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Why Does the US Cling To Imperial Measurements?

Posted by samzenpus on from the my-car-gets-40-rods-to-the-hogshead dept.

PhunkySchtuff writes "As one of only three countries on Earth that hasn't converted to a metric system of units and measurements, there is a huge amount of resistance within the US to change the status quo. Whilst the cost of switching would be huge, there is also a massive hidden cost in not switching when dealing with the rest of the world (except for Liberia & Burma, the only other two countries that don't use the metric system) With one of the largest organisations in the US, the military, using metric units extensively, why does the general public in the US still cling to their customary system of units?"

14 of 2,288 comments (clear)

  1. Not so bad to have different systems. by suso · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think its alright to have a few different systems in the world. Sure, there is an attractiveness to consolidation. But what are we going to do when we encounter aliens? Demand that they switch to the metric system? I'm actually serious. I'm not saying it will happen tomorrow or even in the next decade or century, but eventually it will. There is a lot to be said for having a tolerance for the differences among cultures and retaining those differences.

    1. Re:Not so bad to have different systems. by log0n · · Score: 3, Funny

      I disagree.

    2. Re:Not so bad to have different systems. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well since you can ask ridiculous hypothetical questions: what happens if the aliens use metric?

    3. Re:Not so bad to have different systems. by seyyah · · Score: 4, Funny

      Miles make for easy measurement of rate-of-motion and gallons make for easy measurement of fuel usage when traveling. Going the average street-value 30mph? Two minutes per mile to destination. Going the average highway 60mph? One minute per mile to your destination off-ramp.

      Thanks! I tried to do an example where I was going 60km/h but I couldn't figure out how many minutes to my destination. Then I did it in mph and it was so much easier! Thanks dude. Imperial is better.

      By contrast, meters/centimeters make for a pain in the ass to divide by anything but multiples of 5 or 10, not to mention that common everyday occurrences that are approximately "one foot" long are then 30.5 centimeters, a measurement that divides cleanly by precisely Jack and Shit.

      Yeah, I've got tons of stuff which all measures exactly 1 foot but nothing that measures 30cm long. Thanks for pointing out how much better Imperial is because stuff is usually 1 foot long and not 0.5cm shorter. You rock... just like Imperial units!

    4. Re:Not so bad to have different systems. by Daniel+Phillips · · Score: 5, Funny

      You rock... just like Imperial units!

      It's a common misconception that Americans use Imperial units. Actually, they measure short distances in car lengths and long distances in football fields.

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      Have you got your LWN subscription yet?
    5. Re:Not so bad to have different systems. by drfreak · · Score: 3, Funny

      WTF? You Porsche drivers just need to shut the fu*k up!

    6. Re:Not so bad to have different systems. by vell0cet · · Score: 5, Funny

      Damn! Mile is a foreign language?! We should change it to 1776 yards in a mile and change the name to a "Freedom"!

    7. Re:Not so bad to have different systems. by skids · · Score: 1, Funny

      the decimal trolls already modded a post I had up to 5 down to -1 once, so I'll continue and if they don't like it they can go fuck themselves.

      Be glad. If you were on the other side of the argument, you might get modded down to -"1 and 3/8th"

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      Someone had to do it.
  2. Re:Ronald Reagan by F34nor · · Score: 1, Funny

    His stupid wife couldn't bake her recipes if car companies had to use metric robots.

  3. Re:Carpentry by JoeMerchant · · Score: 3, Funny

    I agree, much easier to cut a board in half than into 0.5 (seriously).

  4. Re:morons by mywhitewolf · · Score: 5, Funny

    that's funny, because in ours (Australia uses metric) our drug dealers sells in ounces and pounds.

  5. Re:It's really quite simple by Randle_Revar · · Score: 5, Funny

    A couple of redneck friends of mine started using "klick" as a distance because they found out the US military uses it. Imagine their reaction when they found out (from me) that it was metric (almost as bad as being French, as far as they are concerned).

    --
    Climate Progress - Hell and High Water
  6. Re:Easy answer by fuzznutz · · Score: 5, Funny

    There was an abandoned project in the 80's (I think) where highway signs in parts of the US were using metric and imperial measurements on it

    Yes there was. My favorite sign was on a local highway segment. It said "Metric Signs Next 100 Miles." I swear to God.

  7. Three reasons. by Narcogen · · Score: 1, Funny

    I think Douglas Adams answered this question best. There are three reasons:

    1) Ignorance
    2) Stupidity

    and

    3) Nothing else.