Why does the US use Fahrenheit?

[melly]

because they're non-conformists.

 

[jurzdevil]

i only hate the temperature and length units we use. farenheit makes no sense 32 for freezing and then everyone gets excited when the temperature goes below zero. it means absolutely nothg.

metric makes more sense...based on water

dividing by 10 is a hell of a lot easier than 12 when measuring length. the fractions become a pain in the ass.

i think it all started around the revolution when we didnt want to be like anyone else. bad decision.

 

[Hoober]

Originally posted by: exp
cuz we r st00p1d

*scratches ass*

Speak for yourself.

 

[reitz]

Originally posted by: Radiohead
Canada was also founded by the UK so did we start on Fahrenheit also and then switch to centigrade?

Yes. IIRC it was sometime in the early 80's that Canada switched.

Edit: Canada made the switch over a ten year period starting in 1973.


Source

 

[MichaelD]

OK, one of you Flash God guys has to make an Apple-Switch style add about "My name is Bob....and...and I use the Metric System." That would rule.

 

[Zebo]

Uhhh.. we don't.

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: jurzdevil
i think it all started around the revolution when we didnt want to be like anyone else. bad decision.

Where is everyone coming up w/ the idea that we did this to be different?

History lesson: A long long time ago, there was no metric system, at that time, the only scale for temperature was farenheit, so, we used that. Many years later, the metric system came along. Most places have switched. We haven't.

 

[Ime]

I'd rather be on the Metric System here in the states. Much easier to use and understand.

However, I don't see such a change happening unless the US is forced to.

 

[reitz]

For anyone who's interested, I keep this one in my favorites:

Metric to Imperial Conversions

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: Pepsei

Originally posted by: TranceGOD
It HAS to be different from the rest of the world

Same reason it has NTSC, 110 Volt etc....

standardizations? bleh..

Doesn't Japan and all the non-third world asian countries use NTSC/110 too?

yup.


but i dunno about gallons and teaspoons either, i've been here for 15 years.

 

[SuperTool]

I think it's to annoy the rest of the world. I really do. It's a national pride thing. Those Europeans won't be telling us what to use.
Having been raised on Metric and then moving to the States, I can say that Metric rules.
I still haven't bothered to learn all the farenheit and english units. Freeze at 0, boil at 100, that I can understand. Freeze at 32 and boil at whatever the hell it is, I can't remember.
100 centimeter in 1meter, easy. 1000 m in km, easy. 12 inches in foot. Whatever the hell many feet in a mile. Why? Why do we need yards? 16 ounzes in a pound. Why? 2000 lbs in a tonne?
1L of water weighs 1kg. What does 1 gallon of water weigh?
I really would rather convert everything to metric than think about these stupid units.
This is 21st century. Time to get with the program.

 

[kt]

Originally posted by: Radiohead

Originally posted by: exp

Why does the US use Fahrenheit?

In all seriousness I don't know. But I would guess it's because our founders, the UK, started out with Fahrenheit, passed it on to us and from then on there has never been a compelling reason to change. The U.S. is geographically isolated and historically very little of its contact with other nations had depended on standardized scales of measurement. With increasing globalization the ability to communicate with foreigners is becoming more important, but by now anything that requires precise calculations is already done in Kelvin or degrees C anyway. Who really cares if Joe Average uses degrees Fahrenheit in his everyday life? There's no reason to switch over just to conform with the rest of the world...it's just a waste of money.

Canada was also founded by the UK so did we start on Fahrenheit also and then switch to centigrade?

Wasn't what is now Canada part of the French colony?

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: kt


Wasn't what is now Canada part of the French colony?

it was, but the metric system was invented by the revolutionary french, which was well after quebec had been taken by the brits.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: jurzdevil
i only hate the temperature and length units we use. farenheit makes no sense 32 for freezing and then everyone gets excited when the temperature goes below zero. it means absolutely nothg.

metric makes more sense...based on water

dividing by 10 is a hell of a lot easier than 12 when measuring length. the fractions become a pain in the ass.

i think it all started around the revolution when we didnt want to be like anyone else. bad decision.

the only measurement system invented during a revoltion was the metric system, which didn't exist until the french revolution, which you would know had you read my post.

 

[ElFenix]

gah meant to edit

 

[Zenmervolt]

What does 1 gallon of water weigh?

128 fluid ounces (1 gallon) of water weighs 128 ounces (8 lbs).

ZV

 

[jaydee]

Originally posted by: reitz
For anyone who's interested, I keep this one in my favorites:

Metric to Imperial Conversions

Hahah.. fruit conversion, heh.

 

[FenrisUlf]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Because we're all smart enough here to convert one English unit into another English unit. We don't need the crutch of a base-10 system

It's also because the instep of a dead king is much easier to visualise as a measurement than an acute mis-understanding of the circumference of the earth in terms of the wavelength of a certain isotope of krypton.

ZV

Exactly. We don't need a temperature scale arbitrarily based on the phase change energy states of dihydrous monoxide. Lets all use Rankine and Kelvin! I can just hear the weathercaster: "Today, lows will be in the 500s, highs in the 530s...."

Honestly though, worldwide aviation uses "standard" measurements almost exclusively. Navigational charts are printed with runway lengths in feet, speeds are indicated in knots, flight levels are measured in feet, fuel weight and engine thrust are measured in pounds as well (although this is slowly changing) all as a result of the US being a leader in aviation. Horsepower is a "standard" measurement as well.

 

[Dedpuhl]

We don't need no stinkin' Kilograms....LONG LIVE THE SLUGS!!!

 

[GoSharks]

Originally posted by: Pepsei

Doesn't Japan and all the non-third world asian countries use NTSC/110 too?

japan is 100v.. and i believe their version of NTSC is somewhat different than ours.

 

[thebestMAX]

Stupidity and the resistance to change.

Remember when they tried to switch highway speed limits to Kilometers instead of miles?? Didnt last long, did it. Metric system for everything is soooo much better but nooooooo.

Dont know how the avereage american would find his way home at night if they took down all the street signs.

 

[bleeb]

because its retarded
.

we should switch to metric system and from miles to kilometers

 

[BennyD]

NTSC is t3h suck

only like 525 scanlines

edit: the only element of metric i still haven't gotten propper is km's, i'm a miles boy through and through.

 

[CraigRT]

I actually like Fahrenheit
in the summer, saying 30 just doesn't sound warm.
90 however does.
i switch from season to season...

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: TranceGOD
It HAS to be different from the rest of the world

Same reason it has NTSC, 110 Volt etc....

standardizations? bleh..

Metric is cool; I think the US should switch. It's funny to hear some people (like my dad) rant about how if everyone used the metric system, then kids in the US wouldn't learn how to multiply and divide as well, so we should keep our crazy and weird system of measurements and temperatures.

Now don't get me started on volatages and stuff. I like our 110volt/60Hz power just fine. Plus, you European weirdos have those crazy outlets with the stupid looking sockets and stuff.