# How do you feel about converting to the Metric system? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 23, 2023, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666 "2023-01-23T15:52:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/181 "2023-01-24T20:53:20Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > If I were world empress we’d still be using spans, hands, and ells Yeah, but admit it … if you were world empress then everybody else would be obliged to be using spans, hands and ells too. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/182 "2023-01-24T20:56:32Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > Yeah, but admit it … if you were world empress then everybody else would be obliged to be using spans, hands too. No, they could use whatever the hell they wanted. I like diversity. I’d outlaw usury though, among quite a few other things. Not diversity. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/183 "2023-01-24T22:41:38Z")
Can’t people use whatever they want now? They just can’t dictate other people accept them, though. Same as always. It’s not like uniform standards are a modern thing. They’ve been around as long as more than 10 people lived in the same place. The difference now is technology allows us to travel/communicate fast enough that it matters which standards are used in a Japanese Empire and which used in a Roman Empire. There was no meaningful ‘diversity’ in standards until people could meaningfully travel and conduct business across long distances and it turned out the different civilizations that cropped up here and there came up with their own (uniform within the civilization but also unique to it) sets of standards. Rather than having the matter dictated to them, most people have throughout recorded history preferred the ability to do business with a minimum of conversions. ---
**Author:** ![lum\_s\_husband](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lum_s_husband/32/3698_2.png) [@lum\_s\_husband](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lum_s_husband)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/184 "2023-01-24T23:07:48Z")
The previous thread proved that standardized weights and measures are only possible through the metric system. So that’s a big plus. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/185 "2023-01-24T23:08:57Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > No, they could use whatever the hell they wanted. I like diversity. I’d outlaw usury though, among quite a few other things. Not diversity. OK, my meat market sells prime steaks for $2 per pound, and I advertise that prominently. Except that the pound I use is 25 grams. You don’t want to stop me from using my own pound, do you? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/186 "2023-01-25T00:04:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Except that the pound I use is 25 grams. You don’t want to stop me from using my own pound, do you? I dunno, how heavy are those grams? ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/187 "2023-01-25T00:37:11Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > how heavy are those grams? I’m pretty sure Chronos’ grams are a unit of time ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/188 "2023-01-25T01:36:05Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > In what way is a 0-100 scale over a limited range of temperate human experience objectively better? Climate scientists are very concerned with areas around the freezing point of water, having that be the zero on the scale is a useful thing. Most people aren’t climate scientists and most scientists aren’t climate scientists. Personally, I have no issue with people using what’s the most useful for them. Astrophysicists might work in Kelvin and AU, jewelers use carats and troy ounces, and so on. You’re going to learn what’s useful for your profession and interests and it’s better to use the system that’s most useful for the purpose. If astrophysicists had to use meters, that would get unwieldy. Centigrade units are too large by double for a useful thermostat and 0, 25, 75, and 100 are far more eloquent for understanding comfort levels than -18, -4, 24, and 38. You can fudge that a bit to say that it snows at 0 in Celsius…except that it usually doesn’t. But, that’s the only way to get a number out of it that seems like it was put on a scale intended for humans to talk about the weather today. Fahrenheit was developed for “average people to discuss ‘How’s the weather today?’” As such, it’s the best system for it. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/189 "2023-01-25T01:57:47Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Fahrenheit was developed for “average people to discuss ‘How’s the weather today?’” As such, it’s the best system for it. Rubbish. [The Master Speaks](https://www.straightdope.com/21342022/on-the-fahrenheit-scale-why-is-32-freezing-and-212-boiling-what-do-0-and-100-mean) on the collaboration of Fahrenheit and Romer > [@](#): > > Researchers have gone to their graves trying to figure out what old man Fahrenheit was up to: … > [@](#): > > (Romer) decided that the boiling point of water should be 60 degrees … But zero was totally arbitrary, the main consideration apparently being that it should be colder than it ever got in Denmark. …the landmarks were the freezing point of water, 7-1/2 degrees, and body temperature, 22-1/2 degrees. … > [@](#): > > (Fahrenheit) multiplied Romer’s degrees by 4, giving him 30 for the freezing point and 90 for body temperature. Then, for reasons nobody has ever been able to fathom, he multiplied all the numbers by 16/15, making 32 freezing and 96 body temperature. … > [@](#): > > In short, 100 means nothing at all on the Fahrenheit scale, 96 used to mean something but doesn’t anymore, and 0 is colder than it ever gets in Denmark. And on this side of the puddle, we have no difficulty discussing ‘How’s the weather today?’” in Celsius. Not even a remarkable skill. