# I'm an American, I want Metric, and you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 22, 2006, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234 "2006-12-22T16:16:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [December 22, 2006, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/21 "2006-12-22T18:21:23Z")
[QUOTE=Lord Ashtar] For those who use Metric: when was the last time you used a decimeter or a dekagram? Does anyone use those measurements? Ever? [/QUOTE] Centilitres are used on bottles of spirits, but that’s it I think. We’ve got a bit of a mish-mash here - I can’t see miles being replaced anytime soon. WRT the temperature I seem to be of the generation who thinks of cold temperatures in Celsius and hotter ones in Fahrenheit. _shrug_ ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/22 "2006-12-22T18:24:00Z")
All Imperial units were based on a human; the king at the time. A mile was how far he could walk, fully robed, before he had to stop and take a break. An acre was how much land a man and his oxen could clear in one day. In F, 0 was the coldest it got on a particular day, and 100 was supposed to be the human body temperature. Obviously, Dr. F was off a bit. The US system’s “power of 2”, is silly. Ok, so if you’re cooking, and you need 1/2 a cup, you use… 1/2 a cup. It’s not really a different measurement somehow, just 1/2 of what you were using before. I’m an engineer, and I’m all about metric. I also play rugby, so I use meters when describing distance. When I say something is 50m away, nobody looks at me funny, and they know exactly what I mean. But then again, most of my friends (from college, anyway) are pretty comfy with SI units. I vote, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/23 "2006-12-22T18:31:08Z")
I’m American, and I want high value coins and no paper bills under $5, but I don’t think that’ll happen either. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/24 "2006-12-22T18:32:55Z")
[QUOTE=Lord Ashtar] For those who use Metric: when was the last time you used a decimeter or a dekagram? Does anyone use those measurements? Ever? [/QUOTE] For everyday distances, mm, m and Km cover it. It’s no great hardship talking about a 900 mm long piece of timber, or a 900 m long path, then going to 1.1 m or 1.1 Km when you add about 20%. Similarly, for mass, g, Kg and Mg (or metric ton) cover all the everyday range. I suspect that a lot of people in metric countries don’t know their deci- from their deka-, never use centi- except in centimetres, and never use hecto- except in the really odd unit hectares. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/25 "2006-12-22T18:35:27Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] I know a meter is awfully close to a yard, and there’s no other time in my life when I refer to “two-thirds of a yard” (Yes, it’s two feet. No, you don’t call it two feet in the fabric store.), but ordering six decimeters of ribbon seems bizarre. I might be able to get used to ordering “two-thirds of a meter”, but that sort of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it? [/QUOTE] Instead of asking for two-thirds of anything, you’ll be asking for x-tenths. Two-thirds of a yard ~ six-tenths of a meter. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/26 "2006-12-22T18:41:04Z")
No. ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/27 "2006-12-22T18:53:32Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] When I was in architecture school, back in 1981, we were in the midst of the conversion, and we were told that we would be finished by the end of the eighties. Then in 1984 the new Conservative government pulled the plug on the process and disbanded the Metric Commission. There’s “conservative” and then there’s “reactionary”. But if the US changed, we would complete our transition so fast that it would make your head spin. [/QUOTE] I am currently finishing architecture school in the states and I have found that we do things equally half-assed when it comes to the metric system. Unless I am drafting on the computer, however, I will likely do things in the English system. I do find it easy to measure things like distance in either metric or english because of track (where we use metric only) and football (where we use yards). I actually do backwards conversion when someone asks me how many laps equal x amount of miles. That said, they can have everything but my temperature. I find the Celsius system to be impractical for dictating which coat to wear. 0-100 F makes sense. With cooking, I already know how many tablespoons are in a pint (32) so the english system does not really bother me. Metric is also very basic and there are already markers on my current measuring cups so whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/28 "2006-12-22T19:07:32Z")
Put me down for “Hell, no!” ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/29 "2006-12-22T19:09:10Z")
I don’t get a lot of the anti-metric sentiment here. Why is 30 cm or 0.3 m more cumbersome than a foot? Is dividing 37 mm in half really that much harder than dividing 1 29/64 inches in half? 2.2 lbs is too big compared to 1 lb? Then use 1/2 a kg. Is anybody so sensitive to temperature that setting the thermostat at most 0.9 F above or below their desired temperature is going to be noticable? The power of 2 thing is good for halving a recipe but what if you wanted to third it? Besides the powers of two aren’t even consistent, 1 gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 16 cups = 128 oz = 256 tbsp = 768 tsp (oops looks like a 3 slipped in). I seem to recall that in many of my grandmothers old German, metric recipes the dry ingredients were measured out by mass. This seems like it would be ideal to me. Just have one kitchen scale rather than multiple sets of measuring cups and spoons. ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/30 "2006-12-22T19:13:30Z")
