US "Customary" System

[Wontonunist]

This is most likely the wrong place to post this. If so, you have my humblest apologies.

I find it very amusing that in the USA we have entitled our measuring system "Customary".
The rest of the world uses Metric, but oh, no, we have to be different. After all, we are special,
being the land of freedom and all.

Why can't there be one thing that everyone agrees on? I personally even find the Metric
system easier to use, with it's power's of ten and such. Ah well. What difference does it make,
I guess. It's just a measurement system, not foreign policy. This is kind of random, but any thoughts?

[Blake's Baby]

In Britain we call the two styatems 'Metric' and 'Imperial' because the British system from which the American system is derived was based on the old Holy Roman Imperial system - Charlemagne's foot was 'a foot', etc. So maybe in America it's called 'customary' because Americans don't want to to call it 'the British system' (after all, America kicked Britain out 200-odd years ago, shh don't mention Canada), 'the Imperial system' (ditto), or more gallingly 'the old-fashioned French system' (still don't mention Canada).

We have the same thing in Britain. Periodically there are campaigns to standardise the use of the metric system in Britain. Depends on whether the government in power is being pro-EU at that point really. But we're dragging our feet; the British government first agreed to introduce the metric system in about 1870. Yes, 1870 not 1970. There was an international conference at which the French agreed to give up the 'Paris Meridian' for time-keeping and longitude, and standardise the Greenwich Meridian as the prime meridian, if Britain adopted the metric system. France fulfilled its part of the bargain, Britain didn't.

No wonder we have a reputation for being perfidious...

[graymouser]

We do use one standard, the metric system. Seriously. The conventional units are just redefinitions of certain metric values, so a foot for instance is 0.305 meters, and doesn't have a separate standard definition. A kilogram is what a specific chunk of metal (the International Prototype Kilogram, often called "le grand k") weighs, a meter is the distance travelled by light in a vacuum in 1⁄299,792,458 second, and a second is determined by the vibrations of a cesium atom, motion stops at 0 Kelvin and water goes from solid to liquid just above 0 Celsius (273.5 Kelvin). Everything else, metric and conventional units, can be determined from those standards.

As to why we use these units, primarily it's cultural - there is just too much resistance to the perfectly usable metric system. People already use metric in certain things (engine capacity and soda bottles in liters, heavy drugs in kilograms, foot races in meters) but converting distance, weight and volume would take a good deal of initial effort that Americans aren't interested in.

[Jimmie Higgins]

in the book "U.S.", American socialist Upton Sinclair is repeatedly resurrected after right-wing assassins kill him. When he is resurrected in the 1980s, the first things he asks are:

U.S.: "Are we Socialist yet?"

Man: "No"

U.S.: "Well, we must at least be metric by now, right?"

I have no idea why the US has not converted over to metric. In school they taught me the metric system as well as the British system (the only thing we don't use in the US is "stones" as a measurement of weight). This was in the 80s and I remember my teachers saying that we need to know both systems because the US would go metric by 1990. In the 1990s they did, in California, add a small kilometer marking to road signs (under the mileage marking). Of course none of our cars have metric mesurements, so the road signs are totally useless.

But other than those signs 20 years ago (I'm not sure if they even bother to keep that up when they have since replaced the signs), we are still waiting.

[Yazman]

Note to users: Please don't make one-liner posts or post things like "I agree" and "Well put." They are spam and are against the rules.

[AK]

Hopefully, one of the things to come out of a revolution will be a single system of measurement. But this begs the question; how much would it affect America to switch over to the metric system?

[Blake's Baby]

Most countries had to become metric from something else (though for many it was a long time ago). In Britain, signs on roads are in mph and distance is in miles, and sppeedos in cars show mph in big white numerals and kph in smaller orange numerals; but most shops sell things in kilos, metres and litres. We're taught metric in school (have been for at least 30 years), but generally non-technical distances are done in inches, feet and yards. But there are a few areas where resistance is strong; pints of beer are liable to remain pints for some time, but even though you can buy a pint of milk, the next size up is generally a litre (about 1.75 pints) and then 2 lites (3.5 pints).

But I was brought up when we'd just had decimal money in the UK. You've had 'metric money' in America since the Revolution; until about 40 years ago we still had 12 pennies to the shilling, 20 shillings to the pound. It's not so common now but wwhen I was growing up there was a generation of people who converted all 'new pence' to 'old money' ... "25 pence for a cauliflower? That's 5 bob (shillings) in old money!" - but we survived both the decimalisation of money and the (partial) decimalisation of measurement.

In short, meh, it won't significantly impact on America at all. As long as people don't mistake '140' as an mph speed limit, you'll be fine.

[AK]

In short, meh, it won't significantly impact on America at all. As long as people don't mistake '140' as an mph speed limit, you'll be fine.
Where on earth is that even a speed limit? :blink:

[Red Saxon]

It all comes down to American stubbornness really. It was tried in the 1970s but American simply refused to convert to the Metric.

My school actually has mandatory use of the Metric system in terms of math and science.

[Blake's Baby]

Yeah, the SSII (international science institution) has been been using metric for decades. It's only for internal distances and weights, and non-technically to other English speakers, that Americans use miles and gallons (same for the Brits, and I think Aussies; but as American gallons are different to British gallons, and you don't use stones, and I think fluid ounces are different on opposite sides of the Atlantic, we don't always know what each are talking about). In technical discussions Americans outside America or talking to non-Americans (and often internally too) have to use meters, litres etc (but spell them meters, liters, etc...)



Where on earth is that even a speed limit? :blink:

I dunno, Germany if anywhere. It's only about 85mph. The limit in the UK is 70mph which is 112kph. I'm fairly certain it's a higher limit on the Autobahn.

[snip]

Just checked and the Autobahn advisory limit is 130kmh (about 80mph).

[pastradamus]

Hmmmm...A good topic but I believe it belongs in the sciences section so im gonna move it. :)