At my age, more concerned about the 6 feet than the 6 inches.
USA going metric?
- Thread starter Beemerguy53
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m1gunner
US Veteran
152 milimeters sounds a whole lot better than 6 inches.
You may be too young to remember the ad campaign "A silly millimeter longer".
"The choice of professional smokers"
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the ringo kid
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So I see where some fellow running for office wants the USA to go metric...well, here's what I have to say about that...
I might be fine with the changes as long as the changes made to advertising--speed signs etx--milage signs and such--come ONLY from THAT politicians own pocket.
Im too old to learn something else--which if I recall? was tried once when I was younger--and was a failure.
the ringo kid
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DWalt
Member
The real problem with allowing two measurement systems to be in simultaneous use is not that one is "better" than the other, but is instead the frequent need to convert between them, which creates an error-prone situation. As most of the rest of the world has already become "metrified," the US continues to be at a competitive disadvantage by not also going metric 100%. Most every American (especially those with engineering, scientific, or technical training or experience) already understands how the metric system works to at least some extent, and it just wouldn't be that difficult to simply require the phase-in of the full use of the metric system for all commercial and governmental transactions over a 10 to 20 year period.
I like what jag312 said about the hat size. How is it my shirt is a size 17, but my hat is a 7 1/8, but my head is much bigger around than my neck?
If we give in to the metric system, next time it will be giving up your dollars for euros. It's all an old world, PC, metrosexual, commie plot. When I look down, I have 2 feet, not 60 centimeters. I guess we'll have to change to their shoe sizes, too.
If we give in to the metric system, next time it will be giving up your dollars for euros. It's all an old world, PC, metrosexual, commie plot. When I look down, I have 2 feet, not 60 centimeters. I guess we'll have to change to their shoe sizes, too.
fiasconva
US Veteran
Holy Moly! Next thing you know they'll be trying to make plastic guns.
Edmo
US Veteran
Yup, here is my S&W 640 Pro Series chambered in 9.0678mm Magnum.
The guy at Walmart couldn't find any ammo for it the last time I was there... He could only find 357 Magnum rounds.
Interstate 19 which runs south out of Tucson, AZ is marked with metric signs. It is creeping in...
Edmo
The guy at Walmart couldn't find any ammo for it the last time I was there... He could only find 357 Magnum rounds.
Interstate 19 which runs south out of Tucson, AZ is marked with metric signs. It is creeping in...
Edmo
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ChiefStealth
US Veteran
We'd have to change a lot of our language. Could not use the phrase "the whole 9 yards." We'd have to say the whole 8.227 meters. Give a person a 2.54 centimeters and he'll take a 1.61 kilometers. Traffic will be milli-metering along at rush hour.
Coldshooter
Member
He never caught you?
Id be ticked enough to do the same.
The look on his face when he grabbed one off the chalk rail to point with and realised it just didn't quite balance was worth the danger.
Coldshooter
Member
To a lot of the population south of I-10 metric is what they grew up with.
Arik
Member
I think some of you guys take it too far with the US against them mentality. As if its unamerican. It's math for crying out loud. Its THE ONLY international language. You can look down and see two feet or 24 inches or 0.6096 meter or 0.0006096 kilometer or 144 pica or 0.00032895 UK nautical mile. All the same. Why is it bad to know it?
Comrad
Member
"Niagara Falls! Slowly I turned ... step by step ... millimeter by millimeter ..."
Evil Dog
US Veteran
SAE? Metric? My Crescent wrench really doesn't care which.
Big Cholla
Member
I was introduced to the metric system in my college engineering and math courses. In due course I became a construction engineer and had no real problem with metrics. Then I became a gunsmith and had no real problem there either. I became a pilot of private aircraft and flew in the USA, Canada and Mexico. I had no problem in either place. I can only say that I am ambidextrous in feet/inches/eights of an inch/hundredths of a foot, pounds/kilos, gallons/liters and a smattering of knowledge in whitworths. I am still a little shaky when it comes to fahrenheit/celsius. In Australia/New Zealand I never knew whether to put on a long sleeve shirt or just go outside in my T-Shirt.
In engineering school almost everything was metric. It isn't 2nd nature though. If someone is 6ft tall, I know what that means. If someone is 183 cm, I have a harder time figuring out what that is.
100 degrees F? That's hot! 37 degrees C? Umm, not sure...
The math is definitely easier with metric though.
One place where english units are bad is with mass. A kilogram is a measure of mass (not weight). A pound is a measure of weight (or force). The common conversion is 1 kilogram is 2.2 pounds, which isn't entirely correct. 1 kilogram is 2.2 pounds-mass. There is also a unit called pound-force. 1 pound-mass = 1 pound force on earth. On a different body with different gravity, 1 pound-mass does not = 1 pound force.
example:
what does a 68 kg man mass on the moon? 68 kg.
what does a 150 lb man weight on the moon? 24.8 lb.
100 degrees F? That's hot! 37 degrees C? Umm, not sure...
The math is definitely easier with metric though.
One place where english units are bad is with mass. A kilogram is a measure of mass (not weight). A pound is a measure of weight (or force). The common conversion is 1 kilogram is 2.2 pounds, which isn't entirely correct. 1 kilogram is 2.2 pounds-mass. There is also a unit called pound-force. 1 pound-mass = 1 pound force on earth. On a different body with different gravity, 1 pound-mass does not = 1 pound force.
example:
what does a 68 kg man mass on the moon? 68 kg.
what does a 150 lb man weight on the moon? 24.8 lb.
DeathGrip
US Veteran
There's nothing bad knowing.
Math is a constant.
Music is the universal language. But, It's fractional. Mostly.
Buddy Holly, "That'll be the Day": http://youtu.be/kVGM86XIilw
With the metric system we can drive 130 and gas is 80 cents. Are you jealous? All my schooling was in "english" or sae units. Conversion took place afterward. All my children were educated in metric and scratch their heads when dad talks in inches and pounds. National conversion was painful and expensive since it was done in both english and french. Google "the Gimli Glider" to read about a mega metric snafu. Certainly not uncommon to have many dual sets of tools.
