# Should America switch to the Metric System?



## arnie (Jan 24, 2012)

Countries using the metric system:


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## diamondheart89 (Mar 21, 2011)

No. I like confusing the world. And making as little sense as possible. Because **** the world. MURCA!!


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## RelinquishedHell (Apr 10, 2012)

Yeah, I think so. It's more accurate than the imperial system.

It's actually simpler as well.
1000mg= 1g
1000g=1kg

Same for volume and distance.


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## Ape in space (May 31, 2010)

YES, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD YES! As a physics guy, I can't describe how aggravating it is to see acceleration in ft/s^2, or to see car commercials quote torque in lb-ft and power in 'horsepower'.

"My car gets 40 rods to the hogshead, and that's the way I likes it!"
- Abe Simpson


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## wrongnumber (May 24, 2009)

Yeah, and the Brits need to stop using stones.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

No.


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## WhatBITW (Jan 26, 2013)

arnie said:


> Countries using the metric system:


I think I speak for most non-Americans when I say that you're just pissing the rest of us off by making us have to convert your archaic units all the time.

And screw you too, Myanmar.


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## Amphoteric (Sep 11, 2011)

Ape in space said:


> YES, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD YES! As a physics guy, I can't describe how aggravating it is to see acceleration in ft/s^2, or to see car commercials quote torque in lb-ft and power in 'horsepower'.
> 
> "My car gets 40 rods to the hogshead, and that's the way I likes it!"
> - Abe Simpson


Metrics really are the official unit for science.

I have a chemistry book written by an American guy, and at the start of it there's a chapter in which the conversion from Uncle Sam's units to metric has to be explained, as the rest of the book then uses metrics.

I do imagine American students could do their sciencing a lot smoother too if they'd embrace metrics earlier on.


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## AussiePea (Mar 27, 2007)

Too late, far too late.

It really does make little sense though and can be a pain in the *** to convert all the time but I honestly can't see the country changing and it not being a complete shambles if they did attempt it.


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## Zeppelin (Jan 23, 2012)

No. Most people here don't know how to fully use the metric system. We know what a kilometer, meter, and centimeter are, but beyond that we know nothing. 
We know what Celsius is, and that 0 is freezing and 100 boiling, but beyond that, we can't tell if a temperature is warm or cold. I don't even know if 25 degrees Celsius is? 


Our system works fine, and we are taught the metric in school too. It works out alright. We tried to switch back in the 1970s, but it failed and was a big waste of money.

I get the metric system is supposed to be "easier", but I just don't really like it and like our system better.


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## LivingZombie (Oct 31, 2013)

WhatBITW said:


> I think I speak for most non-Americans when I say that you're just pissing the rest of us off by making us have to convert your archaic units all the time.
> 
> And screw you too, Myanmar.


If you have to convert them so often, why not just learn it? I don't need to learn metric, because nobody uses it.


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## SuperSky (Feb 16, 2011)

I highly doubt that they'd switch now. They've held it for far too long. In my industry it's just something that has to be dealt with on our side.


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## louiselouisa (Jul 12, 2012)

yes please, still hoping there would be a time in this world where I could ditch all of my unit conversion applications peacefully and then, the world would rejoice.


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## Alas Babylon (Aug 28, 2012)

It will happen eventually, it took a long time to get most people to use the Gregorian calender as well, but it happened eventually. 

It's really just about making everything easier and efficient. The world should have a uniform way of measurement, and metric is 1, more accurate and 2, used everywhere but the US and one third-world hole known as Liberia, now that Burma has moved to metric. 

If the military goons who run Burma finally realised that metric was simply the better system, than I have no doubt that Americans will be smart enough to as well.


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## Arkiasis (Jun 29, 2013)

Yes, as someone majoring in engineering it's freaking annoying having to memorize and be able to convert between both systems because Americans are so damn stubborn and self-centred.


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## farfegnugen (Aug 16, 2010)

I would really like to see the farfegnugen take off as a measure of everything.

And medicine and the sciences are metric based in the US. I think just a switch would result in too many fatalities. People have to be taught and be able to estimate accurately without thinking about it.


