# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/101 "2023-01-23T23:17:45Z")
That’s too much. A gallon is the perfect size. (I’m kidding, of course!) On a lighter note, here’s [Dave Barry on metric](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/magazine/1989/09/10/hes-not-making-this-up/197bac9e-b668-4b4d-96db-d7f357f83588/). Here’s a funny quote from that column: > Meanwhile, the Canadians, being cooperative, quietly went ahead and actually converted. I know this because I was on a Canadian radio program once, and the host announced that the temperature was “8.” This was obviously a lie, so I asked him about it, and he confided, off the air, that the real temperature, as far as he knew, was around 40. But then his engineer said he thought it was more like 50, and soon other radio personnel were chiming in with various other interpretations of “8,” and I was struck by the fact that these people had cheerfully accepted, in the spirit of cooperation, a system wherein NOBODY REALLY KNEW WHAT THE TEMPERATURE WAS. ETA: I just re-read that column for the first time in years and laughed out loud. Highly recommend giving it a read. ---
**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 23, 2023, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/102 "2023-01-23T23:27:57Z")
Totally wrong, of course. All of them knew what the temperature was: It was 8 degrees Celsius. Nobody could agree on what it was in some other crazy system, but so what? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/103 "2023-01-23T23:29:55Z")
Thanks! Nothing helps a joke more than explaining 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 23, 2023, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/104 "2023-01-23T23:31:28Z")
> [@EastUmpqua](#): > > “Queensland’s sugar scientists released the toad into cane fields in August 1935”. In this case, not so much. Well cane toads and add cactoblastis and myxomatosis and calicivirus and HPV vaccines and anti-smoking campaigns. You win some, but not them all. But more related to the OP … From a country where half can’t be bothered voting; And spends a whole lotta time stopping others from voting; And then don’t believe the votes cast were counted correctly; And then elects a government of people who don’t think there should be a government. Why would you endow them with the wisdom to arbitrate on the advantages of metrication? Left to their own devices, these guys would still be burning witches. ---
**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 23, 2023, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/105 "2023-01-23T23:34:13Z")
But it’s not just a joke. A very large number of people really do seem to think that “understanding the metric system” consists in being able to convert it to some other system. As evidenced by all of the people whose exposure to metric in school was restricted to converting it to gallons, feet, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/106 "2023-01-23T23:51:07Z")
> [@EastUmpqua](#): > > Typical driving speed is 60 mph (96 km/h). So it’s easier to estimate how long it takes to get somewhere using miles. For me, typical driving speed is 100 km/hr, at a speed of 100 km. Pretty easy to estimate how long it takes to get somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/107 "2023-01-23T23:53:12Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > For me, typical driving speed is 100 km/hr, at a speed of 100 km. Pretty easy to estimate how long it takes to get somewhere . Well, I’m pretty good at estimating how long it takes to go 60 miles. [yet, I do favor converting to metric system] ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/108 "2023-01-24T00:12:57Z")
Canada is not even close to fully metric. Some things are metric: cars / roads are km rather than miles. A lot of things are half-assed metric. Butter is sold in 454-gram units. How that is anything other than metric window-dressing for a pound of butter, I don’t know. I tried to order half a kilo of lunchmeat at a deli counter once: they only sell it in units of 100 grams, so “half a kilo” thoroughly confused them. When I rephrased it as “500 grams,” they filled the order without issue. When I bought my house, the thermostat was in Fahrenheit. We have a new one in Celsius, though. But when I went into Home Depot with measurements for blinds in centimeters, they laughed at me. They use inches. Temperature is centigrade except for old people. Milk and alcohol are firmly in litres, but in bars and restaurants wine is sold by the ounce. So much of the construction industry seems to be firmly rooted in whatever the Americans, and their massive presence in the supply chain, dictate. I’d say America is about 20% metric, Canada is about 50%, and the UK about 80%. My memory of the 1970s conversions in the US include a bunch of kids playing ball with one of them explaining sententiously, “a meter is just a little more than a yard,” which is sort of useful, but as others have said, it was mostly math converting from one to the other with little context for when or why we’d do it. In my own head, I walk 3 miles / hour or 5 kmh, which means a mile is a 20-minute walk and a kilometer is a 12-minute walk. After a dozen years in Canada, I’m comfortable with Celsius, though I still secretly convert it to Fahrenheit in my head a lot. I mostly get grams and cm but on their own terms; I can’t easily convert them to their American equivalents the way I can with kg (2.2 pounds) and km (.6-ish miles). ---
**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:** [January 24, 2023, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/109 "2023-01-24T00:27:44Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > Left to their own devices, these guys would still be burning witches. It’s not that easy to characterize us. Some of us are married to witches 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/110 "2023-01-24T00:36:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > do you mean a statute mile, a survey mile, or a nautical mile? Is an ounce weight or volume? If weight, Avoidupois or Troy? If volume, Imperial or American? This goes back to the comment about these examples always seeming hyperbolic. I can’t say that I’ve ever had someone miss finding a building because they thought I must mean nautical miles or ruined dinner because they measured the olive oil in troy ounces (of weight!). That just doesn’t happen. When it _does_ matter but isn’t immediately obvious, you just specify it. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/111 "2023-01-24T00:41:48Z")
Not even, the UK has significant resistance to metric that Canada does not. I hope you didn’t buy a new thermostat for that reason! All of them can almost be certainly changed in units by holding a button or going through the menus. There are some things in the US that consistently use Celsius: PC temperatures, 3d printer nozzle and bed temperatures, etc. ---
