# The US going 100% metric - do we all have to die? Plus: weird measurements around the world! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 31, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666 "2011-01-31T16:56:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/101 "2011-02-01T17:01:05Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > You say you know the imperial system in your bones, which makes sense as it is based on them. Things like spans, hands, feet. They are human measurements, they fundamentally make sense why they are what they are - they are what a child would come up with, so basic to humanity. It is measurements we still use today even in metric countries when we don’t have a tape measure handy. As such they will never die. > > OTOH metric may die if civilization has a major setback - or perhaps even major advance. It is useless outside what we consider our modern society. Mostly true. However, we in metric countries don’t use thumbs, hands, feet and spans even in the absence of a tape measure. Inches, feet etc. are stuff only known from history books and fairytales, they belong in the realm of blunderbusses and chastity belts. A person raised in a metric culture has the centimeters ingrained all right. A guy eyeballing something the width of a palm just says “about 10 centimeters”. A gal estimating room height thinks: “about 2,5 meters.” The beauty of the metric system is everything is dividable by ten. How long is a kilometer? Just picture the school sports track and it’s 100 meter dash, and think a distance ten times that. Ten meters? 10 % of the same dash. In very small measurements, millimeters have it all over fractions of an inch, as they are just evenly-sized blocks of the basic centimeter, as easily thought of in percentages as in cms. The metric system cleared all the fuzzy, arcane clutter the old system had, that’s why it was adopted. Inches and feet are often said to be organic and natural, and I guess they are. Like most things in nature, stuff like thumb widths and foot lengths vary wildly. Even if they’re based on ‘natural measurements’, they have to be arbitrarily standardized for any real use. A thumb can be 18 mm or 29 mm wide. An adult foot measures anywhere from 20 to 35 centimeters or so. The post-apocalyptic, tape-measureless person is out of luck, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/102 "2011-02-01T17:14:21Z")
> [@](#): > > A very rough estimate that I always use is take the Celsius, add 15, double it, and there’s Fahrenheit. It’s not that rough – over a comfortable range of temperatures it’s within a couple of degrees of the “correct” answer. Oh, and it’s easier to double and add thirty than adding 15 and doubling. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/103 "2011-02-01T17:16:02Z")
“Fourteen inches to a foot, and some odd number of feet to a mile. Ounces and pounds. Oh, Bog!” -Heinlein, _The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress_ I’d much rather teach my kid metric measurements than 12 inches to a foot, 16 (weight) ounces to a pound, 32 (volume) ounces to a quart and four quarts to a gallon, etc. Our system of measurement is, quite frankly, _stupid_. I grew up on it, it’s the one I’m familiar with, but it makes even less sense than a QWERTY keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/104 "2011-02-01T17:37:25Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > If dividing by 100 is tremendously easier for you than dividing by 60, I suppose that might be the case. At least for me, dividing by 60 to make that estimation is second nature by now. It’s second nature to me, too, but most people are going to have an easier time with the division if it’s a simple matter of moving the decimal point. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/105 "2011-02-01T17:43:59Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Therefore, there will be boundaries requiring conversions that are not so simple as they are with metric. That was actually my point. You choose your base unit such that you will not need to convert down the line. Anything that I can measure in feet, I can also measure in inches, and will if I’m going to be using inches in a later step. The boundaries are fuzzy, and there’s a lot of overlap where I can choose whichever unit I want and have it be functional. ---
**Author:** ![Scougs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scougs/32/3158_2.png) [@Scougs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scougs)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/106 "2011-02-01T18:11:25Z")
This is only one small example, but it is a good example of what can happen when the rest of the world uses one system (or even a combination of systems) and the US doesn’t. We all know the rules for flying are liquids go in containers no bigger than 100ml, placed in a 1 litre resealable bag. Attempting to convert this for US audiences caused the following confusion: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=590190](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=590190) ---
