Should America go metric?

[Deleted]

nope pretty much both, But ive never heard stone before these forums but where I live bushels and arces are very common measurements. (agricultural area)

i have never heard of bushel and i lived in a rural area for 20years :P im familiar with acres though. and Stone is what most people in the UK weigh them selves in, but in cooking its in Kilograms/grams, and older people use pounds mostly. i don't knows LBs really, apart from burgers, they are done in pounds, half punder, quater pounder etc. its confusing knowing too many different systems for different things.

---------- Post added 2012-12-13 at 08:38 PM ----------

Nah, it's taught to us, but we continue to use imperial in our everyday vernacular. Doesn't mean we don't understand imperial or don't have the ability to convert reasonably. I'm even pretty good at converting fahrenheit temperatures to celsius without having to do calculations because I'm accustomed to both, but that may be because I've spent so much time overseas.

never been taught Fahrenheit, always celcius here. not familiar with it at all.

[Reeve]

I stopped reading here - because this, right here, is awesome. It's the perfect balance of compromise that shows just how retarded asking 300 million people that have been using the same system for generations, to just change. For no really good reason.

Those who think in metric solely, try thinking in Imperial for a day. That's what you're asking others to do - essentially cold turkey.

For those (Americans) that want to go metric, there's nothing stopping you - even most of our products have both labeled. It's no different than going to Canada and having products written in English and French. Just ignore the one you don't want to deal with.

What's stopping me is that when I tell people temperatures, distances, weights, etc. I want them to be able to understand me. If I just go about quoting those things in metrics, people are going to look at me funny and fail to understand. If someone asks me the temperature and I say it's 16 degrees out, I want them to know what it means. That's what's stopping me.

[Gamdwelf]

i have never heard of bushel and i lived in a rural area for 20years :P im familiar with acres though. and Stone is what most people in the UK weigh them selves in, but in cooking its in Kilograms/grams, and older people use pounds mostly. i don't knows LBs really, apart from burgers, they are done in pounds, half punder, quater pounder etc. its confusing knowing too many different systems for different things.

Crops are usually measured in bushels, well the products are, and then a farm's output is usually measured in bushels/acre. My grandpa owns a farm and I still don't really have an idea how much a bushel is or how much area an acre is.

[Reeve]

What do you think .22, .223, .308, .357, .45, and .50 mean?

Caliber. I never knew caliber had anything to do with inches.

[Deleted]

Crops are usually measured in bushels, well the products are, and then a farm's output is usually measured in bushels/acre. My grandpa owns a farm and I still don't really have an idea how much a bushel is or how much area an acre is.

ah, ive never lived on a farm, my friend had one, but they had animals not crops.

[Mixon]

If by "go" you mean "teach only" the metric system, then i would say no. but as far as i can tell we are gradually moving more and more toward using the metric system as the standard. I was taught both in school (graduated HS in 2003).

as far base 10 SI units i agree they are much easier and more functional, but as for C and F temp measurements i find Fahrenheit to be far better. partially i'm sure dew to be raised and coming to know temperatures in F but also it that it is more precise and seems to fit a more logical scale with the exception of freezing being 32 rather then 0.

[Gamdwelf]

What's stopping me is that when I tell people temperatures, distances, weights, etc. I want them to be able to understand me. If I just go about quoting those things in metrics, people are going to look at me funny and fail to understand. If someone asks me the temperature and I say it's 16 degrees out, I want them to know what it means. That's what's stopping me.

no matter what I still think tempratures make more sence in farenheit, yes it has nothign to do with water freezing or boiling but still.
100 hot
0 cold

40-60 range, pretty nice out.

[Reeve]

Crops are usually measured in bushels, well the products are, and then a farm's output is usually measured in bushels/acre. My grandpa owns a farm and I still don't really have an idea how much a bushel is or how much area an acre is.

Do you use pecks too? Furlongs? Chains, leagues, fathoms, cables, perches, roods, gills, scruples, drachms, grains... There are some really weird units in imperial.