**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, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/112 "2023-01-24T00:51:10Z")
OK, real-world example: I have a recipe that I got from a bed-and-breakfast in Ireland. I can’t use the recipe, because I don’t know what units it’s in. Is that half-pint of buttermilk 8 ounces, or 10? Maybe the writer was using imperial units, because it’s an old recipe, or maybe they translated it into American units for the benefit of tourists. Maybe they don’t even know there’s a difference. Well, OK, they probably know that our pints are different, but do they know that the tablespoons are different, too? Sure, if it was in metric units, I might need to do some conversions to use my American measuring cups. But I could actually do those conversions, because everyone who uses liters and grams uses the same liters and grams. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/113 "2023-01-24T00:56:49Z")
I’m not _against_ it per se, but I’m also not seeing what significant problem would be solved by more widespread use of metric in America. Any American who works in any scientific field or is involved in international business is already perfectly familiar with the metric system. So what if we use idiosyncratic units in everyday conversations about weather and distances? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/114 "2023-01-24T01:04:29Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > When talking about the metric system, folks always focus on the powers-of-ten thing, but that’s only like fourth on the list of the advantages of metric compared to “customary” units. It’s not even that–because there is nothing stopping people from using powers of 10 for customary units. And indeed, it’s in widespread use. For machining, I use inches. _Never_ feet. And a subdivision of an inch is in thousandths (or sometimes ten-thousandths). Never 1/32 or whatever (well, except for some tooling diameters, but I convert to decimal inches immediately). In some industries, kilofeet are used. Not a big deal. I would trade your #1 and #2 items. For the most part, US Customary units are understood. And these are perfectly well defined (in terms of SI units, of course). There are some silly exceptions, but encountering them in the real world is rare. OTOH, having coherent units is a non-trivial, ongoing advantage to SI. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/115 "2023-01-24T01:10:19Z")
Most of the measuring I do in daily life is around cooking, and I really like the system that is sort of base 12. I’d switch to a system that was _actually_ base 12, but base 10 doesn’t have enough factors for easy recipe modifications. If I have a recipe that calls for \frac{1}{2} cup, but I want to only make a \frac{1}{3} version, I just need 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons, not 39.4313333ml. The other place I do lots of conversions is time, and metric doesn’t help with that. > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > there are US automobile companies using metric fasteners I was replacing the brake pads on a '92 Buick; started on the first side, and used a bunch of metric sockets. After finishing that side, moved to the other, and none of the sockets fit right. The other side was SAE. I guess I had a car assembled the week the factory switched over. My 2000 Chevrolet is almost completely metric. ---
**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, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/116 "2023-01-24T01:10:54Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I make doughs a lot, and when I do so, I convert to metric. It just makes the math a lot easier. > > I want to make a 70% hydration dough with 1 lb of flour. How much water do I need (it’s going to be 70% of 1 lb … well … how much is that?) I make bread too. I put a tablespoon of yeast in some hot water and once it goes off I mix it with the other liquids I’m using and add it to some flour and then keep adding either flour or liquid until it feels just right as I knead it. My grandmother taught me how to gauge the feel of bread dough sixty years ago, and I still make bread by feel. It always comes out fine, although sometimes the loaves are a little larger, sometimes smaller. I don’t measure anything but the salt and the yeast. I could not make bread by measuring in any system. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/117 "2023-01-24T01:22:36Z")
That works, too, of course. I do doughs from 60%-80%+ hydration and use a lot less yeast – like a half teaspoon max for a pound loaf – (usually involving a few days rest in the fridge), so, for the purposes of consistency, it’s nice to have some foolproof numbers in mind, as even like 5% difference in hydration makes a noticeable difference in the final product (though it’ll still turn out fine–you don’t have to be nearly as exact in baking as many people make it out to be.) On the other, when I make something like spaetzle, I go almost 100% by feel and sight. I know whereabouts I want the dough/batter in viscosity, so I have some ballpark quantities I use and then adjust as necessary to feel. If I made bread every day, I’d probably get good at gauging the difference between 60, 70, 80% hydration. ---
**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, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/118 "2023-01-24T01:34:18Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > If I have a recipe that calls for \frac{1}{2} cup, but I want to only make a \frac{1}{3} version, I just need 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons, not 39.4313333ml. 40 ml (you don’t need all those digits) is a lot easier than 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons. Especially since you’re one of about seven people on the planet who actually knows how many tablespoons are in a cup. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/119 "2023-01-24T02:09:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Especially since you’re one of about seven people on the planet who actually knows how many tablespoons are in a cup. That can’t be right. Seven isn’t divisible by twelve. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666/120 "2023-01-24T02:17:51Z")
No, changing 80-year-old furnace for heat pump. (I don’t think the thermostat was pre-conversion, but I don’t know.) Our oven is also Fahrenheit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-converting-to-the-metric-system/978666.md?page=7)