Why aren't we using the metric system??
 

I've been slowly working on a woodworking project and since they guy who originally posted the design is in Canada, he used the metric system so I thought I would follow along and give it a try.

Wow, I don't understand why more people don't use it. It is SO much more simple than the imperial system, and its not like the imperial system is all that confusing to begin with.

It really shines when converting between units...how many inches is 23'-4 1/4" again?:confused:

I think if people just tried it for a week, the old system would be gone quickly.

Makes much more sense when using metric system in engineering calculations, we were told in the 70's that the USA would be adopting metric system soon.....

I blame pro football, fans & players couldn't deal with meters instead of yards.

I hate working on cars that mix metric and inch hardware.

Because Myianmar and Liberia won't allow it


:D

I don't have a problem working between imperial and metric and neither do most of the people I know. It's only hard if you make it hard. If it's a woodworking project it couldn't be that precise so just use 25mm = 1 inch. You'll be less than 2% larger. If a car has both types of fasteners look at the head of the bolt and if it has a number like "8.8" then it's metric. If it has radial lines it's imperial. Wrenches/sockets are pretty interchangeable between 5/16-8mm, 1/2"-13mm, 3/4"-19mm and 15/16"-24mm.

Come to think of it, the US military won every war they fought in with the imperial system and pretty much lost everything they fought in with the metric system.

90% of the population has pablum for brains is why.

For the same reasons we are no longer a manufacturing giant...

It's the same reason that the US ranks so poorly in math scoring.

This is ironic. Math is sooo much easier in the metric system, where everything is a matter of ones and decimal points. In the imperial system it's conversion tables - 12 inches to a foot, three ft. to a yard, 5280 ft. to a mile, etc. We are idiots, nonetheless.

Odd but true...Yes, only the US, Myanmar and Liberia are the only three countries in the world that don't use the metric system. Uniquely, in the beginning the 'Americans' did use it but due to the huge influence of them all basically being British, they held true to their roots, hence no metrics.

It is though interesting that the British did adopt the metric system but not in the use of their currency - Pounds, shillings and pence, whereas America adopted, in what made the most sense, - money. Yet for the countries that used the British Pound system, working out how much tax would pay on say... 1 Pound, 5 shillings, 7 pence, 1 thruppence- 1/3 of a penny, and 2 farthing ( 1/4 of a penny) if the tax was 9%? Your right - Basically impossible to do in your head.

I was on a vacation in NZ in when they and AU were still using the Pound.
When at a store it was quite easy to work out 'IF' you owned what was called a 'Ready Reckoner'. The clerk pulled out their RR book that had the answer for each percentage point of each coin value.. It took a few minutes to do. I shook my head in disbelieve but at the same time found it to be very funny to watch what was involved to arrive at the amount of tax to be charged.

Re US metric...I remember well when the US did introduce the metric system in the US in the mid 1970's but it was short lived. The reason for this was that Congress did not make it mandatory;some States made the change while many didn't. Many that didn't were in the Southern States.

American Commerce knew what the importance was- a 'must do'- of purchasing and selling in metric. All of the industrial world did with the exception being that of the US. For some decades now, this is quite recognizable to see on US goods. Other than the US World of Commerce, the metric system is still not a recognized system for the nations people in general.

It is by far a superior system and much easier to use. The Germans are fast thinkers... E.G. A machinist measuring in 16ths, 32nds, 64ths, and so on. The decimal is only in '10's which make it a much easier way to measure.

mm (millimetres in ten's )- cm (centimetres in tens, m -(metres in 10's) - km (kilometres in 10's)

Using wrench's in metrics is great 1-2-3-4-5-6-7- etc. instead of
1 and 1/64th - 1 and 1/32 - 1 and 1/16th etc. etc. etc.

What was a killer in Canada, was that when GM, Ford and Chrysler started to switch over to metrics, they choose amongst themselves to first use up their stockpiles of National Standard fasteners. The result for some years made every mechanic tear their hair out. The cars had a mix of both metric and NS sizes. Fortunately, for some years now, they are metric.

I hope that this sheds a bit of light on to the question of 'why'
Metric/Inch Comparisons // Southwestern Supply Company

Because we won the war.. lol..

Hey Rick, be easy on yourself. I grew up one mile from the border, White Rock BC - Blaine WA , and you are certainly not idiots. America produces more 'brain power' than just about all of the earth. I have though noted of many occasions of how that there are many better ways to do things in a variety of different countries but unfortunately it appears that everyone is too stubborn it seems to change to a better/smarter way. I think it must be what they call 'nationalism'? :confused:

A local example is how that although the US is by far the largest provider of foreign aid in the world, yet schools throughout America can't afford school books? It appears to be an 'everyone for themselves' way... -> (Worldwide by the way)

I 'Roger' that John...