[Gamdwelf]

Do you use pecks too?

no, wtf is a peck?

[Seranthor]

Yes, I support this. We should start by getting America to adopt real, proper English! No more of this '-or' and '-ze' nonsense!!

/jk

But, but, but, if you force folks to speak English then all the immigrants will feel put upon to learn the language of the country they chose to live in.

[Deleted]

no matter what I still think tempratures make more sence in farenheit, yes it has nothign to do with water freezing or boiling but still.
100 hot
0 cold

40-60 range, pretty nice out.

annoys me when ever i see American posts saying "its 70 outside!!", 70 in celcius would be insane. then i remember its F

[Ichy]

I voted yes, and I am American.

What many youngsters right now don't know, is that in the late 90's early 2k period. Schools TRIED to make the switch, but our society as a whole wouldn't allow it. in essence, it came down to older generations not wanting to make the switch.

[Reeve]

no, wtf is a peck?

A peck is 2 dry gallons. There's an old song that goes "I love you, a bushel and a peck. A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck..."

[Redlokyldoreifanggore]

At this point and time, the economy couldn't handle a complete overhaul of our measurement system. Signs, cars, maps, etc. would need to be completely reworked.

However, anyone who passed a basic elementary science class ought to know the equalities between Fahrenheit, Kelvin, and Celsius, or at least how to calculate them. The most important temperature numbers, i.e. Absolute Zero, Freezing Point/Melting Point, Body Temp, Boiling Point, etc. should be basic knowledge and known in all three measurements.

Anyone who has taken a junior high level class should be able to recite the equalities for distance and weight, or how to calculate them at the very least.

We use the metric system frequently, and, in all honesty, for domestic purposes it really isn't of overwhelming importance. A man driving to his office doesn't need to know the variance between miles and km, whereas a scientist at NASA, a military engineer, etc. would need those.

It's good general knowledge to have, but switching to the metric system should really be the least of our worries. Sure it'll make things easier for teachers and students, but knowing how to convert between imperial, metric, and scientific units with ease is always a good skill to have.

Also, I don't want to have to start writing the month after the day. I prefer to write it as I say it "December 13th, 2012 = 12/13/12". I don't usually say "The 13th of December, 2012 = 13/12/12". But that's a personal preference.



TL;DR: Would be too much hassle and expense domestically, therefore it shouldn't be an issue. No changeover and yes I'm from the U.S.

[Deleted]

Learning metric system takes something like 10minutes? if your brains are working normaly. Also about every country going for english, that would be nice my life would be so much easier.

[Rukentuts]

I voted yes, and I am American.

What many youngsters right now don't know, is that in the late 90's early 2k period. Schools TRIED to make the switch, but our society as a whole wouldn't allow it. in essence, it came down to older generations not wanting to make the switch.

I don't know about then, but it was going to happen in the late 70s / early 80s until Reagan came into office and stopped it.

[Santti]

no matter what I still think tempratures make more sence in farenheit, yes it has nothign to do with water freezing or boiling but still.
100 hot
0 cold

40-60 range, pretty nice out.

What is 0 fahrenheit? I mean, surely 0 means something in fahrenheit, like it does in celcius and kelvin.

[Reeve]

What is 0 fahrenheit? I mean, surely 0 means something in fahrenheit, like it does in celcius and kelvin.

It means 32 degrees colder than the freezing point of water.

---------- Post added 2012-12-13 at 08:47 PM ----------

I don't know about then, but it was going to happen in the late 70s / early 80s until Reagan came into office and stopped it.

God Reagan was a jackass. No metric system, the war on drugs...

[Redlokyldoreifanggore]

What is 0 fahrenheit? I mean, surely 0 means something in fahrenheit, like it does in celcius and kelvin.

Yes, it means it's below freezing, which is really effing cold unless you live in Alaska year round.

[Gamdwelf]

looked it up, bushel is 8 gallons, but used to measure dry commodities like wheat, corn, soybeans, etc. but not liquids.