**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:** [February 1, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/107 "2011-02-01T18:13:13Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > Like most things in nature, stuff like thumb widths and foot lengths vary wildly. Wow. You just made me understand why “inch” in Spanish is “pulgada” (“thumb” is “pulgar”). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/108 "2011-02-01T20:40:36Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > You choose your base unit such that you will not need to convert down the line. Anything that I can measure in feet, I can also measure in inches, and will if I’m going to be using inches in a later step. The boundaries are fuzzy, and there’s a lot of overlap where I can choose whichever unit I want and have it be functional. As long as there _are_ boundaries, someone will end up needing to traverse them. If not individuals in their everyday lives, then perhaps businesses. I don’t think the metric system stands out as particularly superior when the scope is narrowed down to a single measurement, or a very small set of similar measurements, but in my experience, a lot of common jobs involve conversion between adjacent scales of unit, or calculation of area or volume based on linear measure, etc. And imperial measurements just are not naturally convenient to work with like that. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/109 "2011-02-01T21:09:36Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > As long as there _are_ boundaries, someone will end up needing to traverse them. If not individuals in their everyday lives, then perhaps businesses. > > I don’t think the metric system stands out as particularly superior when the scope is narrowed down to a single measurement, or a very small set of similar measurements, but in my experience, a lot of common jobs involve conversion between adjacent scales of unit, or calculation of area or volume based on linear measure, etc. And imperial measurements just are not naturally convenient to work with like that. Imperal and US units. 🙂 Here’s an example. You have a waterbad and a tape measure (in both inches and centimetres). You need to figure out how heavy the waterbed will be when it’s filled with water, so that the floor doesn’t cave in when you fill it. You know how much extra mass/weight the floor can support (in a real-world situation, that would probably be the hardest information to find). The waterbad has a bag inside a frame of four large pieces of wood. You measure the inside of the frame to get a maximum volume for the water, then calculate the mass and weight of the water. In metric: Measure dimensions in decimetres (units of 10 centimetres). Multiply to get cubic decimetres. This is the same as litres, and each litre masses 1 kilogram, so the number of cubic decimetres is the number of kilograms. There’s the answer! In Imperial or US units: Measure dimensions in inches. Multiply to get volume in cubic inches. Check reference for weight or mass of a cubic inch of water. Maybe you’ll have to convert inches to feet, or cubic inches to cubic feet, or even to gallons (US or Imperial?) if your reference doesn’t have the mass of a cubic inch of water. Still quite doable, but involves an extra step to check references that the metric doesn’t have. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/110 "2011-02-01T23:55:35Z")
Google: 76 x 80 x 6 (king sized waterbed) = 36480. Google auto-search results: “36480 inches cubed in gal” = 157.92… gallons which I’ll round to 158. Auto-complete gives me 160 liters (rounded). I already know that that’s about 2.2 lbs, so 352 pounds of water doing that in my head, but I know that a liter is a tad heavier, so I’ll round that up t 360 pounds of water. With Google, there’s _not even a need_ to know how to convert units! 😃 😃 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/111 "2011-02-02T00:01:39Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > In metric: > Measure dimensions in decimetres (units of 10 centimetres). Multiply to get cubic decimetres. This is the same as litres, and each litre masses 1 kilogram, so the number of cubic decimetres is the number of kilograms. There’s the answer! Except for the floor is built to codes that are in inches and feet, with 2” x 8” floor joists a certain amount of inches apart. The floor is covered in 4’ by 8 sheets of ¾ inch ply, and the maximum pressure that can be applied to the floor is in pounds per square inch. But you sure measured the shit out of that water ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/112 "2011-02-02T00:03:01Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Google: 76 x 80 x 6 (king sized waterbed) = 36480. Google auto-search results: “36480 inches cubed in gal” = 157.92… gallons which I’ll round to 158. Auto-complete gives me 160 liters (rounded). I already know that that’s about 2.2 lbs, so 352 pounds of water doing that in my head, but I know that a liter is a tad heavier, so I’ll round that up t 360 pounds of water. > > With Google, there’s _not even a need_ to know how to convert units! 😃 😃 😃 Well, with everyone having google implanted in their brains these days, maybe metricating the States isn’t as needed as it was. But metric is still easier. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/113 "2011-02-02T00:27:46Z")
