# U.S. Intention to Convert To Metric **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954 "2004-04-25T20:25:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/21 "2004-04-26T01:51:19Z")
Yeah, but only geeks understand electricity, **wolf\_meister**. So the geeks get to decide the units. (But not in computing, or at least not completely. Which is annoying.) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/22 "2004-04-26T02:07:36Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > A foolish consistency and all that, said Emerson. I see no reason to purge the system of these old measurements. Why can’t a few systems coexist? > > In Japan too there are remnants of the old system. Gou and shou are still used for sake units, and the tsubo is regularly used for area (3.3 m square, or something like that). For measuring room interiors, the jyou or area of one tatami mat is used. There are others, too. > > These units work just fine for their purposes. So do pounds, gallons, feet, inches, and miles. Unless one just _has_ to have everything metric, I don’t see what the problem is. [Einstein’s Clocks, Poincaré’s Maps: Empires of Time, by Peter Louis Galison](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393020010/qid=1082944723/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-1902839-9484728?v=glance&s=books) is, somewhat to my surprise as I read it, a history of ideas that uses Poincaré as a focus to talk about the international movement toward common measurements and systems, and therefore the need for such commonality. It’s a bit slow and obsessive, so I hesitate to recommend it unless you’re already interested in the general subject. But if you are, it covers ventures - mostly French - that don’t often get talked about in English-language books. An alternative would be [Measuring America: How the United States Was Shaped by the Greatest Land Sale in History, by Andro Linklater](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0452284597/qid=1082945037/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-1902839-9484728?v=glance&s=books) for the oddly hilarious sections that detail the incredible problems served up by having something as simple as a barrel have six to eight varying meanings - multiplied by thirteen because no two of the original colonies agreed on any of them! ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/23 "2004-04-26T03:35:51Z")
Thanks, **Expano**. I’m not the OP, but weird history kinda stuff like that is stuff that belongs on my Amazon wish list. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/24 "2004-04-26T03:44:23Z")
> [@](#): > > We believe our works to be of God; we are actuated by no selfish or mercenary motive. We depreciate personal antagonisms of ever kind, but we proclaim a ceaseless antagonism to that great evil, The French Metric System … The jests of the ignorant and the ridicule of the prejudiced, fall harmless upon us and deserve no notice … It is the Battle of the Standards. May our banner be ever upheld in the cause of Truth, Freedom, and Universal Brotherhood, founded upon a just weight and a just measure, which alone are acceptable to the Lord. > > _Then down with every “metric” scheme Taught by the foreign school, > We’ll worship still our Father’s God! And keep our Father’s “rule”! > A perfect inch, a perfect pint, The Anglo’s honest pound, > Shall hold their place upon the earth, Till time’s last trump shall sound!_ [The International Standard](http://www.greatdreams.com/pyramid.htm), a turn of the century publication. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/25 "2004-04-26T04:16:24Z")
> [@Padeye](#): > > It’s no different than a steel supplier selling 15.875mm cold rolled bar stock instead of half inch. They didn’t do any conversion they just changed the catalog entry, Great, **Padeye**. I just spent the last three hours trying to bang a 15.875mm CRS rod into a 12.7mm hole. Thanks a ton, buddy. I finally got the calipers out and measured the damn thing. 🙂 To follow up on my previous post, the US will go metric eventually. I won’t live to see it. As I said before: The economic push just isn’t there. I could make 5/16" machine screws or I could make 8mm machine screws. There are a lot more people in the neighborhood right now willing to buy the standard sizes. It’ll change with time. No me importa… ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/26 "2004-04-26T04:18:10Z")
**Derleth** And maybe because I am a geek, I _knew_ about electricity and **watts**. The Metric System is French? Well then by damn it, the only clear choice for any _real American patriot_ is to stick with “our” British Imperial System. ---
**Author:** ![Njoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Njoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Njoy)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/27 "2004-04-26T04:28:32Z")
20 oz. coke bottles have been converted into 500ml bottles. That is 16.9 oz., 3.1 oz less than before and yet the same price. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/28 "2004-04-26T05:02:56Z")
I’ve yet to hear a “base ten systems suck” opinion. I take this to mean that most of us generally agree with the notion of a base ten system. Change as a nation would not only require monetary incentive, but would create numerous legislative changes, in general it would suck alot. How abot, next year, instead of buying chemical weapon research, we buy futures of standardized measurement? That sounds like a math teacher saying “let’s do quadratic equations rather than watch the fireworks”. Oh well, Americans have always been, and always will be stubborn, unless change is the next cool thing.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Caribbean\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@Caribbean\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caribbean_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/29 "2004-04-26T05:38:02Z")
