# 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:** 5
**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:** [June 11, 2019, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/81 "2019-06-11T21:00:29Z")
Combined use of metric and imperial contributed to the Gimli Glider taking off with 22,300 lbs of fuel instead of 22,300 kg of fuel. Oops. > **[Gimli Glider](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider)** > > Air Canada Flight 143, commonly known as the Gimli Glider, was a Canadian scheduled domestic passenger flight between Montreal and Edmonton that ran out of fuel on Saturday, July 23, 1983, at an altitude of 41,000 feet (12,500 m), midway through the flight. The flight crew successfully glided the Boeing 767 to an emergency landing at a former Royal Canadian Air Force base in Gimli, Manitoba, which had been converted to a racetrack, Gimli Motorsports Park. It resulted in no serio The incident w... ---
**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:** [June 11, 2019, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/82 "2019-06-11T21:27:12Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Combined use of metric and imperial contributed to the Gimli Glider taking off with 22,300 lbs of fuel instead of 22,300 kg of fuel. > > Oops. > > [Gimli Glider - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider) Regardless of how many times I read this story, I’m still incredibly impressed that all of this knowledge and experience seemed to perfectly coalesce at just the right time. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/83 "2019-06-11T22:01:55Z")
Not only is the English pint (20 ounces) different from the American pint (16 ounces) but the ounces are different. Different enough that the ratio is not 5:4, but much closer to 6:5. And the saying that “A pint’s a pound the world round” is true exactly nowhere. The British oz. of water does weigh one ounce and 16 of them do weigh a pound, but 16 of them isn’t a pint, while 16 US ounces weigh 4% more than a pound. And before the metric system became nearly general, every country had its own foot, and its own pound. ---
**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, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/84 "2019-06-11T22:45:28Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Watt’s the title going to be? Start a draft to fight the metric system. If people try to dodge the draft, we’d have to induct resistors. I’d have to revise it weekly to keep it current. Remember, a Faraday keeps the shorts away. ---
**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, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/85 "2019-06-11T23:55:05Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Start a draft to fight the metric system. If people try to dodge the draft, we’d have to induct resistors. > > I’d have to revise it weekly to keep it current. > > Remember, a Faraday keeps the shorts away. These are so bad, you are grounded for a week! ---
**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:** [June 12, 2019, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/86 "2019-06-12T02:46:18Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Not only is the English pint (20 ounces) different from the American pint (16 ounces) but the ounces are different. Different enough that the ratio is not 5:4, but much closer to 6:5. And the saying that “A pint’s a pound the world round” is true exactly nowhere. The British oz. of water does weigh one ounce and 16 of them do weigh a pound, but 16 of them isn’t a pint, while 16 US ounces weigh 4% more than a pound. And before the metric system became nearly general, every country had its own foot, and its own pound. Hence the competing saying for Imperial units (not US Customary): “A pint of water is a pound and a quarter!” Not quite as pithy as “a pint’s a pound the world 'round,” but at least a bit more accurate. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/87 "2019-06-12T03:25:38Z")
I’m sorry to say I actually watched the video. What a pair of worthy defenders of the US being virtually the last country on earth to resist metrification – renowned lunatic Tucker Carlson, and some asshat badly in need of a shave sporting a polka-dot bow tie who agrees with him. The patriotism and faultless logic were certainly persuasive. As Tucker reminds us, we must always remember where the un-American metric system comes from. You start using metric, and next thing you know you’re talking with a crazy accent like Pepé Le Pew, making rich sauces, and electing socialists. Not to mention that you start losing your taste in beer and start drinking wine with everything like a Gallic sot. Metric is for wimps who can’t do math. Give me rods, furlongs, and hogsheads all the way! ---
