How is it possible that we STILL haven't converted to the Metric System?

[joohang]

If conversion comes, they should do it like Canada does.

Print both measurement systems on all products just like we print both English and French on everything.

 

[BlueApple]

... because we are a backward-ass country?

 

[Pepsi90919]

yeah, you should really get on that.

 

[kami]

It's been said before, but I'll say it again because it's the best example of why imperial is so stupid:

Freezing point:

IMP: 32 degrees
METRIC: 0 degrees

Boiling point:

IMP: 212 degrees
METRIC: 100 degrees.


get with the rest of the planet for chrissakes!

 

[PlatinumGold]

h, you should really get on that.

pepsei

what's wrong. you afraid their gonna shrink the size of your can?

 

[Chaotic42]

Too expensive. It's the same reason we still have daylight savings time, 12 months with varying days. Minutes with 60 seconds, hours with 60 minues, and days with 24 hours.

It'd be nice to switch everything over, but I think it's almost impossible.

 

[PlatinumGold]

Too expensive. It's the same reason we still have daylight savings time, 12 months with varying days. Minutes with 60 seconds, hours with 60 minues, and days with 24 hours.

It'd be nice to switch everything over, but I think it's almost impossible.

impossible? most of the asian world did it. canada did it.

 

[m2kewl]

Originally posted by: BlueApple
... because we are a backward-ass country?

lol...

 

[rahvin]

It's a barrier to entry for foreign companies.

FWIW:

0^F = Ice and Salt water slurry (salt water is more common than fresh water)
100^F= Body temperature (they were off a little and human body temperature is more common than boiling water)

 

[b0mbrman]

Same reason the UK doesn't drive on the right side of the road (as opposed to left). It would make sense in the long run since they won't have to have special cars designed for them but it would cost too much in the short run to make the switch...

 

[desy]

Most of the world has switched over it didn't break them. . .
You spend millions and millions doing conversions for international trade anyway.
All your Jap and Euro cars use metric so most mechs need two sets of tools and so on and so on.
Just bite the bullet, couple of generations later nobody will even remember. . .

 

[ElFenix]

because it doesn't really matter when you get down to it.

The rest of the world uses metric, so im thinking its working out in real life pretty well.

most of the world is still dirt farming. if you aren't sure that you're going to eat the next day, you don't really care how tall you are in meters. or feet.


and its not SAE, its british units. sae is society of automotive engineers, IIRC. last i checked, the units have been around far longer than autos.

 

[tokamak]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

I weigh 110 Kilograms (this one is a pretty easy conversion actually)

actually your mass is 110 kilograms. your metric weight is approximately 1078 newtons

 

[optimistic]

If we converted it would be just like that Simpsons episode!:Q

Principal Skinner:
"Okay kids it's 80 minutes past 9, time to get back to class"

(Looks at clock. Clock goes from 1-10 and round again)

Haha! I love that!

 

[eakers]

Originally posted by: XZeroII
It's because English measurements are nicer for conveniences. Like temp: 0 degrees is pretty cold, 100 is pretty hot outside. Easy. What is it in C? Who knows. How tall are you in metric? How much do you weigh? The metric system works very nice in science, but it's a pain in real life. The english system rocks anyway

i disagree!
celcius makes way more sense than feirenhiet (sp?). at 0 its so cold water freezes at 100 its so hot water boils.


we switched over in the seventies but we still use it for height and weight measurements just cuz its kinda what we are brought up to think of for our height and weight.

it just makes sense!

remember that space shuttle that crashed cuz they didnt convert into metric?

tsk tsk.

*kat. <-- has no idea how your temperature system works... only celcius and kalvin.

 

[rahvin]

eakers,

You shouldn't post in threads like this.

It's Kelvin, not Kalvin. No space shuttle crashed because of metric/english, a mars probe went of course because one group was using metric and one english.

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: desy
Most of the world has switched over it didn't break them. . .
You spend millions and millions doing conversions for international trade anyway.
All your Jap and Euro cars use metric so most mechs need two sets of tools and so on and so on.
Just bite the bullet, couple of generations later nobody will even remember. . .

Yawp...someone just has to get the ball rolling...last I checked the US has a whole lot of other stuff to deal with

 

[PlatinumGold]

and its not SAE, its british units. sae is society of automotive engineers, IIRC. last i checked, the units have been around far longer than autos.

Your right of course. it's just that i figured with all the auto buffs on these boards it would be the easiest way of saying it. socket sets are sold as metric or sae.

 

[PsychoAndy]

Okay mr Platinum Gold, answer me this. The United States uses pounds as a measurement for weight/force, and uses an obscure unit called a slug to measure mass. The Metric System uses NEWTONS to measure weight/force (newton/meter, etc), yet the millions and millions of people, including you, can't even get your weight correct. Mass is measured in grams, and mass is different than weight. Tokamak figured it out, but evidently not the rest of you Metric f00s. You can't even get your WEIGHT right, and you expect us to switch to metric

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
Because 90% of the US would be left in the dark if everything was suddenly changed. No one would understand anything and think of the retooling all the manufacturers would have to do...

amish

Yeah, people like me would be rather confused.

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: edro13

Originally posted by: SpecialEd
....and devil measurements...

USA rocks!!

LOL, HAhaHhA!
That is great. I have thought about this for the last like 10 years, I think the government is just too uneducated to understand the metric system.

Heh heh...we're so stupid

 

[PlatinumGold]

thx psycho.

i understand the difference between weight and mass. i also understand that in common spoken language we don't distinquish between the two.

it also has NOTHING whatsoever to do with whethor or not we should switch.

 

[Atrail]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
It is CLEARLY SOO MUCH BETTER. why do we hang on to this STUPID SAE (inch, foot, pound, mile) measurement system?

Are we really that lazy?

Because metric sucks.

What would life be like if the English standard system didn't exist?

The Indy 500 would be the Indy 804.67; there would also be the Daytona 804.67

A football field would be 91.44 meters long

Jules Verne would never have written 96561 kilometers under the sea

A 9 pound hammer would be known as a 4.0823 kilogram hammer

Peter Piper would have had to pick 7570.8 cubic centimeters of pickled peppers

14515 kilograms and what do your get? Another day older and a deeper in debt.

Top fuel drag racers would be doing the 0.40234 kilometer in under 5 seconds

Give him 2.54 centimeters, he'll take 1.6093 Kilometers

You'd have to order 236.58 milliliters of coffee



www.metricsucks.com

Story

 

[PsychoAndy]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
thx psycho.

i understand the difference between weight and mass. i also understand that in common spoken language we don't distinquish between the two.

it also has NOTHING whatsoever to do with whethor or not we should switch.

Most of you can't get that right, and yet you want us to spend millions and millions of dollars to convert. Isn't that reason enough not to switch?

 

[Hammer]

bleh, we should just wait until the rest of the world changes.