# The Metric system is the tool of the devil! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 9, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256 "2019-06-09T17:26:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/1 "2019-06-09T17:26:55Z")
The [global tyranny of the metric system](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cPeZLCVWTw) rears its head on Tucker Carlson tonight. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/2 "2019-06-09T17:32:06Z")
Ignorance knows no bounds. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/3 "2019-06-09T19:32:52Z")
Will all Tucker’s viewers immediately ditch their 9mm handguns for a good American .45cal? Tune in tonight! ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/4 "2019-06-09T20:09:58Z")
Is it a requirement to watch the entire video to participate in this thread? I tried, I really did, twice. I just couldn’t take it though and never made it further than “new world orders” before I had to shut off the clip. **QuickSilver** summed it up nicely ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/5 "2019-06-09T20:15:36Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Will all Tucker’s viewers immediately ditch their 9mm handguns for a good American .45cal? Tune in tonight! No, a .357. See how hard the metric system is? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/6 "2019-06-09T20:19:35Z")
Generally, I find that YouTube comments are some of the most moronic on the web, but the comments on that video are spot-on. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/7 "2019-06-09T20:37:44Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Ignorance knows no bounds. We certainly couldn’t measure the bounds with no metric system, that’s for damn sure. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/8 "2019-06-09T21:40:32Z")
> [@DorkVader](#): > > Is it a requirement to watch the entire video to participate in this thread? I tried, I really did, twice. I just couldn’t take it though and never made it further than “new world orders” before I had to shut off the clip. You should have stuck it out a little longer - to the bit where the interviewee appears to claim that America put men on the moon without interference from the metric system. Part of me hopes that’s true. Here’s a little something that may amuse you, if you haven’t seen it before - the US’s resistance to the metric system has some odd effects. Some animal health products are sold as high concentration premixes for addition to animal feed (hey - ever tried to get a pig to take a tablet?). OK, so how do you get around dosing in grams when you’re talking to a farmer? Simple. [Like this.](https://vetlabel.com/lib/vet/meds/tylan-100/) > [@](#): > > Active Drug Ingredient —Tylosin (as tylosin phosphate) . . . 100 g per lb Makes designing a rocket in foot-poundals seem logical. j ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/9 "2019-06-09T21:44:24Z")
…My car gets 40 Rods to the Hogshead and that’s the way I likes it! ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/10 "2019-06-09T23:02:19Z")
Some gems:[ul] [li]Tucker correctly pronouncing Buenos Aires, Lusaka, Esperanto, and Criterion but faking ignorance of Kilometer.[/li][li]Guest calling himself an “anti-Metrite” :dubious:[/li][li]A surprising focus on French revolutionary history[/li][li]Terms like “ancient knowledge” and “global tyranny”[/li][li]Tucker briefly contemplating replacing the Dollar for the Euro[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/11 "2019-06-09T23:09:58Z")
Doesn’t the U.S. military use the metric system, what with “klicks” and shit? Does Tucker Carlson not Support the Troops? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/12 "2019-06-09T23:26:28Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > You should have stuck it out a little longer - to the bit where the interviewee appears to claim that America put men on the moon without interference from the metric system. Part of me hopes that’s true. [This Reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/39f8im/did_nasa_use_the_metric_system_when_we_landed_on/) suggests that NASA used both metric and Imperial units in the Apollo program; scientific data, in particular, apparently was more likely to use metric. The Reddit post contains a link to [another article](https://www.doneyles.com/LM/Tales.html), written by an engineer who worked on the Lunar Module Guidance Computer; he states: > [@](#): > > With respect to units, the LGC was eclectic. Inside the computer we used metric units, at least in the case of powered-flight navigation and guidance. At the operational level NASA, and especially the astronauts, preferred English units. This meant that before being displayed, altitude and altitude-rate (for example) were calculated from the metric state vector maintained by navigation, and then were converted to feet and ft/sec. ---
**Author:** ![Mcmechanic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Mcmechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mcmechanic)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/13 "2019-06-10T01:07:59Z")
This is hilarious. All automotive oems use the metric system now. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/14 "2019-06-10T01:32:18Z")
A mile is a thousand paces @ 5’ each. I wonder if anyone has the legs for a 5’ stride. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/15 "2019-06-10T01:35:52Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > A mile is a thousand paces @ 5’ each. I wonder if anyone has the legs for a 5’ stride. Romans counted a pace as two steps - the distance between where your right foot hits the ground to where your right foot next hits the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/16 "2019-06-10T02:27:38Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Doesn’t the U.S. military use the metric system, what with “klicks” and shit? Does Tucker Carlson not Support the Troops? When I was in Basic Combat Training, one Drill Sergeant constantly repeated “Keep three meters apart; keep three meters apart” when we were on cross-country marches. Oddly enough, he was from Mexico and what he thought was three meters was actually three feet. And, yes, the US military does use SI. Of course there are some unusual terms in the US. For example, my unit conversion app does not have a measure termed _shit_, but it does have both _assload_ (1 assload = 3 kg) and _shit-ton_ (1 shit-ton = 4,000,000 pounds). ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/17 "2019-06-10T02:54:29Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Here’s a little something that may amuse you, if you haven’t seen it before - the US’s resistance to the metric system has some odd effects. Some animal health products are sold as high concentration premixes for addition to animal feed (hey - ever tried to get a pig to take a tablet?). OK, so how do you get around dosing in grams when you’re talking to a farmer? > > Simple. [Like this.](https://vetlabel.com/lib/vet/meds/tylan-100/) Sadly, I’ve encountered it before, in the form of an American lab manager who claimed that “everybody measures density in kilograms per quart!” The out-of-the-US factories had previously used either kg/l or specific gravity (identical numbers, different units); we’d all moved to specific gravity as part of a company-wide project (a tiny, tiny, tiny part of it). There was a moment of silence while we processed the horror of that American unit. Then the one Englishman present said “excuse me, I would like to take this response” and the rest of us agreed. It’s a pity it was before telephone cameras, because damn that was one of the most beautiful rants I’ve ever witnessed. > [@Alessan](#): > > Doesn’t the U.S. military use the metric system, what with “klicks” and shit? Does Tucker Carlson not Support the Troops? I thought shit was customarily measured in bovine units. ---
**Author:** ![Mcmechanic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Mcmechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mcmechanic)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/18 "2019-06-10T03:46:19Z")
I work for a supplier to the automotive oem’s, we use SI exclusively. But it never fails, anytime I hire a contractor They tell me the old saying “there’s only 2 types of countries, those that have been to the moon, and those that use the metric system.” It’s usually just meant as a funny down home trope (is trope correct?) but evidently Tucker Carlson wants to use it as a serious talking point to keep dipshits voting for idiots. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/19 "2019-06-10T07:19:43Z")
I worked on an archaeological dig once. The director wanted to use feet and inches for measurement. I urged that he switch to metric. His compromise was to excavate levels in tenths of feet! ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/20 "2019-06-10T10:18:40Z")
Burma and Liberia have not been to the moon Russia and China have landed on the Moon (just not with people), and India has/is orbiting it. Brian [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256.md?page=2)