# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/61 "2019-06-11T01:22:15Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > Am I correct to say Ford once used tenths of inches in its cars? I seem to recall you need special tools to work on some classic Ford cars. The Model A Ford had wood-on-leather bearings. Several of the tools used to work on classic Ford cars would look unusual to you. Others, like the adjustable wrench, would look usual to you, but looked odd to farmers at the time. The bolts and nuts were mostly ordinary 1/8ths, 16ths, 32nds. I don’t know how the dimensions of the car were measured: I’d guess feet, inches, fractions, as ordinary things were at the time. Later, car manufacturers moved to having /all/ dimensions in 1/1000s of an inch (‘thou’ or ‘mil’). If Ford was using ‘tenths’, that would have been a tenth of a thou, about 2.5 μm, and that would have been a tolerance, not a dimension. Nothing on the model T would have been toleranced that accurately. In Aus, dimensions moved to /all/ mm, due to manufacturing workers being unable to handle decimal fractions and metric conversions like mm/cm/m/km. ---
**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 11, 2019, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/62 "2019-06-11T03:05:25Z")
> [@Encinitas](#): > > 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! I remember in drafting class, I had to use a nifty ruler with six scales on it, an [engineer’s scale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_ruler#Engineer's_scale). One of the scales is marked in tenths of an inch. The link shows you the other divisions. > [@Nava](#): > > 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. You wouldn’t perhaps be able to summarize it here, would you? > [@Nava](#): > > I thought shit was customarily measured in bovine units. Bovine units would be an indicator of _quality_, not _quantity_. ---
**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 11, 2019, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/63 "2019-06-11T03:24:21Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > In Aus, dimensions moved to /all/ mm, due to manufacturing workers being unable to handle decimal fractions and metric conversions like mm/cm/m/km. What? That’s the actual beauty and key to the utility of the metric system, the incredibly simple conversion factor, IMHO. Here’s a fun way to remember the order/value of the SI prefixes: make your own lyrics to the tune of [url=[Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron Lyrics - The Royal Guardsmen](https://www.lyricsbox.com/royal-guardsmen-snoopy-vs.-the-red-baron-lyrics-xsxjrz8.html)]_Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron_. ---
**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 11, 2019, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/64 "2019-06-11T03:34:14Z")
Here’s the corrected link: [_Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron_](https://www.lyricsbox.com/royal-guardsmen-snoopy-vs.-the-red-baron-lyrics-xsxjrz8.html) ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/65 "2019-06-11T03:38:13Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > I dunno, the segment strikes me as “obvious troll is obvious”, done precisely to rile up people. Yeah, this is the Republican base. I eventually gave up talking to many of my relatives just because of this. Having lived for 30 years in metric countries, it really doesn’t matter one way or another for most things. The segment is just another way of getting their base angry about foreigners. ---
**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 11, 2019, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/66 "2019-06-11T04:01:15Z")
> [@](#): > > I remember in drafting class, I had to use a nifty ruler with six scales on it, an engineer’s scale. One of the scales is marked in tenths of an inch. The link shows you the other divisions. Decimal inches are common in electronics. Traditionally, IC pin spacing was in .1 or .05 inch increments. Even now, as everything moves to metric, it’s very, very common to see pin spacings of 2.54mm or 1.27mm. Then there are edge connectors, which often have spacings of .156" - which turns out to be 5/32… ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/67 "2019-06-11T04:07:25Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Hail Amps! > > (The ampere is a base unit in the metric system. Which makes all electronics part of Satan’s plan. Tucker better get off the TeeVee.) Shocking! I had better write a coulomb about it. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/68 "2019-06-11T04:07:47Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Wouldn’t the parameters of formation movement have required them to train their soldiers to march with the same stride despite any differences in leg length? Not necessarily the exact same stride, specially if your roads are crappy, but close enough to make the sergeant happy; when the sergeant is unhappy, everybody is unhappy. And now I’m wondering if archeologists know any cadences from the Roman or Macedonian armies 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/69 "2019-06-11T06:33:21Z")
