# How do you feel about the metric system? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 19, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115 "2015-02-19T19:08:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/61 "2015-02-19T22:47:25Z")
How do I feel about metric vs. ye aulde Englyshe system? Like, 500 of one, half a kilo of the other. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/62 "2015-02-19T23:02:04Z")
> [@iljitsch](#): > > I’m watching an episode of Aircrash Investigation, and I find it strange that a program produced in Canada about a crash in Canada is narrated with Fahrenheit and miles, even though the military in the reenactments talk about “kliks”. I am by no means certain, but I think this program is produced in both systems (they only have to redo the narration, there are almost never any numbers on screen). The version we watch on Discovery Canada (called “Mayday” here) uses metric units (except that altitudes are given in feet). The local French version, which I haven’t seen in years, even gave altitudes in meters, which was really confusing. I guess the version that gets shown in the OP’s country is based on the U.S. version. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/63 "2015-02-19T23:04:09Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > There was also a “guinea” (worth 21 shillings) at one point … because the system would otherwise be too straightforward. The guinea concept is still used in horse auctions in the UK. They are sold in guineas and the seller gets paid in pounds with the auctioneer taking the difference as commission - so £1.05 becomes £1. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/64 "2015-02-19T23:08:53Z")
My generation in Canada is rather unique. We learned everything in the imperial system originally, and then relearned everything in the metric system. We’re all completely fluent in both systems. In fact we often measure pool temperatures in Fahrenheit while stating the ambient temperature in Celsius. “Hey, it’s 27 degrees out and the pool is at 80!” I’ll buy a pound of butter, and then get 300 grams of smoked meat. It’s kina weird, really. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/65 "2015-02-19T23:09:07Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > In terms of everyday life and activities, the boiling point of water doesn’t come up very much. How do I know you’ve never made a decent cup of tea? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![joesetx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9bcb4/32.png) [@joesetx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joesetx)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/66 "2015-02-19T23:15:05Z")
I am an American hospital Pharmacist. I grew up in Canada and was a teen when they converted to metric. Even here in the US we exclusively use metric when calculating medication doses, concentrations, rates and everything else. But I can tell you this…even in Canada no one will tell you their height in centimeters or weight in kilograms. And no one says don’t judge me until you walk 1.6 kilometers in my shoes ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/67 "2015-02-19T23:16:39Z")
I got sick of waiting for the rest of the country and unilaterally converted to the metric system a few years ago. I’ve been trying to convince others to join me, but it’s been slow going. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/68 "2015-02-20T01:19:48Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I like it for weighing and measure small things. I like English for larger things. > > Classic example for me: I have a 2.25 mm set of knitting needles and I have 490 yds of yarn. This doesn’t make a lot of sense. 490 yards of yarn is 448 meters of yarn. Both seem equally convenient to use. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/69 "2015-02-20T01:51:38Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > I got sick of waiting for the rest of the country and unilaterally converted to the metric system a few years ago. I’ve been trying to convince others to join me, but it’s been slow going. I’m in. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/70 "2015-02-20T01:56:18Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > My opinion of the metric system? It’s great! Don’t believe me? Do the following word problems with only pencil and paper, and get back to me. > > What is the area of a rectangular plot measuring one mile, four hundred yards, two feet, and five inches long by two miles, 1289 yards, one foot, and three inches? Um. I have never had to do a problem remotely like this regarding the real world, and I’m in my mid-fifties, and don’t expect that I ever will. Especially because…do people really measure plots of land to the nearest inch? And is there a reason why an approximation, in this case, simply won’t do? Converting between inches and feet is a hassle, and I’m definitely on board with the ease of the metric system for cm/m measurements. But feet-to-miles-and-back scarcely ever comes up, in my life anyway…the only exception I can remember was calculating how many laps at the swimming pool made a mile. (At my cousin’s wedding…must have been 2000…I was assured by a Canadian who had worked in the NYC purchasing department that there was no possible way the US would stave off metric for more than another ten years. While consumers didn’t necessarily notice it _yet_, she said, the trend was absolutely unmistakable in the business world and the handwriting was on the wall, and about time too, she added. “Ah,” I said neutrally, and changed the subject.) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/71 "2015-02-20T02:48:46Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > The only place I can see Joe American being rightfully confused is trying to figure out pricing by weight in the grocery store. Yes, you still figure out dollars-per-kilo the same way you do dollars-per-pound, but it would be hard to figure out on the spot if you were getting less or more for your dollar compared to what you paid per pound before. The places where it caused problems in Aus were heights and weights of people and trucks. Things where the number is bound up with the identity. People just never changed their idea of how tall they were, or how much they weighed, and the government just had to adjust to the fact. For the trucks, they had to retrofit all the bridges with imperial-measure load-limit and height-limit signs: they were forced to do so by the string of destructive accidents that happened after they coverted the signs to metric. Regarding dollars-per-pound: of course you were getting less. That wasn’t a secret: it happened at a time of high inflation. > [@bot3](#): > > For cry’n out loud even the British moved on. That has to mean something. Yes. It means that they decided that trade with Europe was more important than trade with the USA. Australia made the same decision. Expect the same decision when the USA decides that it would be better to buy all manufactured goods overseas. ---
**Author:** ![mind\_the\_gap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@mind\_the\_gap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mind_the_gap)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/72 "2015-02-20T03:22:34Z")
I’ve noticed a couple of replies by machinists. CNC machines (Computer Numerical Controlled) convert from inch to metric at the flip of a switch. Digital measuring tools do the same. As far as older Vernier dial tools, I’ve gotten used to the rough measureament of 25mm as being equal to 1 inch. That’s close enough for estimation and the rest of the time conversion is easy. As far as doing work to metric prints, no biggie. Most machinists I’ve worked with over the last 40 years are at home with either system. As far as common usage, I’d have to agree with the sentiment that you use what you grew up with. I do like the idea of measuring my weight in stones though…😃 ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/73 "2015-02-20T03:42:00Z")
The US won’t convert to metric without a major change in the way your political system works. If there was a push towards it now, the Right would immediately commence a campaign to ensure that imperial measures became identified with US national identity and exceptionalism, and introduction of the metric system became seen as practically amounting to surrendering to the French. They wouldn’t do this because TPTB on the Right actually care (much) but because it can be used as a classic wedge issue. Like a lot of Right wing wedge policy, it would be a policy that would tend to appeal to socially conservative, nationalistic working class people who might otherwise be seen as natural Left voters. And since the Left wouldn’t really care much about introduction of the metric system, at the first hint of it being used as a wedge issue they’d distance themselves from it immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/74 "2015-02-20T04:27:56Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > The US won’t convert to metric without a major change in the way your political system works. If there was a push towards it now, the Right would immediately commence a campaign to ensure that imperial measures became identified with US national identity and exceptionalism, and introduction of the metric system became seen as practically amounting to surrendering to the French. > > They wouldn’t do this because TPTB on the Right actually care (much) but because it can be used as a classic wedge issue. Like a lot of Right wing wedge policy, it would be a policy that would tend to appeal to socially conservative, nationalistic working class people who might otherwise be seen as natural Left voters. > > And since the Left wouldn’t really care much about introduction of the metric system, at the first hint of it being used as a wedge issue they’d distance themselves from it immediately. Meh, this is mostly spurious. We get it, you don’t like Republicans. But adoption of the metric system is the same as women’s suffrage, integration, gay marriage etc. except coldly unemotional. They have to be around & accepted by enough people to reach ‘critical mass’, then things will naturally take their course. Or they won’t, and it won’t. You cannot mandate social change with pencil and paper. Well, you can, but only if you also ignore reality when it has no effect… ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/75 "2015-02-20T04:49:46Z")