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/190 "2023-01-25T01:59:13Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Wood construction would be a huge changeover. I think it would be great to have 2cm lumber instead of a “one by” which is actually 3/4 of an inch thick. I have mentioned this before, but a friend of mine who was spending a year in Oslo went to a lumber yard and asked the clerk at the front for a 5 x 10 cm post. The clerk picked up a phone asked for a 2 x 4. Plywood is still sold in Canada in 4’ x 8’ sheets. And I’m not sure about ordinary lumber. But aside from a few anomalies like that, metric has taken over completely. One other thing. People still give their height in ft/in and weight in lbs. That might stay for a long time. The metric system offers no advantages for that. In Europe, in my experience the word pound (livre, Pfund,…) is used to mean 500g. I noticed fruit in a market priced in pounds. Here prices of meat, etc., are sometimes given as $10 a kilo or $4.52 a pound. I suspect that will disappear as people my age do. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/191 "2023-01-25T02:22:53Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > And on this side of the puddle, we have no difficulty discussing ‘How’s the weather today?’” in Celsius. Not even a remarkable skill. I mean some people here are in the “How can the Chinese even communicate with each other in that gibberish?” world now. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/192 "2023-01-25T02:41:19Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Centigrade units are too large by double for a useful thermostat Disagree. Fahrenheit degrees are too small by about a factor of two. Nobody can actually tell the difference between 72F and 73F. A Celsius degree is about the smallest difference humans can actually detect. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/193 "2023-01-25T05:15:42Z")
When I was in school (in the US), we were taught both systems. I don’t find either, or conversion especially hard. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/194 "2023-01-25T05:47:13Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Most people aren’t climate scientists and most scientists aren’t climate scientists. But most people boil water and freeze ice for their drinks… > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Centigrade units are too large by double for a useful thermostat Funny, my AC seems to work just fine in single °C increments. > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Fahrenheit was developed for “average people to discuss ‘How’s the weather today?’” Yeah, that’s already been debunked. > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > that’s the only way to get a number out of it that seems like it was put on a scale intended for humans to talk about the weather today. Once again - _what’s so special_ about a 0-100 scale specifically for discussing the weather? Like decimal fractions, are negative numbers beyond American understanding? I doubt that. And I am glad I don’t live in a part of the world where I _ever_ have to talk about -18 °C weather 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/195 "2023-01-25T05:48:45Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > In Europe, in my experience the word pound (livre, Pfund,…) is used to mean 500g. And here, a pint is 500ml. ---
**Author:** ![DaveUnknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@DaveUnknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveUnknown)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/196 "2023-01-25T06:09:04Z")
I’m all for it. it’s much easier to deal with even in daily life. In fact, I believe a bungle between imperial and metric cost $125M with a NASA space project (sorry I can’t recall, it wasn’t Hubble but another astronomy project). Should’ve happened a long time ago— thanks Reagan. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/197 "2023-01-25T06:28:16Z")
[Here’s an excuse to post one of the more iconic pieces of Slug Signorino artwork.](https://www.straightdope.com/21342285/how-can-the-chinese-use-computers-since-their-language-contains-so-many-characters) ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/198 "2023-01-25T07:15:50Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > 0, 25, 75, and 100 are far more eloquent for understanding comfort levels 0 is cold, 25 is pleasant, 75 you’re dead, 100 you’re deader… so not very eloquent at all. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/199 "2023-01-25T09:01:05Z")
It’s ounces that really piss me off. Volume or weight? Give me liters or grams. That being said, why do they say “A thousand kilometers”? Why not “A megameter”? ---
**Author:** ![Chelonaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@Chelonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chelonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/200 "2023-01-25T09:21:23Z")
Curiously, at least here in Denmark, prices used to be given pr. metric pound (500g) but has for some years now been pr. 1/2 kg. Exactly the same, of course, but I’ve never found out why they changed the notation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666.md?page=11)