Metric System in the US

[shemp]

I might be dating myself here, but I remember when I was growing up, teachers always teaching the metric system in class, and saying that by a certain date (in the 1980's?) that the US was supposed to be 100% converted. My question is: What happened to that? Why haven't we switched? English units are so wonky to convert compared to the metric system. (I said English units). I am used to inches and pounds and Fahrenheit, but I'd get used to cm's and grams and Celsius. The auto industry is mostly converted, but the raw materials industries aren't. Lumber, Steel stock etc is still based on Imperial dimensions. Fasteners are readily available in both....Who is going to step up and say once and for all the date for the switch is ____________? After that date, metric is the American standard. Who know,s it might stimulate the economy a little.... It would cost lots of companies some $, but it would also drive production of lots of things... Thermometers, scales, tools, signs, containers..................

[shemp]

Actually, here in Michigan it might be a little strange. 16 Mile Road would become 25.7 Kilometer Rd. That's no good. All of our highway exits are in miles too.... hmmmm. I think the UK is metric, but still uses Miles don't they?

[18stars]

You shouldn't believe everything they teach you in school. Quite a bit of it is actually false. (I remember being told the same thing.....)

[ClunkClunk]

I was also educated with metric in mind, as there was going to be an eventual switch, though I think it had finally been realized it wasn't realistic because I heard little about the metric system past about 4th grade, until my high school science classes.I think the big reason why we haven't switched completely is that it would cost money, and because the US is so large, we can hold off on it, and the rest of the world doesn't really force us to switch, since we have a fairly large economy.18stars, what was "false" about the metric system? If shemp went to school after 1975, the Metric Conversion Act had been passed and it very likely was possible that the US was headed to metric conversion.It's interesting to see how things have slowly evolved. A mechanic's toolkit has gradually included metric wrenches, along with US measurements. Engine displacements are less commonly referred to in cubic inches, and liters becoming more common.An interesting thing is that we don't use an English system either. While we have similar names to England's Imperial System, we have different measurements. A pint in the US is 16oz, in the UK it's 20oz. A gallon in the US is 3.78 liters, while in the UK it's 4.54 liters (hence the difficulty comparing UK cars mileage or fuel costs to US models). I believe the correct notation for our system is the United States Customary Units (exciting name, I know).

[engineertwin2]

This is a much more expensive proposition than one might think. Even something as simple as fixing drywall becomes a nightmare if it is no longer manufactured in the original size (1/2" thick is now 12.6mm? no..either 12 or 13mm - noticeable difference).Then a lot of things become special order...this changes as time goes on and stuff like this is phased out, but in the short run, way too expensive to pull off.

[kunkstyle]

Quote, originally posted by engineertwin2 »Even something as simple as fixing drywall becomes a nightmare if it is no longer manufactured in the original size (1/2" thick is now 12.6mm? no..either 12 or 13mm - noticeable difference).Not so much. We switched between 72-84 and not everything got moved over. 16 mile road would still in fact be 16 mile road. We still buy plywood in 1/4" sheets. They didn't change any manufacturing specs. We can however buy 3.784 litres of anti-freeze. From a consumer standpoint metric is ok, but for engineering/tech stuff metric is so much easier. I couldn't imagine taking thermodynamics in Imperial units. Quote, originally posted by SLORegal »and the rest of the world doesn't really force us to switch, since we have a fairly large economy.That reasoning may not hold up much longer

[engineertwin2]

Quote, originally posted by kunkstyle »From a consumer standpoint metric is ok, but for engineering/tech stuff metric is so much easier. I couldn't imagine taking thermodynamics in Imperial units. I can imagine doing the thermo in Imperial Units Here's a question: why would we do it? What's the advantage? What's the cost benefit? What's the reason?I'll give you a hint on my perspective: to match the rest of the world, isn't justification for switching.

[Raven]

We've been on metric for 30+ years and a lot of things are still done in Imperial. Nobody here tells their height in cm or weight in kilograms, even kids my daughters age. On our drivers licence it's written in cm though. I'm 185cm. Lumber is Imperial and just recently I discovered that a 2 x 8 is no longer 1 1/2 by 7 1/2, it's down to 1 1/2 by 7 1/4. The worst one has to be litres/100km, it means nothing to me, it's mpg or nothing. Oh ya, if you're going really, really fast like my SVX, it's 155mph, not 250kph.