I agree it is easier, we already teach it and use it in the sciences. With the global economy it will slowly take over business. After that it will just be a quaint fun thing about America like Germany has Oktoberfest, or the cafes in Paris. Or maybe we will just have another fifty years of Europeans bitching about the Americanization of their own country while at the same time bitching about the exceptionalism America shows by not changing the American culture to reflect their values. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/114 "2011-02-02T01:24:15Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > Or maybe we will just have another fifty years of Europeans bitching about the Americanization of their own country while at the same time bitching about the exceptionalism America shows by not changing the American culture to reflect their values. It’s not just Europe though. Quite literally, almost _every other country on the planet_ uses the Metic system. The only four that don’t are the US, Liberia, and Burma. Jamaica is in the process of switching over to Metric, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/115 "2011-02-02T01:40:00Z")
Then we will just have to build parking lots next to the first MPH sign coming out of the international airports so we can sell the tourists T-shirts while they take pictures. Monocultures are good for streamlined science and global business, but they suck for entertainment value. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/116 "2011-02-02T04:37:03Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Does McDs really size its drinks in fl oz in China? I admit it’s a long time since I went into a Chinese McDs, but I don’t recall this. (Though the obvious answer would be: it’s an American company.) Can’t remember for China but probably, since they do in Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Not just McD’s, but all the international chains. The local ones too, but for those it’s not uncommon just to stick up one glass of each size and label them “Small,” “Medium” and “Large.” > [@CalMeacham](#): > > Oh, and it’s easier to double and add thirty than adding 15 and doubling. Aha! Thanks for that. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/117 "2011-02-02T04:54:15Z")
Balthisar- Google tells me 157.9 gal = 597.8 L, which comes out to 597.8 kg or 1321.1 pounds. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/118 "2011-02-02T05:02:59Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > Except for the floor is built to codes that are in inches and feet, with 2” x 8” floor joists a certain amount of inches apart. The floor is covered in 4’ by 8 sheets of ¾ inch ply, and the maximum pressure that can be applied to the floor is in pounds per square inch. The Ontario building code is in metric. 🙂 …but the stuff it described is in Imperial! And we build our (small residential) buildings in Imperial! But if you look at plans for non-residential things like railway underpasses, they’re in metric! Arrgghh! We need to finish converting! ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/119 "2011-02-02T07:04:02Z")
To me, metric proponents sound a bit like (what I imagine would be) arguments in favor of Esperanto. Yes, it’s nice to have a logical system, and yes, it’s nice to have the same language as people half a world away. But really, unless there’s a compelling application for it (e.g., trade or scientific measurement), there’s nothing really “superior” in its everyday use. Describing myself as 183 cm rather than 6 feet tall doesn’t make me a better or more sophisticated person, and I’m capable of using two different systems as the situation calls for, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666/120 "2011-02-02T07:20:54Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Reminds me of a gal I know who is not stupid, she just has a shamefully bad education. We were driving one day looking for an address and I referred to the odd and even numbers being on different sides of the street. She asked me how in the world I could figure it out so fast…which startled me. We sort of went back and forth about it and it finally became clear that she did not have an innate understanding of the fact that the only relevant digit is the last one - she thought those of us who could instantly recognize that 17497 was an odd number were doing complex math equations in our heads, vs. isolating the “7”. > > I was stunned. It wasn’t until I was 17 that I learned that the first part of the address told you the cross street. So if 17497 lived on 8th avenue, their cross street was 17th st and if I’m looking for their house, I can find 8th avenue and drive until I cross 17th st and then start looking. A small thing but a nice thing to know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-going-100-metric-do-we-all-have-to-die-plus-weird-measurements-around-the-world/569666.md?page=7)