That state of metric conversion in the US

[qrk]

I seem to remember that a few dacades ago (maybe in the '70s) there was
some kind of federal push to convert the country to the metric system by
a certain date that is already in the past. As it's painfully obvious by
now, not much came out of that initial excitement.

Why do you think it is that the US public so resistant to such a change
when the metric system is so much simpler? Much of the rest of the
industrialized world is already on the metric system and not following
their lead just impedes international commerce.

Other countries still use imperial units.
Brits use miles & MPH on their roadways.

Swedes use "tum" (thumb) for lumber size. 1 tum = 1 inch. The Swedes I
was chatting with had a shocked look in their face when they realized
their timber units are inches.

Some Canadians along the border still use imperial units. They don't
care much for the metric system.

 

[MrTallyman]

Yes, we have a "baker's dozen", meaning 13 and it's the sort of thing
you learn at school, but I've never actually seen it used anywhere.

In the same place where and why it was adopted for... doughnuts.

A sales incentive to buy a dozen instead of a few. Still happens.

A good price point to start with and fine doughnuts is a better way.

 

[Joerg]

On Sun, 17 Feb 2013 10:32:13 -0800, the renowned Joerg

[...]

What can drive European visitors crazy over here in America is when we
use the expression "baker's dozen" which is 13 pieces instead of 12. In
very rare circumstances it can also be 14

There ought to be a "banker's dozen".. 11 or maybe 10. ;-)

Leveraged to look like 40

 

[WallyWallWhackr]

. Or beer.

This is the really funny part. Would have choked had I a mouthful.

At least Sam Adams' stuff is real and good. Still, ya need a couple to
fill a proper mug. Ya only need a couple of those though... hic...

 

[Joerg]

The only non-metric tool I still use consistently is a 7/16" wrench for
TV cable end-connectors. I guess I could also use an 11 mm metric wrench
which is about the same size. So I'm not even sure if those connector
specs are metric or not.

I use a lot on non-metric sockets. For example, on the pellet stove
during the yearly maintenance session. One could use metric sockets but
that would ruin the heads of the bolts over time. Same in the pump house
down at the pool.

 

[MrTallyman]

The only non-metric tool I still use consistently is a 7/16" wrench for
TV cable end-connectors. I guess I could also use an 11 mm metric wrench
which is about the same size. So I'm not even sure if those connector
specs are metric or not.

RG-6 and F connectors and such did not morph, so whatever they were
when conceived, they still are.

7/16 was the original, and will likely carry through for good.

SMA = 5/16.

TNC = bigger still...

N = huge!

 

[MrTallyman]

BNC, N, SMA, are all UNF threads with US sizes across flats.

Yep.

 

[Joerg]

When's the last time you bought something made in america?
Stuff is already metric.

Buy a Breckwell pellet stove and you'll be surprised

And yeah, it's made in America.

 

[josephkk]

rickman wrote: [snip]

Heck, I
worked at a company just a few years ago that made push to talk radios
for the US military. I was surprised that the mechanical engineers were
still using inches and converting all the metric stuff rather than doing
it all in metric!

Surprised? Some of my work is in aerospace. There it's all inches,
pounds, PSI, slugs, knots, feet and so on. To some extent that is even
so in the medical device industry. The topper:

[snip]

You forgot "Jerk"... the derivative of acceleration... used in
elevator specifications >:-}

...Jim Thompson

That reminds me of the day i saw dA-dt on a licence plate.

?-)

 

[Joerg]

rickman wrote: [snip]
Heck, I
worked at a company just a few years ago that made push to talk radios
for the US military. I was surprised that the mechanical engineers were
still using inches and converting all the metric stuff rather than doing
it all in metric!

Surprised? Some of my work is in aerospace. There it's all inches,
pounds, PSI, slugs, knots, feet and so on. To some extent that is even
so in the medical device industry. The topper:

[snip]

You forgot "Jerk"... the derivative of acceleration... used in
elevator specifications >:-}

...Jim Thompson

That reminds me of the day i saw dA-dt on a licence plate.

Maybe I should get this vanity plate: *PHUT*

 

[josephkk]

Imperial gallons make much more sense than US gallons--one gallon of
water weighs exactly 10 pounds.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

And that competes directly with "A pint's a pound, the world around."

?-)

 

[josephkk]

Or worse.

<http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/11/1110mars-climate-observer-
report/>

Between pan folding the line and my Agent 6 reader the carets <> did not
preserve the link. I could pick it up with a bit of shift key and cursor
keys.

So much for that.

?-)

 

[[email protected]]

rickman wrote:
[snip]
Heck, I
worked at a company just a few years ago that made push to talk radios
for the US military. I was surprised that the mechanical engineers were
still using inches and converting all the metric stuff rather than doing
it all in metric!

Surprised? Some of my work is in aerospace. There it's all inches,
pounds, PSI, slugs, knots, feet and so on. To some extent that is even
so in the medical device industry. The topper:

[snip]

You forgot "Jerk"... the derivative of acceleration... used in
elevator specifications >:-}

...Jim Thompson

That reminds me of the day i saw dA-dt on a licence plate.

Maybe I should get this vanity plate: *PHUT*

No asterisks. Maybe you could get "PHUTTER". ;-)

 

[John S]

Sure, if you have a metric pinkie and a metric thumb.

 

[[email protected]]

Time for some Golden Oldies:

From April 10, 2001 -

Lord Valve Speaketh:

The metric system, which was based on an arbitrary
measurement (one ten-millionth of the distance from
the equator to the North Pole along the longitude
line which runs near Dunkerque, France, or somesuch
nonsense) to begin with, is not inherently more precise
or accurate than any other system. The fact that the
international standard for the meter is now specified
as a certain number of wavelengths of a specific
frequency of light, or as the distance light travels
in 1/299,792,458 of a second,

[flash forward to today - I should have mentioned that
the second is also an arbitrary unit, no matter how
finely we can slice it with modern equipment...]

Metric system is not just about the unit of measurement, but perhaps
more importantly, about the decimal system that goes with it. That's
what makes it so much simpler IMHO.

Only if you do arithmetic. How many today can do simple arithmetic?
They can't even make change and the US monetary units have always been
decimal.

 

[cameo]

There ought to be a "banker's dozen".. 11 or maybe 10. ;-)

They are probably in jail now ... or should be, anyhow.

 

[cameo]

Only if you do arithmetic. How many today can do simple arithmetic?
They can't even make change and the US monetary units have always been
decimal.

True enough, but still easier than doing arithmetic with fractions of
different base.

 

[Sylvia Else]

Nah, the French have their own size system. Apres tout, la France est le
centre de l'univers:

http://ionmycatheters.com/blog/catheter-french-scale-sizes/

Do those sizes take into account the inevitable dimensional changes that
result from any mention of catheters?

Sylvia.

 

[cameo]

Isn't milk still sold in quarts and gallons? What about gasoline?

Oh, I forgot the best one: we are still donating blood by the pint.

 

[[email protected]]

True enough, but still easier than doing arithmetic with fractions of
different base.

Just think of doing arithmetic on imperial fractions as working in
base-2. ;-)

Actually, the way I do it isn't far off. When doing woodworking I
usually just use 16ths (or 32nds, depending on the task). Rulers are
even set up that way (with the length of the division indicating the
bit position ;-).