# 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:** 6
**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, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/101 "2019-06-12T14:27:45Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > 667? Gasp! The Neighbour of The Beast! ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/102 "2019-06-12T14:30:26Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > 667? The metric system is so evil, you round down! I watched a bit: Is this supposed to be satire? Or are Tucker and guests really that stupid? I checked to make sure this clip didn’t air on April 1, which is the only other explanation I could come up with. ---
**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 12, 2019, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/103 "2019-06-12T15:10:07Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > The metric system is so evil, you round down! > > I watched a bit: Is this supposed to be satire? Or are Tucker and guests really that stupid? I checked to make sure this clip didn’t air on April 1, which is the only other explanation I could come up with. Like with all of Tucker’s work, its kayfabe acting. For example, Tucker isn’t so dense as to not know how to pronounce kilogram 😃 ; but breaking performance by acknowledging the idiocy removes all the emotional impact (and primes the audience to think logically/dispassionate). The last thing Tucker wants is for his audience to be rationally evaluating his ideas. Like a Pro-wrestling audience, he needs them to be emotionally invested and in a state of suspension of disbelief of absurdity. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/104 "2019-06-12T15:12:09Z")
> [@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. > A Google brings up nothing much. The measurement standard at a very large aerospace company, sounds something like ‘flowing’, is also decimal-inches. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/105 "2019-06-12T15:34:26Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Is this supposed to be satire? Or are Tucker and guests really that stupid? Not satire or stupidity (on Fox’s part, anyway), just keeping the deplorably-ignorant base stirred up. The metric system is just another foreign thing the foreigners are trying to use to take over American culture. The entire US aerospace industry is based on decimal inches, btw. ---
**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, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/106 "2019-06-12T15:40:24Z")
On Google news, they show your local weather over on the right. There’s options for which temperature scale you want. I sometimes change it to Kelvin (the high today will be 308K). I guess that makes me a commie or something. Definitely un-American, anyway. ---
**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 12, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/107 "2019-06-12T15:43:01Z")
I’m going to start using “bits” instead of “cents” in determining amounts of money to protest the adoption of the metric system! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/108 "2019-06-12T16:35:45Z")
Not shillings and farthings? ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/109 "2019-06-12T16:45:23Z")
Count your money in [ha’pennys](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfpenny_(British_pre-decimal_coin)). Don’t forget the exchange rate as well. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/110 "2019-06-12T18:49:41Z")
> [@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? > Yeah. Maybe coincidence, maybe not. Is that anything like asking what three toucans make? ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/111 "2019-06-12T19:51:55Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Gasp! The Neighbour of The Beast! BTW, I missed this post since I was posting at nearly the same time. Thanks for the laugh. Even Eddie is laughing. ---
**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 12, 2019, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/112 "2019-06-12T21:21:18Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > No: in French, a centimetre is a hundredth of a metre. Promise. > > … so for example a facade that was known to be “100m” would become “10057mm” once measured. Melbourne’s slipping a decimal on ‘cm’ was probably just an editing oversight. … As was yours with ‘mm.’ 🆒 ---
**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, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/113 "2019-06-12T23:02:35Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > 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. SI is not, of course, the French metric system on which it was based. And if you think that France had ‘several’ pound units, you misunderstand the scale of the problem. ---
**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 13, 2019, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/114 "2019-06-13T00:10:15Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > So, it’s much easier to remember that centi- means hundredth- than it is for English speakers. It should be pretty easy for English speakers, too, given “cents” and all in currency. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/115 "2019-06-13T09:00:49Z")
> [@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/)j There are going to be some \*very \*unhappy pigs out there. Whoever did the conversions got it seriously wrong. Having grown up with Imperial measures and converted to metric, I can say that I am happy with both, but calculations in metric are way easier due to the decimal scaling. On the other hand, feet and inches are more intuitive at a more rural level of technology, and you always have the measuring devices to hand. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/116 "2019-06-13T09:02:38Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Not satire or stupidity (on Fox’s part, anyway), just keeping the deplorably-ignorant base stirred up. The metric system is just another foreign thing the foreigners are trying to use to take over American culture. > The entire US aerospace industry is based on decimal inches, btw. What is a decimal inch? ---
**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 13, 2019, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/117 "2019-06-13T09:22:44Z")
> [@Brayne\_Ded](#): > > What is a decimal inch? Inches which are graduated in tenths, hundredths, etc. ---
**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 13, 2019, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/118 "2019-06-13T09:32:20Z")
> [@Brayne\_Ded](#): > > There are going to be some \*very \*unhappy pigs out there. Whoever did the conversions got it seriously wrong. > > Having grown up with Imperial measures and converted to metric, I can say that I am happy with both, but calculations in metric are way easier due to the decimal scaling. On the other hand, feet and inches are more intuitive at a more rural level of technology, and you always have the measuring devices to hand. Which conversion is wrong? I assume Tylan 100 really does contain “Tylosin (as tylosin phosphate) . . . 100 g per lb.” Contrary to a view expressed several months ago in another metric thread, the decimal metric system is clearly best because the entire world now uses decimal arithmetic. If we’d adopted duodecimal arithmetic, we’d want a duodecimal metric system. It seems too late to change now, but one might wonder what the optimal arithmetic base for humans might be. In addition to base 10, bases 20 and 60 have also been tried. There have been hybrids: the Harrapans used both base 2 and base 10, IIRC; and the English, almost up until modern times, used “hundred” to mean _either_ 100 _or_ 120 depending on what product was being counted! Anything much less than 10 would be unwieldy, as would — since it is very convenient to use and memorize separate symbols for the digits — anything more than 12 or 16. 12 has obvious advantages over 10, but _ **humans have ten fingers** _. Ergo base-10 is best. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/119 "2019-06-13T10:22:01Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > SI is not, of course, the French metric system on which it was based. And if you think that France had ‘several’ pound units, you misunderstand the scale of the problem. They did. They only called it “pound” if they were speaking with those strange people across the Channel, but they did have multiple _livres_. And multiple other units of weight. And multiple many other things. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256/120 "2019-06-13T11:51:31Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > Like a Pro-wrestling audience, he needs them to be emotionally invested and in a state of suspension of disbelief of absurdity. I like that comparison. The “intentionally mispronouncing something to make it look silly” is exactly the sort of thing that, say, The Miz would do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-metric-system-is-the-tool-of-the-devil/835256.md?page=7)