I tried it for a week once, and got 3 traffic tickets. The officers who pulled me over just kept telling me to shut up. And that I was going too slow.

Haha, I had a GF once who borrowed the 911. The speedo is in MPH being a British car originally. She said she stuck to 100 (thought she was doing 100km/h) but seemed to be passing everyone.

Well America, Germany and China are by far the top 3 manufacturers and exporters of the world, each exporting over $1.5 trillion (in 2014), #4 is Japan at $684 billion. Our top export is "engines, pumps and machinery." While not everything at your local Walmart is made in the USA, we do pretty well in many high-value areas that require a little more than subsidized steel, nonexistent environmental regulations and cheap labor.

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In our cabinet shop, almost all the machinery are metric to accommodate German hardware. Only a couple of old table saws use 10" blades. Boring bits are all metric again, to fit German (blum mostly ) hardware. Funny thing is, we still measure in fraction even though imported plywood's thickness is measured in metric, but we just can't seem to change and just eyeball the difference. We all get pretty damn close, so close that the joints are nearly perfect. All our layout in both cabinet work and construction projects are done with the Imperial System. We all have a tough time with it plus, drawings from designers and architects are all in feet and inches.

Just don't ask me how much things weight if its not in lbs. and ounces. I do know grams very well because I used to weight bicycle parts. I also have no sense of how cold F is once below 32 dergee. I know exactly how cold it is once the temp dips below 0 C. This is from hanging around relatives in Calgary and Regina during Christmas as a kid.

Don´t worry. You guys will come around. Just give it another, say, hundred years. :D

Hmmmm? - Homer just informed me of who caused the metric problem... So it's the Masons eh :)
Very funny!


Who controls the British Crown?
Who keeps the metric system down?
We Do! We Do!

Who keeps Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the Martians under wraps?
We Do! We Do!

Who holds back the electric car?
Who makes Steve Guttenberg a star?
We Do! We Do!

Who robs cavefish of their sight
Who rigs every Oscar night?
We Do! We Do!

Remember in elementary school it was taught to us, but never caught on.

As easy as it is, there is a "problem" when you start dividing things in halves... 10 becomes 5 becomes 2.5 becomes 1.25 becomes .6125.

Not to be pedantic, but we (Canada) won every war you did, too, so that reason doesn't work.

I remember there was a big push for the metric system in the 1970s. I thought it was killed by the Reagan Admin.


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Growing up and learning both is actually not a big deal. Like learning two languages.

Plus their is nothing too challenging in jumping from 1/16", 0.625", 62.5 mils, and the ever useful 1.5875mm.

Computers now make conversion automatic and seemless.

My son is 15 and all his science books have taught and measured in metric. His math books have done both. So much time was spent over the years that he can convert between the two in his head on weight and length. Not sure if public schools spend as much time as we did but he wants to study engineering in college and then to med school so he need to know measurements backward and forward.

I think in terms of metric for small detailed stuff- millimeters. etc.
but think in feet/miles for big stuff.

I can visualize 3mm.
I can Visualize 100miles.
I have no idea how to visualize 100 km (other that converting to miles and thinking in miles).

I know if I can't find A 1/2 inch wrench- I can usually try a 13mm instead.
3/4= roughly 19mm, etc. (in the world of HF tools- it's close enough-edit- if it's a bolt on something that's not a porsche or critical- IE- A bolt on my old tractor or something)

Because we're Americans!

Yes, and the cost of converting all of America to metric, in one fell swoop as intended in the 1970 was financially impossible.

Manufacturing gained no benefit from converting to metric. Machines, tools, drawings, everything would have to have been scrapped, and replaced with new machines, tools and drawings. For no benefit to the American economy or consumer.

I think that's the real reason we are using the us system. It was not a financially responsible thing to do.


But today, 40-45 years later, we are capable of living in both worlds.

And that's ok with me.

Go buy a metric ruler and tape measure. You will just waste more brain power trying to convert the measurements. I buy allot of manufacturing equipment from Europe. I spent more time trying to convert mm to inches. I began to think metric and stopped worrying about what 500 mm was in inches. 500 mm is 500 mm.

Now, finding metric size material will be a problem.

The imperial system is designed with units that are practical to use. The metric system is easy for mathematical quantification.

I am the only guy at the company I work for that uses the metric system, it can be a little interesting when a unit # gets missed or a piece of software doesn't convert.

You start getting pretty decent at converting MM to inches or feet when you do it every time you need to communicate with anyone else at your workplace.

