# What is the purpose of the US customary system of measurement? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 31, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784 "2013-05-31T13:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/81 "2013-05-31T18:39:03Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > [Mandatory image.](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A-DI_BEnI6o/TzDmNAz-jTI/AAAAAAAACp8/1NoynS8RoYU/s1600/US+measures.jpg) (HIJACK!) Of course, nobody in Canada uses DD/MM/YYYY except the federal government (sometimes) and MS Windows Regional settings. Logically, YYYY/MM/DD is much more sensible since it can be sorted as one piece of text to get chronological order. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/82 "2013-05-31T18:42:47Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Nought is cold, Ten is not. > Twenty is warm, Thirty is hot. Thirty is hot, Twenty is pleasing, Ten is cool, And zero is freezing. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/83 "2013-05-31T18:43:27Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > I don’t think the metric system is at all intuitive. You’re right. We should be using Planck units. Now excuse me while I fill my car’s fuel tank with 1.34 x 10[sup]103[/sup] Planck volumes of gasoline. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/84 "2013-05-31T18:44:36Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Oh, so what was my error in feet? 1056 1 mile is 5280 feet, .1 mile is 528 feet and you were off by .2 miles (528 \*2). Of course I’m a runner so I do calculations like that in my head all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/85 "2013-05-31T18:47:55Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > To mess with little know-it-alls that think they are smarter than everyone else. **Moderator Note** **Kimballkid** , insults are not permitted in General Questions. Since this is fairly mild, I’m making this a note instead of a warning, but don’t do this again. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/86 "2013-05-31T18:54:29Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Furthermore, metric is absurd in many ways. If I want to tell somebody how tall I am in metric, I have only two ways that are even slightly reasonable–either use a percentage of meters, or else use hundreds of centimeters. Both are absurd. I don’t see how saying you’re 180 centimeters tall is anymore absurd than saying that you weigh 180 pounds. > [@marshmallow](#): > > [Mandatory image.](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A-DI_BEnI6o/TzDmNAz-jTI/AAAAAAAACp8/1NoynS8RoYU/s1600/US+measures.jpg) I agree with the message that this image is trying to convey. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/87 "2013-05-31T19:01:06Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > You’re right. We should be using Planck units. > > Now excuse me while I fill my car’s fuel tank with 1.34 x 10[sup]103[/sup] Planck volumes of gasoline. How high is your Å/GeV? ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/88 "2013-05-31T19:02:18Z")
Sorry **Colibri** , was trying to be funny rather than insulting. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/89 "2013-05-31T19:06:09Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > [Mandatory image.](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A-DI_BEnI6o/TzDmNAz-jTI/AAAAAAAACp8/1NoynS8RoYU/s1600/US+measures.jpg) How is putting the day first any better than the month first. The only reason would be to go from smallest to largest units. > [@tracer](#): > > You’re right. We should be using Planck units. > > Now excuse me while I fill my car’s fuel tank with 1.34 x 10[sup]103[/sup] Planck volumes of gasoline. Well yeah, what else is there? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/90 "2013-05-31T19:19:42Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Thirty is hot, > Twenty is pleasing, > Ten is cool, > And zero is freezing. Another way to get a sense for how hot or cold a Celcius value feels, you can convert to Fahrenheit. Now this requires memorizing a little list in order for this to be more efficient: [ul]A 1 degree increase in Celcius is equal to a 1.8 degree increase in Fahrenheit.[/ul] [ul]A 5 degree increase in Celcius is equal to a 9 degree increase in Fahrenheit.[/ul] [ul] [li]A 10 degree increase in Celcius is equal to an 18 degree increase in Fahrenheit.[/li][/ul] [ul] [li]0 degrees Celcius is 32 degrees Fahrenheit.[/li][/ul] [ul] [li]10 degrees Celcius is is 50 degrees Fahrenheit.[/li][/ul] [ul] [li]20 degrees Celcius is 68 degrees Fahrenheit.[/li][/ul] [ul] [li]30 degrees Celcius is 86 degrees Fahrenheit.[/li][/ul] [ul] [li]40 degrees Celcius is 104 degrees Fahrenheit.[/li][/ul] That’s basically my list of values that I have memorized to help me calculate my way through Celcius if I need to refer back to Fahrenheit in order to get a sense for how hot it is. For example, if you don’t have a good sense for how 35 degrees Celcius would feel, if you know this list, you could save time by thinking, “I basically have 40-5 degrees Celcius, which is 104-9 degrees Fahrenheit, so it would feel like 95 degrees Fahrenheit.” Or…you could memorize F=1.8C+32 if that works better for you, but it may be quicker if you know the list above. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/91 "2013-05-31T19:20:27Z")
