# I'm American. When I Use The Metric System or Celsius Do I Sound Like A Pretentious Twit? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 1, 2019, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016 "2019-08-01T18:14:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/81 "2019-08-02T14:37:27Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > :dubious: > > Sort of a jerk response to a genuine question, but go ahead and make fun of the dyslexic who was relying on auto correct. I can see why you took it as “making fun of you”, since it’s apparently a sore point, but it was just the usual spelling nitpicking. A genuine question: do you often confuse c and C, or simply didn’t know Celsius is the name of the guy who invented the unit therefore it gets a cap? So far I haven’t met a dyslexic who confused those two, but they’re similar enough that I can see it (my own brother confuses bdpq but only with some fonts, for example). ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/82 "2019-08-02T14:39:01Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I can see why you took it as “making fun of you”, since it’s apparently a sore point, but it was just the usual spelling nitpicking. A genuine question: do you often confuse c and C, or simply didn’t know Celsius is the name of the guy who invented the unit therefore it gets a cap? So far I haven’t met a dyslexic who confused those two, but they’re similar enough that I can see it (my own brother confuses bdpq but only with some fonts, for example). Didn’t know. The number of s’s is usually a guess. Auto-correct typically helps, but apparently American auto correct doesn’t like metric. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/83 "2019-08-02T14:44:33Z")
Our system of measurement, which we insist on clinging to, isn’t even a “system” at all. It is a hodgepodge based in large part on the old English system of measurement that even the English gave up on almost 200 years ago. So, if you use it, you don’t sound like a twit, you sound like you are actually a modern, sophisticated person. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/84 "2019-08-02T14:45:38Z")
Screw metric. There are much better ways to be a pretentious twit. “How far to the nearest gas station?” “About 4.4228026706045e-12 light years. That includes the curvature of the earth.” Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/85 "2019-08-02T15:10:45Z")
To hell with the pretentious Celsius crap. If “Centigrade” was good enough for hundreds of years, it’s good enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/86 "2019-08-02T15:11:45Z")
^^ Can I get there in less than twelve parsecs? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/87 "2019-08-02T15:29:48Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > ^^ Can I get there in less than twelve parsecs? Nope. The speed limit is 55 hectares per electron volt, depending on the mass of objects in the vicinity. And if children are present. If I were trying to get where you’re going, I wouldn’t start from where you are. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/88 "2019-08-02T15:35:08Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > ^^ Can I get there in less than twelve parsecs? Nevermind that, how efficient is it in hogshead to the rod ? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/89 "2019-08-02T15:40:39Z")
About four chains to the angstrom, plus or minus a teaspoon. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/90 "2019-08-02T15:40:49Z")
What I want to know is the conversion factor between hogsheads and damajuanas… ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/91 "2019-08-02T15:46:26Z")
This discussion reminds me of an audiobook I listened to a while back. Guy’s father was a junkie for useless trivia. One day, for the lulz, he decided to calculate the speed of light in fathoms per fortnight. Doing the calculations on paper. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/92 "2019-08-02T16:05:25Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Just for the sake of being an argumentative bitch : it’s not the sum total, it’s the distribution. My favourite Chinese (Mandarin) teacher used to quip that you can get by speaking Chinese exclusively just about anywhere in the entire world ; simply because if it’s a physical geographical location that has breathable air there’s a Chinese community living there and they’ll sort you out like you’re long lost cousins, no worries. Even in the USA, it’s easier to find someone who understand Metric than to find a Chinese speaker. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2019, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/93 "2019-08-02T16:11:34Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > To hell with the pretentious Celsius crap. If “Centigrade” was good enough for hundreds of years, it’s good enough for me. Personally, I report all my temperatures in Rankine, none of this metric BS. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2019, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/94 "2019-08-02T16:58:59Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Even in the USA, it’s easier to find someone who understand Metric than to find a Chinese speaker. However, it’s much, much easier to find someone who speaks/understands English and US/Imperial/Whatever than it is to find someone who speaks Chinese or solely understands metric. So unless your conversations regularly take you to people who don’t, it’s probably not a priority to worry about it. Even speaking to overseas friends on the internet, I’ve never had an instance where I actually needed to know a metric conversion on the spot. And the rare instances where I needed to know a metric conversion as all (cold weather bragging, etc) I could just use the amazing powers of the internet to find out before posting about it on Facebook/Twitter/etc. Using metric when speaking to people who probably don’t know the conversions and where it’s not commonly used in casual speech makes you sound like a pretentious twit because you’re only using it to “make a point” at the cost of being understandable which is pretty much the benchmark of being a pretentious twit. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/95 "2019-08-02T18:03:39Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > As an American, I believe the time has come – indeed, it’s been here for two centuries – for the U.S. to convert to the Metric System and Celsius. I’ve been trying to force myself to use those systems in my daily life, because The Buddha said to be the change you want to see. > > But I’m concerned? Do I sound like a pretentious twit when I say that St. Louis is a 175-kilometer drive? Or when I say it’s about 27 degrees outside when it’s the 1st of August? Or when I say, “the 1st of August” rather than “August 1st”? When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I vaguely remember the math for metric conversions, but I don’t “think” in metric. If I hear someone tell me that it’s 27° outside, then the mental association with that number is January weather, not August weather. When you tell me that some city is x number of kilometers away, well, the only tool I have to measure long distances is my car’s odometer, and that measures in miles, so now I have to do a mental calculation to come up with a measurement that is actually of any use to me. The primary purpose of language is to communicate, and when people have to mentally “decipher” what you’re saying, then you have failed to communicate clearly. What’s your opinion of people who go to a country that uses metric units and insists on describing everything in imperial units? That brings me to my main point: For average, everyday people, there is no benefit at all to changing. The only thing that matters is that the units of measurement are standardized, so that when I talk about a gallon, a quart, a liter, a mile, a kilometer, or whatever, it means the same thing in every part of the country. When I cut a board to fit in a certain space, it makes no difference whether my tape measure is in inches or in centimeters, what matters is that the board fits in the space after I cut it. Likewise, it doesn’t matter whether the road signs are in miles or kilometers, what matters is that I have a number that I can compare with the odometer or speedometer in my car. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/96 "2019-08-02T19:58:05Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > But I’m concerned? Do I sound like a pretentious twit when I say that St. Louis is a 175-kilometer drive? Or when I say it’s about 27 degrees outside when it’s the 1st of August? Depends - is it a leap year? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/97 "2019-08-02T20:01:13Z")
One issues with length is that the metric system doesn’t have a convenient unit for things that are most convenient to measure using feet. The closest would be a decimeter but that’s not a commonly used unit as far as I’m aware of. I’d also like to know where the poster who mentioned 27 degrees lives. It might get that cool at 4 in the morning around here, but even that’s pushing it. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/98 "2019-08-02T20:18:23Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Nevermind that, how efficient is it in hogshead to the rod ? I dunno, but it’s $0.25 or 5 bees worth. > [@pulykamell](#): > > Personally, I report all my temperatures in Rankine, none of this metric BS. Delisle, where freezing is 150 °D and boiling 0 °D, because why not? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/99 "2019-08-02T20:18:22Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > And certain metric measurements are fine in casual context, like centimeter. And the one-kilometer bottle. What? I’d sound weird to my colleagues on the job if I referred to a one-pound tumor or a kidney measuring 6 inches long. But when I’m out at a restaurant I don’t ask for that half-kilogram steak special. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2019, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016/100 "2019-08-03T01:56:41Z")
> [@SingleMalt](#): > > Decaminutes or hectominutes, maybe? A centiminute would be 1/100 of a minute. Depends how fast you’re driving. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-american-when-i-use-the-metric-system-or-celsius-do-i-sound-like-a-pretentious-twit/838016.md?page=6)