SERIOUSLY, why is the U.S.A. so against Metric ?

[GlennSprigg]

I'm an Australian, and we moved on from 'Imperial' for a reason !
We used to have Pounds, Shillings & Pence, but changed in 1966 to Dollars & Cents.
(The benefits are obviously beyond any explanations !!!!!!!! )

We also changed our MEASUREMENT systems to 'Metric'.   Why?......
(1) To conform with the rest of the 'Planet'.... 
(2) Because it's so simple, and makes total sense !!!!!!
It's not an 'answer' to say that... "Well that's just how we do it".
Hundreds of years ago... maybe....  but Today

I know it is ingrained in the American Psyche, and 'people' don't like 'Change', but...
I'm SURE if your CountryFolk REALLY understood what it means, they may object less !   

Although I'm NOW in my mid 60's, I could not IMAGINE giving a 'measurement' to a builder
or carpenter, of the likes of....  11', 6 + 13/16th's " (Inches....)  ( the Farohs must laugh xx).
OK, let's explain this 'wierd' Metric garbage?.....

YES... it is 'DIFFERENT'.... but it has LOGIC throughout.
Obviously for starters it is a Decimal system. (Derr...). so 10mm = 1-Cm. And 100-Cm = 1-m. (About 3')
NO 13/16ths, or 11/32nds heaven forbid!!.... but now it gets interesting !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...

1 Kg = 1000 grams. 1 L (Litre/volume) = 1000 ML (Milli-Litres, obviously). .....
But 1 Litre of water, also weighs exactly 1 Kg !!  (technically pure water, at 21-deg-C at sea level).
1 Cubic Metre of water, is exactly 1000 Litres!!, and is 1000 Kg's, being 1 metric Ton.
See how EVERYTHING ties together now !!!!!, being either weight, volume, dimensions......

What could possibly be simpler !!!!!   
Mind you, even 'today', here in Australia, one can go into a hardware store like 'bunnings', and see
packets of screws/bolts like 3/16ths or 1/4 inch, to cater for the 'old folk' hahaha....
but the VAST majority is all METRIC now. Out tape-measures show both.....
Start changing folks !!!!!!!!!!

[tooki]

The US has been switching over gradually. Soda? 2L bottle. Medicines? Milligrams. New cars? Metric fittings. Little by little everything is going metric. Pretty much anything scientific already has. The last bastion will be road signs, i reckon.

Meanwhile don’t forget that many things in “metric” countries remain imperial, like many plumbing sizes, tire sizes, etc.

[NivagSwerdna]

12 is a magic number.  Divisible by 2, 3, 4, 6.  Clearly all systems should be based around 12 or a multiple... say 60

How many seconds do you have in your minutes? minutes in hours?  hours in days?

1/16ths... not bad.. for halving.... but never liked those as much as 1/12ths

Just my (old) 2p worth.

 

[Whoever invented 14lbs in a stone was clearly barking mad] <-  OK.. maybe not... derived as standard unit in Wool Trade by royal decree.

[rrinker]

 I would argue we more or less already have, except for in the trades.

Even "American" cars have mostly if not all metric fasteners. Pretty much anyone in science and engineering uses SI units. ANd even the trades are being somewhat forced, at least in carpentry and building - plywood in particular is almost all made and listed in metric thicknesses, although they insist on converting it to some cumbersome 32nds of an inch - sort of a passive/aggressive way to phase out the Imperial measurement.

Precision machining may be hard to change. Machinists know working to the nearest tenth is .0001 of an inch. The equivalent in MM is a relatively large sounding number, and needs an extra digit of precision.

[NivagSwerdna]

Definitely worth a read...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27509559

#2 ROFL

[Simon]

We have had this argument recently already.