# 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:** 19
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2023, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/361 "2023-02-10T05:11:32Z")
When I’m making an Indian dish with 8 spices that need to be cooked before they taste right, I’m pulling out the measuring spoons. No, i don’t carefully level them off and measure precisely. But it’s a tablespoon of coriander and a teaspoon of cinnamon and… Heck, when i make spiced apple and cranberry pie, i measure out the 4 spices. ---
**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:** [February 10, 2023, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/362 "2023-02-10T13:39:06Z")
We have tablespoons and teaspoons in Metrica, too… ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2023, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/363 "2023-02-10T14:11:34Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > We have tablespoons and teaspoons in Metrica, too… Yup. Discussed already. > [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Even in metric, you can use a teaspoon. But it will correspond to 4 or 5 mL. So that 1/8 teaspoon works just fine in metric. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2023, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/364 "2023-02-10T22:25:33Z")
So pretty much like I describe, not using a specific measure? ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2023, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/365 "2023-02-10T22:26:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > So, I use the hose to fill up a 5-gallon bucket, and time how long that takes. From there, I can… wait, no, I can’t calculate it, because my swimming pool isn’t measured in gallons. You had the right start - calibrate the water supply. Oh no, the pool is in metric. [Easy to convert.](https://www.convertworld.com/en/volume/ml/ml-to-oz.html) At least you had a 5-gal bucket. I can help you with the math if you want 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2023, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/366 "2023-02-10T22:32:45Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > Planck unit system, with units of time, length and mass that are fundamental to the universe. Trouble is, these units are so fantastically small. Maybe our AI overlords will prefer them. This proposal is logical, funny, and terrifying all at the same time. Well done. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2023, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/367 "2023-02-10T22:46:16Z")
Mmmm, it’s actually pretty specific. I don’t measure a teaspoon precisely, but i probably always go over by about the same amount. And i always use a lot more cinnamon than clove. And i always fish them out of their little bottles with a measuring spoon. We go though spices fairly quickly, and don’t grow any except basil and thyme. So the strength is fairly similar each time i cook. I did inherit some old stale spices from my mom, but they were so much weaker than what i usually use that it was hard to convert, and i just threw most of them out. And i don’t usually taste as i go. They taste different after cooking, and a lot of what i cook isn’t safe to eat raw. Or is nasty raw (raw lentils anyone?) I try an amount, write down what i did, and adjust next time. I guess i do taste a slice of spiced apple before baking, and have adjusted based on that. But at this point I’m pretty happy with my recipe. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/368 "2023-02-11T18:57:37Z")
I’m a stoner. I’ve been mentally converting grams to ounces and vice versa for 4 or 5 decades. I’m nosy, so about 30 years ago I got tired of finding conversion tables to find out how hot or cold it is somewhere else, so I memorized that simple calculation and now C and F are fairly interchangeable for me. It’s something like learning to use military time, once you get in the habit, it never really goes away. I think a lot of the resistance to metric nowadays is just habit and stubbornness. I’m for it, I think doing maths with metric is a whole bunch easier than finding the common demonstrators in fractions. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/369 "2023-02-11T20:15:52Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > … finding the common demonstrators in fractions … _Denominators_ (finding enough stoners who are sufficiently motivated to have a decent demonstration strikes me as not all that common 😉). More to the point, some while back and on a whim I changed my thermostat to use Celsius. Now it’s prit’ near second nature (and I find doing a mental C→F conversion is a lot easier than the reverse). ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/370 "2023-02-11T20:20:37Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > _Denominators_ (finding enough stoners who are sufficiently motivated to have a decent demonstration strikes me as not all that common 😉). Speeling has never been my strong point! > [@OttoDaFe](#): > > Now it’s prit’ near second nature Yep. It’s just like anything else, once you get used to doing something, you forget you are doing it because it is already done. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2023, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/371 "2023-02-12T13:35:13Z")
Inspired by this thread, i tossed in spices with abandon for the pie i made last night. Several shakes of cardamom and a pinch of clove. And, as usual, i mixed weight and volume measures. 3lbs fruit, 1/2 cup sugar, 3 Tbps tapioca, and aforementioned roughly measured spices. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/372 "2023-02-13T04:28:51Z")
We should finish converting to metric! In Canada we’ve been stuck in this awkward ‘between’ state for a generation or more. Paper sizes in inches. Fuel in litres. Air temperatures in Celsius. Cooking temperatures in Fahrenheit. Residential construction in feet and inches. Commercial construction in metres. And it goes on and on… ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/373 "2023-02-13T16:38:19Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > 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. What struggles do you believe metric users experience while talking about the weather or temperature? Do you have an example of anyone struggling through such a conversation? “Oh dear, the temperature today is less than 27 but more than 26, how frustrating that the are no words in the whole of Europe, Asia, or South America suited to grapple with this conundrum. How I wish we had a more finely graded scale to assist with this challenge” I would suggest that a human _cannot distinguish_ the difference between 75F and 76F. You think you can, because those numbers exist and you’ve formed a habitual attachment to them, but in a controlled experiment you can only differentiate what clothing is needed at different points. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/374 "2023-02-13T16:51:44Z")
Agreeing with HMS\_Irruncible, I’d translate 0F (very cold), 25F (likely to snow), 75F(a tad warm for my tastes, so I’m rounding down), and 100F(way too damn hot) to -20C, -5C, 20C, and 40C. And I’d add that in metric 10 is “I want a jacket to go out” and 30 is "the top end of comfortable. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/375 "2023-02-13T22:54:09Z")
I’m pretty relaxed about using the metric system, I’m half in and half out as it is. It would take some recalibrating of my brain, mostly in lengths, as in distance travelled and household projects. OTOH, I would strongly push for getting the change made and that right soon. Americans’ Exceptional Obstinacy is a bug, not a feature. And the 24 hour clock, while we’re at it. We recently went to mandatory celcius in our charting and I told my co-worker, 37 is normal, 38 is a low grade fever, 39 is a proper fever, and 40 is “Houston, we have a problem.” ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/376 "2023-04-08T04:27:29Z")
Metric is “neater” on highway signs - in particular, within cities where distances between exits are small. Metric eliminates the fractional miles (“Main St. 1 3/4 miles”) using hundreds of meters rather than fractions of kilometers. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/377 "2023-04-08T04:57:33Z")
I would totally go metric if the surrounding culture were inclined to do so. Meters instead of feet and yards, kilometers instead of miles. Kilograms instead of pounds, hectares not acres, litres replacing quarts and gallons, and milidays instead of hours and minutes. No more tablespoons being converted to portions of a cup. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/378 "2023-04-08T07:07:09Z")
Garages already have a complete set of metric tools. Both foreign and domestic cars use metric hardware. Plywood and composite lumber is often available in metric thicknesses already. Most other lumber won’t change, there’s no benefit to it. 4x9cm is slightly larger than 2x4" and no one is interested in paying more for it or retooling to make it. ---
**Author:** ![Mikkel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikkel/32/13151_2.png) [@Mikkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikkel)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/379 "2023-04-08T07:22:36Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > milidays instead of hours and minutes. Even though it might be advantageous, I’m not aware that this is a thing anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/380 "2023-04-08T07:24:47Z")
Revolutionary France, and mostly nowhere else. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666.md?page=20)