When I was a kid in the 60’s/70’s and they were trying to teach us metrics I freaking hated it! I had just learned feet and inches and such and now you’re trying to teach me something else? F.U.!:mad: But as an adult I realized it’s the better system and we should just cold turkey to it. Also: the 12 hour clock is stupid! I’ve been using the 24 hour (“military time”) clock for over 30 years now and it is the logical thing to use in a 24 hour world. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/76 "2015-02-20T05:03:01Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > But adoption of the metric system is the same as women’s suffrage, integration, gay marriage etc. except coldly unemotional. They have to be around & accepted by enough people to reach ‘critical mass’, then things will naturally take their course. Or they won’t, and it won’t. You cannot mandate social change with pencil and paper. Well, you can, but only if you also ignore reality when it has no effect… You miss the point. I suspect you would agree with me that it is unlikely that the issue will be one anyone cares about deeply enough to want to push through despite strong opposition (unlike those issues you mention). The only point on which I suspect we differ is who would put up the opposition. And you don’t say where I’m going wrong on that one. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/77 "2015-02-20T07:33:33Z")
> [@iljitsch](#): > > I’m watching an episode of Aircrash Investigation, and I find it strange that a program produced in Canada about a crash in Canada is narrated with Fahrenheit and miles, even though the military in the reenactments talk about “kliks”. > > We could go over why the US is sticking to its traditional measurements once again, but to me, a more interesting question is: how do Americans feel about the metric system? You guys are exposed to it pretty regularly: medicine, certain packaging sizes, the military uses it… So I guess you must have an opinion. With the exception of certain industries, Canada uses the metric system on paper, and in real life actual usage varies. If a given politcal wind were to change, I dont doubt that a return to standard american units would be all that hard. The priority of the metric system at the time, had more to do with Pierre the putz and his fear of American amalgamation of Canada. My opinion of the system, is that it was never designed to be used by humans, in its current incantation. I was brought up short , by an aquaintance, that it was brought into being to standardize the sale of a bolt of cloth, in France along with codifying other weights and measures. So your not missing much if your not using the metric system. Declan ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/78 "2015-02-20T08:46:00Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > My generation in Canada is rather unique. We learned everything in the imperial system originally, and then relearned everything in the metric system. > > We’re all completely fluent in both systems. In fact we often measure pool temperatures in Fahrenheit while stating the ambient temperature in Celsius. > > “Hey, it’s 27 degrees out and the pool is at 80!” > > I’ll buy a pound of butter, and then get 300 grams of smoked meat. It’s kina weird, really. My generation (born 1974) is similar, although the UK didn’t go the whole hog and maintains some Imperial measurements. In the transitional period (70s and early 80s) it was common to see both temperatures given. To this day my Parents (and yes, I have noticed others do it) use Celsius when it is cold (its below zero outside!) and Fahrenheit when it is hot (God, it feels like its almost a hundred). All cars sold in the UK have a speedometer that shows mph and kph. ---
**Author:** ![jsquire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@jsquire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsquire)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/79 "2015-02-20T10:57:17Z")
I am a rather intense fan of the sport of track and field, one in which measurement is important. All the race distances are in metric and the switchover in the USA happened almost 40 years ago. Everyone is on board with that. It’s the field events and their distances and heights where there is some friction. Getting results from overseas means everything is reported in metric, and it’s just so much easier to deal with. A high jump result of 6’ 11 1/2" is just 2.12m. There are a few fuddy-duddys here in the US that want everything reported in feet and inches and they make it a royal pain to switch. I learned the advantage of this at the 2001 World Championships, held in Edmonton. It was the first international meet I’d attended, and the internet was young enough that I hadn’t made the adjustment to metrics in field events. I soon discovered how mentally easy it is to put metrics in order to see who was in first, who was in second, etc, and to determine when someone had overtaken one of those positions. As a high school cross country coach, we do all of our training in kilometers specifically because the kids have no idea how far those are. That way they just run and don’t worry about it; saying “we’re running 12k today” gets no reaction, but telling them it’s 7.5 miles would have a few kids freak out. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115/80 "2015-02-20T11:19:49Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > America doesn’t have an ounce of sense. Is that liquid or weight? 🙂 (another advantage of the metric system) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-metric-system/713115.md?page=5)