We still use imperial for the same reason everyone still used a qwerty typewriter.

My 1986 El Camino was assembled in Mexico. The engine and ancillary parts are SAE. The rest of the car is metric. The transmission (2004R) has a huge METRIC stamped into the pan.

The strange thing is the entire world uses tire & wheel diameters in inches.

The bolts that hold seat belts are mandated to be a certain SAE size and thread pitch.

Perhaps I am stuck in the dark ages but I prefer mpg either in imperial gallons or us gallons( a us gallon is approx. .86 of an imperial gallon). The metric way is litres per 100 kms which I am having trouble relating to.

However I have gotten used to metric and imperial measures as I have 2 sets of sockets and wrenches(spanners!) in the garage to prove it. :)

We're Metric in Aus but I still use foot pounds for torque. Newton meters works it's but not as easy as foot pounds.
I also use imperial measurements when rebuilding an engine. IMO opinion it's more precise and generally easier.

And it's very common to get tools kits here with a combination of both imperial and metric tools in the same kit.

There really isn't a "better" system.

The change happened in Aus in the early 70s. I remember a Government official demonstrating it at our school and I was only 5 or 6.

metric seems to make a heck of a lot more sense.

Since moving to Japan I have enjoyed getting used to the metric system. I always struggled with fraction conversions and it definitely slows one down. However it's interesting to note that the imperial system has made an impact over here on tool selection. Example: I recently needed a 1/2 inch 17mm deep socket to torque the wheel nuts on my GTI. At the hardware store this tool is sold as a 12.7mm ( which is the equivalent to 1/2 inch ) so at least our 1/2 and 1/4 etc. sockets have an easily available metric match.

I am still getting used to using centigrade rather than Fahrenheit. I prefer centigrade for cold temps but Fahrenheit for hot temps.

They use inches here for measuring television screen sizes. Men's pants have the waist in inches but the length in centimeters.

Go figure!

Convert once and you'll never have to convert again.
Canada adopted it in the 1970 (another nice round number) for the same reason that it adopted the current privacy laws in the 2000s. To better be able to do business with Europe. For the US, both systems are incompatible with Europe.

I remember the government TV ads here in Canada when we converted.

Water boils at 100 degrees, and freezes at 0.
30 degrees is a nice warm day.



...(Which begs the question then why do we have so many -40 days???)

I was in the generation where we were taught only the metric system in school because everyone was sure we'd be using it by the time we were adults. I had to teach myself the standard system. I'm 40 years old now... Still waiting for the metric system.

Because America, F*ck yeah!

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As noted already, being a Canadian engineering student but having worked in the manufacturing industry with close ties to the US, it's kinda like being bilingual in units. Having said that, depending on the context, I find it easier to work in one unit or the other. I know exactly what a 4-thou (") in machining looks and feels like, but the equivalent 0.1mm is harder to conceptualise.

The first question I had for instructors in the UK when I started doing masters was "do you still use the imperial system"? Thankfully, they don't, but I still see it on vintage bicycles, cars and other old things occasionally. Also thankfully, they switched over to a cent-based (but don't call them cents, it's pennies!!) currency system some time ago, although even people in early 30's seem to remember the good old days with shillings, etc.

I'm fully bilingual in standard and metric.
I spent a long time building cabinets and construction and in Canada it's still largely done in standard. A 5/8" sheet of plywood may be 15mm, but it is still a 4' X 8' sheet. With all sheet goods being standard Lw it's just easier to use the imperial system, but why we still have this in building is wholly due to our proximity to the USA.
I can build in metric but like someone said you have to think in metric.
Temperature is no brainer easier in celsius, O*C is freezing, 20 C (68*F) is almost room temp, 100*C is boiling.
Only reason I'm still bilingual in distance is because of my summer cars, but now my thought pattern is I convert KM into miles.

The biggest bad thing about the metric system I see is kids/young adults totally losing their ability to do fraction math. Kids today don't even know what you mean when you say "it's a quarter to nine".

When I started cooking as a hobby a few years I realized recipes make the US system look easy.
Ounces can be either a volume or a weight, you determine which to use based on the contex
People who write recipes pay no attention to repeatability of results. I've converted my favorite recipes to volume for liquids and weight for solids so I can repeat them if I want. I'm thinking of going to weights.

3 large tomatoes
1 medium onion
4 oz ground beef
2 oz beef broth
is basically meaningless if you want to repeat it accurately

OTOH, when I was a kid my mom took me to the doctor who gave her some powdered medicine for me. The prescription was to give me "about as much as you can pile on a dime."