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## BillDauterive (Oct 24, 2012)




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## Alone75 (Jul 29, 2013)

Persephone The Dread said:


> Despite what most charts like that say, the reality is we actually use metric + imperial here. We like to confuse people/be confusing apparently. At least the US uses just one system lol.
> 
> The result is that many people can't use either system fully. Roads are in miles, height is in feet or metres (depending on what you feel like but I feel more comfortable with feet) weight is in stone or kg (again depending,) drinks are in pints.
> 
> ...


Both the imperial and United States customary systems of measurement derive from earlier English systems used in the Middle Ages, that were the result of a combination of the local Anglo-Saxon units inherited from German tribes and Roman units brought by William the Conqueror after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
Having this shared heritage, the two systems are quite similar, but there are differences. The US customary system is based on English systems of the 18th century, while the Imperial system was defined in 1824, after American independence.

We only started using metric units within the last 40 years to fall in line with the rest of Europe. Everything was imperial before then. We still use it for miles and not kilometers on road signs and things, because it would cost billions of £ to replace it all.

I prefer using imperial units, miles, inches, feet, pounds and stones ect and it's the British who invented the imperial system and took some from the Romans also. I voted USA should keep their version of imperial and to hell with the rest of the world!


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## Sinatra (Mar 13, 2013)

Nah we don't need to. Just do a quick conversion here and there it's not a big deal really.


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## ItsEasierToRun (Feb 2, 2013)

Wow, this thread was actually quite eye-opening.. Although I still use feet and inches quite a lot..



wrongnumber said:


> Yeah, and the Brits need to stop using stones.


Why? Stones make a lot more sense..


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## nullptr (Sep 21, 2012)

I'm pretty fluent with metric, physics engrained it into me. But outside of school I usually use imperial units


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## minimized (Nov 17, 2007)

I really hate our system. The only thing I like better is Fahrenheit rather than Centigrade. After having to do conversions in school, I loathe the whole thing. How many ****ing feet are in a mile? Just use a scale based on zeroes, stop with the torture.


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## arnie (Jan 24, 2012)

minimized said:


> I really hate our system. The only thing I like better is Fahrenheit rather than Centigrade. After having to do conversions in school, I loathe the whole thing. How many ****ing feet are in a mile? Just use a scale based on zeroes, stop with the torture.


Fahrenheit is more accurate because the 1 degree represents a smaller change so with Celsius you have to use half degrees like 20.5 C

However for length units, I like centimeters better than inches. If you do any woodworking, all of those fractional inches, get real annoying. (hard to add with different denominators) The same is true with cooking and fractions of a cup, tablespoons, teaspoons... uhhh. :no


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## pati (Aug 15, 2012)

No thanks. First, they would have to educate all of the teachers on the metric system to make sure they fully understand and can teach it to others. Then, said teachers would have to completely change their mindset, textbooks, lesson plans, methods, etc. Kids would be taught one thing and then go home to parents who are still using a system they've had for 20+ years. Not to mention, who is going to pay for the new textbooks? And the educational training? And the person who goes around making sure teachers are implementing the new plan properly? And the people who will have to go across the nation changing all of the signs and markers and information out there that would be out on the roads and in the National Parks and in the school zones and all of that? Assuming all of this goes well, you now have to get 313 million people to adopt a new way. All of this just so people in other countries don't have to do conversions and vice versa. I mean, it's easy enough to just say, "Hey! Fix that!" But let's be realistic. If it was worth the cost and beneficial to the United States, we would have done it already.


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## Frostbite (May 14, 2013)

THey tried in the 70s it didn't work out too well


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## h00dz (Dec 25, 2012)

Please god make this so!


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## Arkiasis (Jun 29, 2013)

missamanda said:


> No thanks. First, they would have to educate all of the teachers on the metric system to make sure they fully understand and can teach it to others. Then, said teachers would have to completely change their mindset, textbooks, lesson plans, methods, etc. Kids would be taught one thing and then go home to parents who are still using a system they've had for 20+ years. Not to mention, who is going to pay for the new textbooks? And the educational training? And the person who goes around making sure teachers are implementing the new plan properly? And the people who will have to go across the nation changing all of the signs and markers and information out there that would be out on the roads and in the National Parks and in the school zones and all of that? Assuming all of this goes well, you now have to get 313 million people to adopt a new way. All of this just so people in other countries don't have to do conversions and vice versa. I mean, it's easy enough to just say, "Hey! Fix that!" But let's be realistic. If it was worth the cost and beneficial to the United States, we would have done it already.