[Herb]

It was kinda weird for me. They taught metric when I was growing up, but the usage isn't consistent. In general volume, temperature and distance/speed is in metric, but weight and construction is in imperial. So the excecution of metric didn't work out all that well here.

[DarkSpork]

I didn't graduate from high school too long ago (a little over a year and a half ago). They taught both systems, however they never mentioned the US switching over. Seems metric is used in some things. Where I work meters are used for shorter distances and miles for longer ones. I kind of like the system used here because it leaves room for optimism. For example last weekend the temperatures got down to 8 degrees F, metric that would be -13 degrees C, -13 sounds worse. Or when getting a speeding ticket: 5mph over vs 10kph over. Also I'd feel better about putting 12 gallons of gas in my car vs 45.4 liters. Outside of that metric is considerably easier to learn and convert.That's just my take on it.

[ColonelPanic]

I really don't know why, but there are a few kilometers at the end of I-265 outside of Louisville, KY that have exit signs using km as the primary measurement and mileage off to the side in parenthesis. I guess they thought we would be switching sometime soon... I'm an idiot and no matter how many times you try to tell me what's bigger, 3/8 or 1/4, I still can't figure it out - that system just makes no sense. But I can tell you whether 10 mm is going to be larger than 8 mm or something, Metric is just easier for me to figure out.We're so deeply rooted in English measurements though, I doubt we would ever switch... not in my lifetime at least.

[Herb]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »I'm an idiot and no matter how many times you try to tell me what's bigger, 3/8 or 1/4, I still can't figure it out - that system just makes no sense. But I can tell you whether 10 mm is going to be larger than 8 mm or something, Metric is just easier for me to figure out.From what I remember the thought was that people in general can figure out decimals easier than fractions which was one of the reasons for the push for metric. To be honest, I'm not a fan of fractions either.

[ColonelPanic]

Fractions are the devil!

[ou.grizzly]

We use metric at DMC (Detroit Medical Center) which is in MI, but it if a different case though.

[kunkstyle]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »Fractions are the devil! Boo for fractions!Quote, originally posted by DarkSpork »I kind of like the system used here because it leaves room for optimism. For example last weekend the temperatures got down to 8 degrees F, metric that would be -13 degrees C, -13 sounds worse. Or when getting a speeding ticket: 5mph over vs 10kph over.But when you're in the middle of a heat wave would you rather be stuck in +45 or 105? Or if you're racing would you rather say you hit a top speed of 177 or 283? Or if you're obese you'd only be 136kg. There's optimism on both sides. It's farenheit (sp?) that really drives me nuts. My second vehcile reads out in F and it always boggles me. I like having that 0 divder bewteen hot and cold, and knowing that -40 is as cold as +40 is hot.

[ClunkClunk]

Quote, originally posted by kunkstyle »But when you're in the middle of a heat wave would you rather be stuck in +45 or 105? Or if you're racing would you rather say you hit a top speed of 177 or 283? Or if you're obese you'd only be 136kg. There's optimism on both sides. And the realist in me says it's all the same no matter what system of measurement you use. It's still sticky and hot, my car's still slow, and I'm still fat.

[GoodVibErations2004]

lol personally i dont give a hell. the values will always stay the same. the distance between nyc and vegas will always be the same, just ho we say it differs. same with temperature and volume. hot is still hot and big is still big. who cares

[DarkSpork]

Quote, originally posted by kunkstyle »Boo for fractions!But when you're in the middle of a heat wave would you rather be stuck in +45 or 105? Or if you're racing would you rather say you hit a top speed of 177 or 283? Or if you're obese you'd only be 136kg. There's optimism on both sides. It's farenheit (sp?) that really drives me nuts. My second vehcile reads out in F and it always boggles me. I like having that 0 divder bewteen hot and cold, and knowing that -40 is as cold as +40 is hot.I guess I didn't really look at the flip side to it.My spelling is not the best but Fahrenheit was not misspelled. I checked it. Unless its one of those words they spell different in other places (checking vs chequing).

[kunkstyle]

Quote, originally posted by SLORegal »It's still sticky and hot, my car's still slow, and I'm still fat.HAHAHA!