**Author:** ![Mcmechanic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Mcmechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mcmechanic)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/88 "2019-06-12T04:23:35Z")
> [@tavaritz](#): > > 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. That’s funny you mention universities. I had a professor who taught fluid power systems strictly in imperial units, all lectures and homework. But every quiz and test was SI. What a dick ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/89 "2019-06-12T06:33:56Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Give me rods, furlongs, and hogsheads all the way! Firkin-A! ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/90 "2019-06-12T07:26:15Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Watt’s the title going to be? Joule have to wait for it to be published, just like everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/91 "2019-06-12T09:49:56Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > And now I’m wondering if archeologists know any cadences from the Roman or Macedonian armies 🙂 This is more the realm of historians, not archaeologists. AFAIK, we only have the lyrics of one genuine Roman marching song,\* [Urbani](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/5rzlfn/did_the_roman_army_have_any_marching_songs/)\*, recorded by Seutonius. But no tune: \*Urbani, servate uxores, moechum calvum adducimus. Aurum in gallia effutuisti, hic sumpsisti mutuum. Gallias caesar subegit, nicomedes caesarem, ecce caesar nunc triumphat qui subegit gallias. Nicomedes non triumphat, qui subegit caesarem. Gallos caesar in triumphum ducit, idem in curiam, galli bracas deposuerunt, latum clavum sumperunt. \* Rough Translation _Citizens, keep an eye on your wives, we’re bringing back the bald adulterer. He’s stashed away the gold in Gaul that you loaned him here in Rome. Caesar vanquished the Gauls, Nicomedes Caesar, Caesar who vanquished the Gauls now triumphs. Nicomedes does not triumph, who vanquished Caesar. Caesar leads the Gauls in triumph, likewise into the Senate House. The Gauls have laid aside their trousers and put on the broad purple stripe._ ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/92 "2019-06-12T10:18:21Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > What? That’s the actual beauty and key to the utility of the metric system, the incredibly simple conversion factor, IMHO. Well if that’s the beauty and key to the utility of the metric system, we might as well all go home, because people _don’t_ do metric conversions, and many if not most people can’t really handle decimal fractions. Which is why car lengths are given in mm, as are any other manufacturing dimensions. I’ve often wondered if, in French, metric conversions are effortless: if in French, a centimetre is a tenth of a metre instead of a learned value like ‘inch’, and if strangeness like “100 mm” disappears. > [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > And before the metric system became nearly general, every country had its own foot, and its own pound. Actually, the empire had pretty much switched to “imperial” measures. And in any case, the major benefit of the metric system to France was that France, unlike England, had not already switched to a National system of measurement. France did _not_ have its own foot, and its own pound: that was the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/93 "2019-06-12T11:05:49Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > I’ve often wondered if, in French, metric conversions are effortless: if in French, a centimetre is a tenth of a metre instead of a learned value like ‘inch’, and if strangeness like “100 mm” disappears. No: in French, a centimetre is a hundredth of a metre. Promise. The conversion is particularly easy for Romance languages and for Greek, since the factors are taken from Latin and Greek. The French word for 100: cent. For 100th: centime. So, it’s much easier to remember that centi- means hundredth- than it is for English speakers. 1.Bro worked for years as the “designer/draftsman” in a marble shop: he’d go to a construction site, take down as-built measurements (which never match the as-designed blueprint), then in his computer define the exact pieces that needed to be cut in order to cover that staircase in marble or put a one-meter-high granite baseboard all along that facade. When he and his bride were looking for their future home, he remarked that it seemed strange to him to see blueprints with the measurements given in meters: he would use meters only when it was rough measures, so for example a facade that was known to be “100m” would become “10057mm” once measured. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/94 "2019-06-12T11:15:57Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Actually, the empire had pretty much switched to “imperial” measures. And in any case, the major benefit of the metric system to France was that France, unlike England, had not already switched to a National system of measurement. France did _not_ have its own foot, and its own pound: that was the problem. Let me put it this way: this is one case where “country” does not equal “territory ruled by a specific government or top ruler”. France did have its own foot, oh yeah: several of them. And its own pound: several of them. And its own yard: several of them! At the time, Spain was officially still two separate kingdoms, but the larger one also suffered from multiple units of measure with the smaller one also having their own units, helloooo, why would we make things easier for the neighbors? And the Italians, well, on one hand everybody knew where Italy was and on the other there were a ton of different realms and some had their own units and some did not and sometimes they called the unit by the name of another realm but there had been some changes yes, so the two units as used in the original realm and in others might not be quite the same size; the same applies to Germany or to the Low Countries… The SI was not “a French thing”: it was an international effort because it was trying to solve an international problem. For larger domains it could also be an internal problem, but it was a pain in the ass either way. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/95 "2019-06-12T11:41:37Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Doesn’t the U.S. military use the metric system, what with “klicks” and shit? Does Tucker Carlson not Support the Troops? I hope no one tells him that US Army tanks have been sporting metric cannon since WWII. Oh, wait — they’ve sekritly been part of the NWO since then. > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Surely that is satire. No one is that dumb. Oh, grasshopper… > [@Voyager](#): > > Tucker must not be aware that those revolutionary founding fathers imposed decimal currency on us, not those pounds, shillings and pence as was traditional. So Tucker is unAmerican, but we knew that. The founding fathers were so annoyed at Britain they not only would have adopted decimal currency but also the metric system, only it hadn’t been invented yet. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/96 "2019-06-12T12:22:46Z")
All I’m saying is that a third of a kilometer is just a seemingly harmless 333 meters… But you know what TWO THIRDS make? Yeah. Maybe coincidence, maybe not. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/97 "2019-06-12T12:39:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **tavaritz** : > > …and so is health care except for body temperature which is given in Farenheits. Except it’s not, really. You know where the number 98.6 degrees comes from? That’s not actually the average human body temperature. It was rounded to the nearest degree, because thermometers didn’t used to be all that precise. The nearest _Celsius_ degree, which was 37. And then we Americans converted “37 Celsius” to Fahrenheit. ---
**Author:** ![Wrenching\_Spanners](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecb155/32.png) [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/98 "2019-06-12T12:39:46Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Bovine units would be an indicator of _quality_, not _quantity_. Nah, there’s a scale, non-metric of course. The units vary, but a cricket-shit is at one end, a whale-shit is at the other, a goat-shit is in the middle (usually expresses as a “good goat’s shit” since alliteration adds emphasis) and a cow-shit is somewhat larger. Very scientific. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/99 "2019-06-12T12:43:33Z")
> [@go\_arachnid\_laser](#): > > all i’m saying is that a third of a kilometer is just a seemingly harmless 333 meters… But you know what two thirds make? 667? ---
**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 12, 2019, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/100 "2019-06-12T13:04:42Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > I have a scale that you can cycle between Kilos, Lb/oz, and pounds in tenths Mine cycles between kg; lbs and tenths; and stone, lbs, and tenths. The irritating thing is, it does it on its own, randomly, probably as a result of steam in the bathroom. Luckily it’s linked to my phone where I can check my logged weight in kg, regardless of what the display shows. > [@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. I work professionally exclusively in metric, other than a random psi here or there. Going back to stupid inches, pounds, and fractions doesn’t bother me too much, although the doctor (from a metric country) weighing my daughter in lbs/oz/tenths-of-oz bothers me a bit. Who the hell says 2 feet 2 point 125 inches? I guess the same people who are the audience for the “stone” my scale (see above) is able to present. > [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Not only is the English pint (20 ounces) different from the American pint (16 ounces) but the ounces are different. Different enough that the ratio is not 5:4, but much closer to 6:5. And the saying that “A pint’s a pound the world round” is true exactly nowhere. The British oz. of water does weigh one ounce and 16 of them do weigh a pound, but 16 of them isn’t a pint, while 16 US ounces weigh 4% more than a pound. And before the metric system became nearly general, every country had its own foot, and its own pound. Grumpy old man mode: it _used_ to be, here in the States, at a microbrewery when they were all still new, that you’d order a pint of beer, and get a proper _English_ pint, i.e., 568 milliliters. This was almost a universal constant. But now, with the popularity of craft beers in normal restaurants, it seems that if you order a pint, you get a crappy, little US pint, for the same price. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256.md?page=6)