[QUOTE=Pygmy Rugger] When I say something is 50m away, nobody looks at me funny, [/quote] Yes they do. > [@](#): > > and they know exactly what I mean. no they don’t. They’re just humoring you :). Some just pretend they know what you mean and the rest just humor you while they do the multiply your number by 3 to get feet. > [@robardin](#): > > Then again when soda bottles switched from gallons to liters back in the early 80s (for reasons I still don’t fully understand – in the US, milk and OJ are still sold in gallons and half-gallons), people expressed fear and loathing, but really it didn’t take very long for people to grok the volume of liquid in a one-liter or two-liter bottle. I think this is because it’s very easy to see that a liter is basically a quart and 2 liters is basically 1/2 gallon, plus you just have to look at it to know how much it is. I do wonder why dairy is still sold in half gallons. Somehow I think that government regulations must be involved. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/31 "2006-12-22T19:16:34Z")
Is there enough money in the United States to retrofit every piece of manufacturing equipment and convert what’s made on them to metric? Every scale, every thermometer, everything. Do consumers have enough money to repurchase everything they own that measures? Cooking equipment, tools? Are there enough resources to teach the metric system to everyone? Nah, I don’t think it’s going to happen, either. In the year 2300 you’ll still have people doubling the temperature and adding 32 to find out how many degrees it is outside. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/32 "2006-12-22T19:22:16Z")
[QUOTE=fishbicycle] Is there enough money in the United States to retrofit every piece of manufacturing equipment and convert what’s made on them to metric? [/QUOTE] Of couse not. Only really wealthy countries like the UK, Canada and Australia can afford to do that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/33 "2006-12-22T19:32:21Z")
[QUOTE=Frosted Glass] I find the Celsius system to be impractical for dictating which coat to wear. 0-100 F makes sense. [/quote] Again this silly argument. I suggest that you only think this way because you have no experience of any other measurement of temperature. I assure you that those of us who use only Celsius are not walking around in a permanent state of discomfort due to wearing the wrong coat. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/34 "2006-12-22T19:43:38Z")
[QUOTE=Surbey] hehehe, no, but she is a slut 😃 [/QUOTE] God BLESS America! ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/35 "2006-12-22T20:05:57Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] I happen to be a big fan of the English system for woodworking. The fact that the inch (and the foot, and the yard) can be divided neatly into two, and divided again, and divided again, and divided again, and that those divisions correspond to actual marks on the ruler, seems very elegant to me. I don’t like the fact that on a metric ruler, you have clear demarkations at the centimeter and half-centimeter, and everything ese is a tiny undifferentiated line. God help you when you want to split 37 mm in two, let’s say. One of the brilliant things about the [inch](http://www.woodzone.com/articles/inch.jpg) is the way each further halving of the inch is marked with a line of a different length. God save the inch!! [/QUOTE] This is my feeling as well. I prefer metric for most things, but am so used to inches for wood working. I’d be interested in how you metric woodworkers do things. If you are designing something do you try and make it a power-of-2 length and width? ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/36 "2006-12-22T20:09:32Z")
[QUOTE=Baracus] I don’t get a lot of the anti-metric sentiment here. [/QUOTE] Eh, I am a stubborn person but I can deal with some things turning metric easier than others. Why do rectal thermometers and milk need to changed to a metric only system? ---
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/37 "2006-12-22T20:09:46Z")
Having to think in base 10 and base 12 on a daily basis keeps the neurons firing. Converting to metric would make life _easier_, but not converting keeps us smart. Think of it as the “Exercise the Mind” argument, and these days the general population needs as much exercise in that area as they can get. Kind of like how I believe that automatic everything in cars is partly responsible for creating a generation of worse drivers. Same principle. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/38 "2006-12-22T20:12:15Z")
[QUOTE=Frosted Glass] Eh, I am a stubborn person but I can deal with some things turning metric easier than others. Why do rectal thermometers and milk need to changed to a metric only system? [/QUOTE] I find metric rectal thermometers a pain on the ass as well. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/39 "2006-12-22T20:18:08Z")
[QUOTE=Frosted Glass] Why do rectal thermometers and milk need to changed to a metric only system? [/QUOTE] Why is 98 easier to remember than 37? And exactly why is a quart so highly superior to a litre? ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234/40 "2006-12-22T20:21:36Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] Why is 98 easier to remember than 37? And exactly why is a quart so highly superior to a litre? [/QUOTE] It’s not and it isn’t. I never said anything about being rational, only stubborn. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-american-i-want-metric-and-you/385234.md?page=3)