[Silversn95]

I have lived most of my life in a border community with MI so I know both units well. That along with working in the automotive industry and dealing on a daily basis with customers and suppliers in the US keep me fresh on the metric and English units. It is no big deal once you learn either one.

[mspalmer]

Here at St. John (also in Detroit, competitor to the DMC of ou.grizzly) everything is pretty much metric. Everybody's weight is in kg and ht. in cm. All our doses are in milligrams or grams. Occasionally some docs will pull out the old school unit of measure called grains which is equal to about 64.8 milligrams. It is pretty much only used in medicine but fun nonetheless.

[Whelan]

Think of the cost of switching all those speed limit signs to metric KPH. Or how every speed gauge in all the cars would have to now have metric as the larger number. You would get a lot of speeders for sure in the beginning. 80kmph is only about 50mph. Then there is the home improvement and construction industry who works very closely on the Standard system. Auto manufacturers and the like with smaller components and more precise measurements rely on the metric system to ensure tight fits and proper measurements over and over again.

[shemp]

I don't think that conformance to the rest of the world is reason enough on it's own to justify making the switch, but having a common system with the rest of the world would be convenient IMHO. I agree that there would be a cost associated with make the switch in the short term, but I think there would be cost savings in the longer term (commonization). The truth is we are currently caught in the middle of two systems right now. Lots of industries have already switched, but others haven't. If we did make the switch to metric as our primary system, that doesn't mean we have to completely abandon Imperial units..... nobody is saying companys couldn't keep producing products in imperial units. 1/2" drywall just becomes 12mm drywall (or 12.7mm drywall if the drywall companies want to be precise).Like most americans, I know how tall I am in feet & inches, and how much I weigh in lbs and without figuring it out, have no idea how many cm's and kg's I am. I also don't automatically know if I would be hot or cold at 30 degrees C. It would just be a learning curve, no big deal.

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by mspalmer »Here at St. John (also in Detroit, competitor to the DMC of ou.grizzly) everything is pretty much metric. Everybody's weight is in kg and ht. in cm. All our doses are in milligrams or grams. Occasionally some docs will pull out the old school unit of measure called grains which is equal to about 64.8 milligrams. It is pretty much only used in medicine but fun nonetheless. Ha, yes good old household and apothecary. Pounds divide by 2.2 = kilograms. Very important when those medications need to be in mg/kg/dose or BSA.

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by kunkstyle » Or if you're obese you'd only be 136kg. There's optimism on both sides. that's only about twenty one and a half stonePeople need to stop complaining about the impossible math of fractions and conversions, and instead take advantage of them as basic math exercises. They say the US education system isn't producing people with technical capability to compete with other countries, honestly, I'd rather believe that than believe that people in the US are less intelligent than in other countries. So practice those math skills, drill your kids on them.still, I can't imagine going to the lumber yard and buying 2.4m 5x10cm studs or a 1.2x2.4m sheet of .63cm plywood.

[shemp]

Quote, originally posted by mspalmer »Occasionally some docs will pull out the old school unit of measure called grains which is equal to about 64.8 milligrams. The weight of bullets and amount of gunpowder in ammo are measured in grains as well. You can buy ammo in a variety of "loads" within each caliber. The "load" is defined by the mass of the bullet (in grains) & how many grains of powder in the cartridge. Just a little fun fact.

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by shemp »The weight of bullets and amount of gunpowder in ammo are measured in grains as well. You can buy ammo in a variety of "loads" within each caliber. The "load" is defined by the mass of the bullet (in grains) how many grains of powder in the cartridge. Just a little fun fact.Grander Mtn, Bass Pro, and Cabela's all have the necessary supplies too.

[shemp]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »...I can't imagine going to the lumber yard and buying 2.4m 5x10cm studs or a 1.2x2.4m sheet of .63cm plywood. ....as long as I'm fixing the worlds problems: your 2x4 (which by the way is actually 1 1/2" x 3 1/2") is now called a 4x9 (in cm's), and your plywood is now 60mm. (people like round numbers). Plywood is still offered in 4'x8' sheets, but they are now called 1.2 x 2.4m sheets. For your convenience, Home Depot also sells nominal metric size 1 x 2.5 for a little less $.