by a two by four in a tornado, that would still be the relict of the antiquated English system that killed you.
    Last edited by shunyadragon; 07-16-2015, 10:04 PM.

    Leave a comment:


  • Faber
    replied
    Originally posted by 37818 View Post
    Which make the US meter 1 = 1.000002 international meter.
    The US meter is slightly longer.
    Actually a meter is a meter, defined as the length light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 second. It's the feet that are different. The only difference in the United States meter and the International meter is how it's spelled.

    Leave a comment:


  • Cow Poke
    replied
    Originally posted by Faber View Post
    And 1.83 meters under.
    Yeah, that and the whole 8.2296 meters.

    Leave a comment:


  • 37818
    replied
    The US has been on its metric system since 1866.

    The US meter is exactly 39.37 inches. It is used for land measurement.
    Where the international meter is based on exactly 2.54 centimeters per inch.

    Which make the US meter 1 = 1.000002 international meter.
    The US meter is slightly longer.

    Leave a comment:


  • Faber
    replied
    Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
    I think the US should adopt the metric system the day after I'm dead.
    And 1.83 meters under.

    Leave a comment:


  • Faber
    replied
    Originally posted by Raphael View Post
    by English, I take it you mean the Imperial system?
    Yeah, sorta. In Europe a foot is 0.3048 meter. In the United States, a U.S. Survey Foot is 1200/3937 meter. The difference is a ratio of 1.000002. Hardly significant when measuring something, but in State Plane Coordinate Systems a distance of 100 miles means a two foot discrepancy.
    Last edited by Faber; 07-16-2015, 09:46 PM.

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  • Cow Poke
    replied
    Originally posted by KingsGambit View Post
    Seriously, though, in the US, I believe metric is already fairly standard within science/engineering so I'm not sure that it would practically have a lot of benefits to outweigh the confusion of conversion.
    And medical.

    I think the US should adopt the metric system the day after I'm dead.

    Leave a comment:


  • KingsGambit
    replied
    Lincoln Chafee is running for president with this as his platform. His reasoning wasn't that it would make sense; it would serve as a sign of good will to the rest of the world.

    (No, this isn't how you win.)

    Seriously, though, in the US, I believe metric is already fairly standard within science/engineering so I'm not sure that it would practically have a lot of benefits to outweigh the confusion of conversion.

    Leave a comment:


  • Raphael
    replied
    Originally posted by Faber View Post
    Delaware tried to go metric when they constructed Route 1. The exit numbers are still kilometers but they changed back to mile markers. Originally even the speed limit signs were in km/h, making the top speed 100 km/h. People who didn't know what km/h stood for were really taking off until DelDOT changed the signs back to English.

    New Jersey DOT tried the same thing back in the 1990s but it became so confusing that they reverted back to English. Their metric design manuals are still around, but gathering dust.
    by English, I take it you mean the Imperial system?

    Leave a comment:


  • Juvenal
    replied
    Originally posted by Sam View Post
    Yes, it's ridiculous inertia that we're not on metric.
    But if you give 'em a centimeter, they'll take all our figures of speech.

    Leave a comment:


  • Sam
    replied
    Originally posted by stfoskey15 View Post
    It seems to me that it would make sense for the U.S. to adopt the metric system as its official system of units. It is much easier to convert units in the within the metric system, and it would (eventually) end the need to convert from the U.S. customary system to the metric system. With only one set of units needed for manufacturing products, foreign trade would also be easier. While there would be some costs to adopt it, it seems as though the time saved from no longer having to use the old system would eventually pay off.

    I figure we should pick up where we left off and finish changing all the highway signs to metric. There are already a couple highways with metric signs that were put up when the U.S. first tried to switch in the 1970s (eg. I-19).

    And just for reference, here is a history of the metric system in the United States: http://science.howstuffworks.com/why...ric-system.htm
    Yes, it's ridiculous inertia that we're not on metric.

    Leave a comment:


  • Christianbookworm
    replied
    No! We like our miles per hour! The metric system is only for science class and science papers.

    Leave a comment:

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