Hi all, this is my first post and I hope I’m not making a fool of myself. Where I come from, the metric system is the official standard, although we still use the imperial method too. All that to say that the correct spelling is “metre” not “meter”, being a French system. Personally I prefer the imperial measurements because everyone else does too… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/30 "2004-04-26T05:59:04Z")
> [@MonkeyMensch](#): > > The economic impetus for swithcing, at least in manufacturing, is gone. I deal with high precision drawings and (as long as I don’t work for NASA) conversion between the two systems is a flip of a software switch. This hasn’t been my experience. Yes I can convert my CAD drawings to specify a 6.35mm hole with 1.27mm thread pitch (i.e. 1/4" 20 threads/inch) but our machine shop doesn’t have such a tap. And if I specify a 3.175mm thick plate (1/8") I’m sure they’d call me back and say “We’ve got 3mm stock here, is that OK?” Maybe your company has a better equipped machinist than we do, but not everyone does. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/31 "2004-04-26T08:02:52Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > The automotive industry went metric years ago, but most other industries have resisted. Bicycles have also largely gone metric. Not completely, and the few non-metric units still used are mostly on mountain bikes. I have a tube of over-the-counter medicinal ointment that’s labeled 15 g (1/2 oz). That’s not an especially exact conversion (half an oz is closer to 14 grams) and I wonder which it really is. But it’s notable that the metric measurement is given first with the non-metric in parens. > [@](#): > > Oh yeah, and the illegal drug trade is all done in metric 😃 That includes the 9mm bullets used by the drug dealers… ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/32 "2004-04-26T13:47:46Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > My car gets four rods to the hogshead and that’s the way I like it dammit!! [pedant] I know it’s the obbligatory Simpsons reference, but that’s pretty bad gas mileage. A car that gets 25 mi/gal goes about _127_ rods to the hogshead. Better to use 4.76 furlongs per barrel (of oil), or maybe 65.625 leagues per firkin. [/pedant] [Link to Russ Rowlett’s Units of Measure page, which explains all about the “switch” to Metric.](http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/33 "2004-04-26T14:52:03Z")
> [@Caribbean Man](#): > > All that to say that the correct spelling is “metre” not “meter”, being a French system. Ohhhh … So not only are they trying to standardize units of measurement, they’re also trying to standardize spelling, across different languages as well? :eek: I say, so what? We’re writing (American) English. How the French spell it don’t enter into it. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/34 "2004-04-26T14:54:51Z")
I personally oppose the metric system because it was created by the Frech, whom I despise. We should create a counter-part system and encourage other peope to use it instead, so as to erase one of the biggest triumphs of French culture. Damn the frogs! ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/35 "2004-04-26T15:17:08Z")
[ul] [li]liter, not litre[/li][li]meter, not metre[/li][li]gram, not gramme (with special dispensation given to Huxley)[/li][li]watt, not what[/li][/ul] This is _America_, after all. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/36 "2004-04-26T15:42:55Z")
I spell it “litre,” but because I’m Canadian, not because of anything the French have done. > [@Derleth](#): > > This is _America_, after all. 😃 Until such time that myself and all of my fellow head-frozen brethren are banned from the SDMB, this is an International message board. ---
**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:** [April 26, 2004, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/37 "2004-04-26T15:54:42Z")
Don"t forget that the US Customary System of Units is _not_ the same as the British Imperial System of Units… the British system was standardised in the early 1800s after the US had already broken away, and as a result the gallon and its derivatives are not the same. 1 imperial gallon = ~4.5 L; 1 US gallon = ~3.8 L. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/38 "2004-04-26T16:03:11Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > I personally oppose the metric system because it was created by the Frech, whom I despise. We should create a counter-part system and encourage other peope to use it instead… After you went to all that trouble to convert Japan to metric?\* Gee, thanks. \*During post-WWII occupation. At least that’s what I’ve been told. ---
**Author:** ![fezpp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fezpp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fezpp)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/39 "2004-04-26T16:21:07Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > We’re writing (American) English. How the French spell it don’t enter into it. How about how the **English** spell it. M-E-T-R-E 😉 ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954/40 "2004-04-26T16:25:11Z")
> [@av8rmike](#): > > [pedant]Better to use 4.76 furlongs per barrel (of oil)[/pedant] But how does that compare to a [barrel of ale in London](http://www.sizes.com/units/barrel_alebeer.htm)? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intention-to-convert-to-metric/241954.md?page=3)