Every other country in the world switched just fine with no complaints.


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## FireIsTheCleanser (Aug 16, 2011)

What are we, Commies? Uh-uh girl.


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## pati (Aug 15, 2012)

Arkiasis said:


> Every other country in the world switched just fine with no complaints.


So?


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## nrelax11 (Jun 9, 2013)

Nope, cuz I don't use the metric system to often. Just learn both. Problem solved


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## arnie (Jan 24, 2012)

missamanda said:


> No thanks. First, they would have to educate all of the teachers on the metric system to make sure they fully understand and can teach it to others. Then, said teachers would have to completely change their mindset, textbooks, lesson plans, methods, etc. Kids would be taught one thing and then go home to parents who are still using a system they've had for 20+ years. Not to mention, who is going to pay for the new textbooks? And the educational training? And the person who goes around making sure teachers are implementing the new plan properly?


Any teacher that didn't manage to learn the metric system shouldn't be a teacher in the first place. It's fairly basic knowledge.


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## AlchemyFire (Mar 4, 2013)

Ape in space said:


> YES, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD YES! As a physics guy, I can't describe how aggravating it is to see acceleration in ft/s^2, or to see car commercials quote torque in lb-ft and power in 'horsepower'.
> 
> "My car gets 40 rods to the hogshead, and that's the way I likes it!"
> - Abe Simpson


YES. I'm so sick of imperial units. ****, why you do this America? Everyone saying no should come sit in a foreign physics class that has to deal with imperial measurements leaking into our work randomly. It's not bad when you only have to do a couple of conversions, but it gets really annoying when you have to keep jumping between two different measurement systems ALL the damn time.

But you also get fun $125 million dollar errors because of it :b

http://www.cnn.com/TECH/space/9909/30/mars.metric/


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## pati (Aug 15, 2012)

arnie said:


> Any teacher that didn't manage to learn the metric system shouldn't be a teacher in the first place. It's fairly basic knowledge.


I'm not saying they shouldn't know it/don't know it, I'm just saying they would have to change their ways. That would mean learning for some, refreshing for some, and nothing for others. I went through 12 years of public school and didn't learn a thing about the metric system until I took chemistry and physics during my junior year of high school. And these were upper level electives that weren't required. It is what it is.


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## nullptr (Sep 21, 2012)

Oh im going to add to my previous post, I think american's rather than outright switching should know both systems really well, I mean it isn't that hard.


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## Grog (Sep 13, 2013)

Yes I hate getting your imported crap with backwards measurements and another whole set of tools to accommodate it get with it minority group ha ha ah ha

And while your at it you also drive on the wrong side of the road


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## AussiePea (Mar 27, 2007)

I don't think it's a huge deal tbh, we all cope fine currently and the conversions although a pain in the *** aren't the end of the world. They should have done it properly the first time around but for whatever reason they were unable to manage unlike the rest of the world which managed around the same time (blame it on the demographic perhaps).

The costs associated with doing so now far outweigh the benefits imo.


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## wrongnumber (May 24, 2009)

ItsEasierToRun said:


> Why? Stones make a lot more sense..


Why do they make more sense? The UK is half using the metric system and half using imperial. It's a mess.


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## Post_Punk_Proclivity (Oct 12, 2008)

This is the third time in a week I've heard somebody talk about measurement systems, what is the big deal?


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## ItsEasierToRun (Feb 2, 2013)

wrongnumber said:


> Why do they make more sense? The UK is half using the metric system and half using imperial. It's a mess.


I won't deny the UK is a mess lol..


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## pati (Aug 15, 2012)

AussiePea said:


> I don't think it's a huge deal tbh, we all cope fine currently and the conversions although a pain in the *** aren't the end of the world. They should have done it properly the first time around but for whatever reason they were unable to manage unlike the rest of the world which managed around the same time (blame it on the demographic perhaps).
> 
> The costs associated with doing so now far outweigh the benefits imo.


