I now know why it always says "The
Imperial Knights of the Ku Klux Klan"! And those crosses they burnt were of course metric.
To quote Joey Ramone: The KKK took my meter away ...
But to enhance the discussion and keeping in mind that this is a forum dedicated to scientific truth:
"Metrics in America
The cost to the US for not being on the metric system is no doubt high. Just last year, a Martian probe was destroyed because some of its navigational data was in feet, and some was in meters. All exported goods have to be labeled in metrics or they do not sell. We are slowly getting our act together. Almost all packaged goods have both the standard and metric measures on their label. The can of Root Beer I am drinking is labeled 12 FL OZ (355 mL).
In truth, the US is using the metric system extensively, just not totally. Doctors do all measures in metrics especially distributing medicine in cubic centimeters. Virtually all scientists in the US use metric measures exclusively. Track and field events have dropped yards and miles all together. I remember when running the mile in under four minutes was a big deal, now they do not run the mile anymore it is the 1600 meter event.
All new car speedometers are in both KPH and MPH, and many recent cars have KPH as the dominant measure. Ironically, speed limit signs are almost exclusively MPH, even on highways where distances are measured in kilometers. Here in Arizona, Highway 19 from Tucson to Nogales is marked in Kilometers. I used to live along this highway, and drove 14 km to work everyday, it is not difficult to adjust if everything is marked that way, yet I was annoyed that the speed limit was posted as 65 instead of 105 KPH. There is not a single KPH sign on the entire 100km stretch of highway.
In other respects, we have actually gone backwards. During the late 70's early 80's, there was a major effort to move metric. Weather forecasts would show both Fahrenheit and Celsius measures of temperature. Then broadcasters decided there were too many numbers being reported, people got overloaded, so they dropped all the Celsius numbers. I think the real reason was that it made the weather report shorter, thus giving more time for commercials.
The Metrics killer: The Decimal Inch
Manufacturing and some engineering disciplines have abandoned traditional measures as well, but not in favor of metrics. They have discovered an even better system of measure called the decimal inch. It has been discovered that the smallest distance of separation visible to the unaided eye is 0.01 inches, or 0.26 mm. What this means is that being accurate to within a hundredth of an inch is better than being within a millimeter. Four times better as a matter of fact. The only way metrics can be better is if rulers used half and quarter millimeters, but adding fractions defeats the whole purpose of decimal measurement. So now manufacturing and engineering have embraced the decimal inch, a standard inch divided into tenths and hundredths. This has set off a chain reaction, if manufacturing does not have to convert to metrics, why should we?
Top 10 reasons we should convert to the Metric System (with apologies to David Letterman)
10. People will finally understand my joke about driving attoparsecs per nanocenturies.
9. Gas will seem cheaper at 50 cents a liter.
8. Being 22 kilos overweight does not sound as bad as 50 lbs.
7. Defense will be easier if the offense has to drive 10 meters for a first down.
6. Arizona summers will not seem as bad when its only 40 degrees outside.
5. Its not "metric", its "Digital"!
4. Imagine all the exciting math you will do converting your favorite recipes to milliliters.
3. Less fractions to deal with like, "Do I need a five eighths socket or a nine sixteenths to loosen this nut?"
2. The boy band 98º will not be as popular calling themselves 36.7º.
1. Half a liter is more than a pint, which means, MORE BEER FOR EVERYBODY!
Its not metrics people are afraid of, it is the conversion.I do not have to spend time writing why the metric system is superior to standard units. Anybody who has been schooled in both understands the advantages of metric units. Not only is metric measure easier, it is universally accepted everywhere, except in the United States.
So why do we avoid it? It is not because we are afraid of using the metric system, it is because we are afraid of the whole conversion process. In other words, we are afraid of a lot of math that goes along with the converting. People are not going to convert recipes to metric measures as I pointed out above. Land division has been done in acres and square miles for centuries now, and because all of the property is divided this way it will not change anytime soon. Traditional measures will be with us forever in some form or another, which means converting back and forth will be with us forever.
Converting to the metric system can only happen a little at a time, and one step at a time. I would start by dropping miles for kilometers on all US highways. Let's use that KM/H dial on our car. If kilometers catch on, meters instead of yards, and centimeters instead of inches will follow (except where the decimal inch rules). Once distances are metric, we can start working on liquid measures. We already buy 2 liter bottles of soda, everything else is easy. Weight will be tough, people are used to pounds. Same goes for Celsius temperatures. Because temperature measurement is not tied closely with other metric measures, it will take at least another decade or two to get rid of Fahrenheit.
Britain went to the Metric system officially in 1975, yet the old traditional measures are still a part of daily life in Britain today. I suspect that is how it will be in the US as well."