The U.S. was a leader in the metricization of currency for its own sake! The original American standard was that a silver dollar had the average weight of worn-down Spanish pieces of eight reales, so the base unit was a reale, called a “bit” in the States, and worth 12½ cents. However no one-bit coin was ever minted: the first coin minted by the U.S. Treasury was the silver half-disme; it took 2½ half-dismes to make a bit. No wonder that when pries are quoted in bits, it’s almost always an even number of bits. The silver half-disme was a short-lived coin. Nickel mines wanted in on the action and named the replacement for the half-disme after themselves. ```auto [quote="beowulff, post:66, topic:835256"] Decimal inches are common in electronics. Traditionally, IC pin spacing was in .1 or .05 inch increments. [/QUOTE] Back in the Triassic Era, most of the ICs I worked with had two rows of 8 pins each with 0.1 inch spacing. However IIRC, IBM's MST-2 IC's had four rows of 4 pins (arranged in a square) with ⅛ inch spacing. IBM did everything differently from The.Rest.of.the.World. Allegedly this was to make it harder for IBM technicians and engineers to find work at other companies. ``` Thais are lovers, not fighters and have an ecumenical system for quoting the dimensions of wooden boards. Thickness is given in inches, width in centimeters, length in _sok_ (the Traditional Thai measure). :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/70 "2019-06-11T06:39:32Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > The U.S. was a leader in the metricization of currency for its own sake! The original American standard was that a silver dollar had the average weight of worn-down Spanish pieces of eight reales, so the base unit was a reale, called a “bit” in the States, and worth 12½ cents. A _real_. The second e is part of the pluralization. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/71 "2019-06-11T14:00:06Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Shocking! > I had better write a coulomb about it. Watt’s the title going to be? ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/72 "2019-06-11T15:54:42Z")
> [@Driver8](#): > > This matches my experience. I did a “Summer Century” ride here in the PNW earlier this month and it was 100 miles. Hmm… come to think of it, you guys may be right for the United States. It just occurred to me that I hang out primarily with foreigners! ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/73 "2019-06-11T16:17:10Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Their big argument for “customary” units is that a third of a foot is 4 inches — nice and simple. Yes, I can’t even count the number of times every day when I need to divide a foot into three parts and thank God that it comes out to a nice even number of inches. Just think of how often that happens in your life. Also, it’s so great that I only need to divide a foot into thirds and never have to do that with quarts or pints or pounds or tons or acres. But don’t even get me started on how often I need to divide a meter into fifths. Good thing I never need to do that with a foot. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/74 "2019-06-11T17:19:51Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Hail Amps! > > (The ampere is a base unit in the metric system. Which makes all electronics part of Satan’s plan. Tucker better get off the TeeVee.) > [@Voyager](#): > > Shocking! > I had better write a coulomb about it. > [@Slash1972](#): > > Watt’s the title going to be? [Stop that!](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dn2N_HJW0AEqsMO.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/75 "2019-06-11T18:15:44Z")
There are times when I think “Stephen Pastis would love this place.” ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/76 "2019-06-11T18:19:52Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > [Stop that!](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dn2N_HJW0AEqsMO.jpg) Ohm my god! I have a scale that you can cycle between Kilos, Lb/oz, and pounds in tenths ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/77 "2019-06-11T18:40:52Z")
I’ll simply observe, as someone who has had the opportunity to work in both systems exclusively as well as in a mix: If you ever get the chance to work in metric only, you will \*never \*want to go back to those stupid inches and pounds and fractions ever again. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/78 "2019-06-11T19:58:15Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I’ll simply observe, as someone who has had the opportunity to work in both systems exclusively as well as in a mix: If you ever get the chance to work in metric only, you will \*never \*want to go back to those stupid inches and pounds and fractions ever again. Tell that to [NASA](http://www.cnn.com/TECH/space/9909/30/mars.metric/). ---
**Author:** ![tavaritz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@tavaritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavaritz)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/79 "2019-06-11T20:23:08Z")
As far as I know all manufacturing industry uses metric system in US because subcontractors could be from anywhere on the planet. Also university teaching is done in metric system and so is health care except for body temperature which is given in Farenheits. Military uses metrics also. So grocery stores, gas pumps, mapping including all roads and speed limits and weather forecasts us non-metric units. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/80 "2019-06-11T20:32:07Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Tell that to [NASA](http://www.cnn.com/TECH/space/9909/30/mars.metric/). Mixing systems is even worse than the Imperial one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256.md?page=5)