My thoughts as well.


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## Raeden (Feb 8, 2013)

galacticsenator said:


> Oh im going to add to my previous post, I think american's rather than outright switching should know both systems really well, I mean it isn't that hard.


Well, both systems are technically taught in school. Americans just don't bother to remember the metric system since it doesn't apply to their daily lives. Most people don't need to record measurements in the metric system.


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## Gavroche (Jan 12, 2013)

I like the Imperial system better, I'm used to estimating things by feet and pounds already! Plus, it's better for us to stay on the imperial system, all of our land records and such are on imperial system, it would make little sense to cause a stir by switching for no reason.


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## nullptr (Sep 21, 2012)

Raeden said:


> Well, both systems are technically taught in school. Americans just don't bother to remember the metric system since it doesn't apply to their daily lives. Most people don't need to record measurements in the metric system.


You can't know that homeschooled kid .


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## hammerfast (Mar 8, 2012)

the US army already uses the metric system and that's all there is about America


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## Raeden (Feb 8, 2013)

galacticsenator said:


> You can't know that homeschooled kid .


Well, the textbooks/worksheets that I had all taught the metric system, so I'm just making that assumption.

The main point is that you can hardly get most Americans to see the point in learning math past multiplication; you're not going to convince them to memorize the metric system just for the sake of it. :b


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## nullptr (Sep 21, 2012)

Raeden said:


> Well, the textbooks/worksheets that I had all taught the metric system, so I'm just making that assumption.
> 
> The main point is that you can hardly get most Americans to see the point in learning math past multiplication; you're not going to convince them to memorize the metric system just for the sake of it. :b


Yeah most do teach it.

THIS IS 'MURICA we don't learn math.



hammerfast said:


> the US army already uses the metric system and that's all there is about America


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## DarrellLicht (Mar 9, 2013)

I think it will take decades, but we're already on our way as America becomes less involved in production. Morso compared to the last time the idea was propositioned. Obviously the idea was never dropped. You can go to any hardware store and buy a metric wrench set any given time. As somebody else pointed out, a cross reference is readily available. 
The more Asian/European equipment is being imported, the closer we step to that direction. Be patient, world.


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## hdth (Jun 12, 2013)

hell yes, metric would take maybe 30 minutes to learn and would be a hell of a lot easier then remembering 32 degrees for water to freeze, 12 inches to the foot, 3.12? feet to the yard


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## arnie (Jan 24, 2012)

hdth said:


> hell yes, metric would take maybe 30 minutes to learn and would be a hell of a lot easier then remembering 32 degrees for water to freeze, 12 inches to the foot, *3.12*? feet to the yard


There are exactly 3 feet in a yard.


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## arnie (Jan 24, 2012)




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## eukz (Nov 3, 2013)

Would be nice. Believing that the entire world will be converting units for the rest of eternity doesn't sound good. But I think it's impossible by now.

Farenheits are so retarded ._.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

Do Australians and Kiwis use stones?


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## SilentWitness (Dec 27, 2009)

komorikun said:


> Do Australians and Kiwis use stones?


Aussies and Kiwis use kilograms.


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## Arkiasis (Jun 29, 2013)

arnie said:


> There are exactly 3 feet in a yard.


Compared to there being 10mm to a cm, 100cm to a metre, and 1000 metres to a kilometre. Much easier than 12 inches to a foot and ummm whatever the arbitrary number of feet are in a mile. 
Also decimals > fractions.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

arnie said:


> Countries using the metric system:


 I think this explains why I don't care much for foreigners. They're all the same.


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## Ape in space (May 31, 2010)

*Rant*

I wanted to rant about more reasons why the imperial and US systems suck.

*Imperial system
*- Uses a completely different name for every unit of the same quantity. For example, length is measured in inches, feet, yards, furlongs, etc. - all different names to describe length. Mass is measured in ounces, pounds, stones, tons, etc. Again, all different names for units of the same quantity.