America hasn’t changed because we are lazy and don’t like change. We don’t have to change, so we don’t. I was taught metric in school. We were all told we were going to convert soon. It didn’t happen. I’m old enough to have seen why. It’s not America’s best side. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/92 "2013-05-31T19:31:09Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > I was taught metric in school. We were all told we were going to convert soon. It didn’t happen. I’m old enough to have seen why. It’s not America’s best side. I, too, was taught the metric system in school, back in the 1970s when we were “sure” we were going to switch over at any instant. And the way I was taught metric units was a clear indication as to why we DIDN’T switch: We weren’t taught “A meter is about this long, and you divide it into a hundred centimeters.” We were taught “A meter is 39.2 inches,” and then given word problems that required us to convert back-and-forth between metric units and “real” units, e.g. “Johnny has 5 kilograms of apples. Since kilograms are such a counterintuitive unit that you personally have no gut feeling for, convert this to good old-fashioned pounds to see how many apples Johnny _really_ has.” That kind of defeats the whole purpose of the metric system. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/93 "2013-05-31T19:33:45Z")
> [@For You](#): > > How high is your Å/GeV? Ångstroms per giga electron-volt? (Or does the Å stand for something else in that expression? 😕 ) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/94 "2013-05-31T19:40:44Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Sorry **Colibri** , was trying to be funny rather than insulting. Noted. A smiley would have helped, but even then it could be taken as personal jab. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/95 "2013-05-31T19:44:03Z")
Many years ago, I wrote to a calculator manufacturer, TI as I recall, with a question or suggestion (possibly pertaining to rpn) and received a reply that included a large enamel (glossy) brochure thing depicting various captioned metric values. I turned it over to see a large, grainy image of a naked woman in a discreet pose captioned “Body Temperature is Exactly 37°C”. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/96 "2013-05-31T19:45:04Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > Ångstroms per giga electron-volt? > > (Or does the Å stand for something else in that expression? 😕 ) Yes, correct (fuel economy). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/97 "2013-05-31T19:47:25Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > How is putting the day first any better than the month first. The only reason would be to go from smallest to largest units. In other words, to make it logical?😉 It also make dates easier to sort in correct order. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/98 "2013-05-31T19:55:31Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > I remember trying to explain this to my grandpa and he just couldn’t get it. > > I was telling him, “In the american system, it’s difficult to convert between smaller and larger units. For example, off the top of your head, how many feet are in 3.5 miles? Well in the metric system, I could easily tell you that there are 3500 meters in 3.5 kilometers. It’s a huge advantage.” > > To which he replied something like, “Well if metric is so easy then how many meters are in 3.5 miles?” And I just had to say “no, that’s converting between two different systems. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m saying that even within its own system, converting between larger and smaller units is easier in metric.” and he just kept going on about how it’s hard to convert between American and metric and that’s why we shouldn’t use it. How is that a “huge advantage?” were you able to give him one non-absurd example of how that would have made things easier on him? I mean, yeah, if real life was like a [Professor Layton game](http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/2/13) it might be more helpful, but it ain’t. I think he was really just telling you to go find something better to do. > [@md2000](#): > > Meanwhile, of course, most North American mechanics already have metric tools, even in the USA, because so many vehicles come from Japan or Europe (or Korea now) and use metric. Nevermind the fact that even the domestic automakers had gone metric by the '80s. > [@](#): > > When Chrysler uses Mitsubishi parts, do you think they make a Japanese factory learn British units or does Chrysler adapt? 😕 Is it 1986 still? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/99 "2013-05-31T20:15:13Z")
Regarding Ångstroms per giga electron-volt: > [@For You](#): > > Yes, correct (fuel economy). Balderdash! Fuel economy statistics aren’t listed in terms of the energy released by the combustion of the gasoline-air mixture, they’re listed in terms of the volume of liquid gasoline consumed. It should be Ångstroms per cubic Ångstrom, the way God intended! ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784/100 "2013-05-31T20:21:51Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > In other words, to make it logical?😉 > > It also make dates easier to sort in correct order. Because everyone wants to group first-of-the-months, regardless of month and year. YYYY/MM/DD is the way to write dates to sort in chronological order, so May 1 2013 follows April 30 2013 not April 1, 2250. If you must do 3 separate sorts to get chronological order, who cares what order M-D-Y are? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-us-customary-system-of-measurement/659784.md?page=6)