- Different units of the same quantity are related by totally variable ratios. For example, there are 5 fluid ounces in a gill, 4 gills in a pint, 2 pints in a quart, and so on.

- The set of units is not 'minimal'. For example, to define a unit of volume, all you really need is to define a unit of length - like the inch - and then derive a unit of volume from it - like the cubic inch. But the common units of volume in the imperial system are based on the fluid ounce instead. To define a fluid ounce, you first need to define a unit of mass - the ounce - and then define the fluid ounce as the volume of water that weighs 1 ounce. So, instead of just needing one thing to define a unit of volume (namely, a definition of a length unit), you actually need 2 things: (1) a definition of mass, and (2) water. This makes the system needlessly complicated.

- There are 16 drachms to an ounce, but there are only 8 _fluid_ drachms to a _fluid_ ounce. The reason for this nonsense? The fluid drachm is part of another system within the imperial system called the 'apothecaries system', which uses a different system of mass where there are 8 drachms to an ounce instead of 16. So the imperial system uses the same name (drachm) for two different units. Can't see any problem there. :no
​*US system*- The US system is even more ridiculous, and has all of the drawbacks of the imperial system, except one. The volume units make slightly more sense because they are connected by powers of 2. For example, there are 4 fluid ounces to a gill, 2 gills to a cup, 2 cups to a pint, 2 pints to a quart, 4 quarts to a gallon.

- But the kookiness comes back in full force, because the US fluid ounce is slightly larger than the imperial fluid ounce. While the imperial fluid ounce is the volume of one ounce of water (which at least makes sense), the US fluid ounce is not. The US fluid ounce is based on the volume of an ounce of wine. What kind of wine and under what conditions? No one ****ing knows.

- There are two different types of gallon within the US system, one for liquids, one for solids. I can't even remember the conversion factor because it looks like someone just pulled the definition out of their ***.

- US system uses Fahrenheit scale for temperature. What is the significance of 0 °F on this scale? I think it's the freezing point of some kind of salt water, or something like that. What salt concentration and what type of salt? Who the **** can remember?

- US system has a volume unit called the 'hogshead'. Seriously. That's not just a Simpsons joke.
​*Metric system*- Uses only one unit for each quantity (like metre for distance, kilogram for mass, etc.). To get larger or smaller units, you just attach a standard prefix (e.g. - cm, km, etc.) which gives a unit that differs from the original by a power of 10 (the easiest number to work with in our base-10 number system).

- The set of units for length, mass and volume is 'minimal'. First, you define a length unit (metre), and from that alone you can derive the common volume units (cubic centimetres, litres, etc.). Then, to define the unit of mass, you can use water and the already-defined volume units. So 1 gram was defined originally as the mass of 1 cubic centimetre of water. Very simple. So to define all the common length, volume and mass units, you only needed two things: (1) a definition of length, and (2) water. For the imperial and US systems, you needed three things: (1) a definition of length, (2) a separate definition of mass, and (3) water (or wine :bash). So the metric system tries to be as simple as possible.

- The Celsius temperature scale has 0 °C as the freezing point of pure water, and 100 °C as the boiling point of pure water. Again, simple.

- No units named after animal heads, which could otherwise lead to animal deaths because of miscommunication. :teeth
​That should be more than sufficient reason to switch to metric. There are other reasons, but that's all I have to say for now.


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## Ikamono (Dec 1, 2013)

1 mile = 5280 ft

Fun Fact: 5280 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11, 12, 15, 16, and 20.

As an American, I feel that metric system isn't all that important in the grand scheme of most peoples' lives. As a science enthusiast, I feel that having one system of measurement is a good idea if it can be implemented well. As a person, I don't care whether we measure by metric couch-loads or in banana peels - so long as I'm not forced to give up my precious mile.


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## masterridley (Jan 20, 2007)

@Ape in space, good post!

The important thing is that almost all science is now done in the metric system everywhere. I couldn't care less which system Americans use in their everyday life.

By the way, here are two accidents that happened during the transition from imperial to metric:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider


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## konqz (Jan 7, 2014)

Even if the US does switch now, most won't bother learning it. People of a certain age in Canada still use imperial :bash _(drives me crazy)_


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