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| why is the US not Metric |
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| KL27x:
--- Quote from: Zero999 on January 09, 2020, 09:15:10 pm --- --- Quote from: KL27x on January 07, 2020, 10:56:37 pm --- --- Quote ---scale it by a factor of 5 --- End quote --- Can't you scale dimensions in any unit, though? Can you elaborate? --- End quote --- Of course you can. It's just more difficult, than sticking with one unit. You could scale linear measurements in inches just as easily as cm, or metres and the same could be said about a recipe in oz vs grammes. The problem occurs with imperial is more than one unit is normally necessary. Any tape measure longer than 60", has both feet and inches. --- End quote --- This part is curious. I have never seen this inch tape of whoever mentioned it, which rolls over at 12 inches and starts going by feet plus 1-11 inches. I think your countries made these as part of the metrication effort. :-DD --- Quote --- In reality you'll have 6"8', rather than 80", unless you're working on something quite small, which makes life harder, than just using cm. --- End quote --- Well, I wouldn't say 6'-7' is "quite small." And 80"? What's wrong with that? In metric you add a couple zeros to everything and it's still fine. It's just another way to look at it. I think we like math, or something. --- Quote ---and weighing scales, for masses over a few pounds, have both pounds and oz. --- End quote --- Yeah, true 'nuff. 675 grams x 5? Easy enough, I guess. 5 x 75 is 200 plus 3000? 3200 grams? edit: oops I screwd that up, lol. 3400 grams? edit edit: oh, 3,375? I mean, I'd probably do that in my sleep if I used metric all my life. It's just different. 1 lb 13 oz in your head? That's 10 lbs minus 15 oz. 9 lbs 1 oz? Dunno if that's so hard, but ok. Honestly, I don't have a scale to weigh pounds and oz, other than a bathroom scale. By the time you need paper and pencil and/or a calculator, what difference does it make, anywa? :-// Also, most industries don't like cm's at all, as it were. I think they're used in sewing or something. Machining and construction work are meters or mm's only, in many countries. It's reflected in calipers, for instance. So much for the infinite versatility, in practice. --- Quote ---My point was just use one measurement, so keep it to degrees, as it's what everyone uses and the benefits of multiples of 10 don't apply to angles. Degrees, arcminiutes and arcseconds are pretty close to an optimum system. --- End quote --- You kinda just slapped metric in the face. You're making an exception because of history/standard/popularity. I don't see France getting rid of the grad, anytime soon. --- Quote --- --- Quote ---We use imperial for the highest levels of precision manufacturing/machining --- End quote --- As did the UK and most of Europe until we realised metric was easier to use, so we migrated towards it. --- End quote --- Yeah, every country used the only things they have available at the time. But I don't think most of Europe was equally deeply invested in mass-manufacturing/machining tech before switching to metric. W/e qualified as that in mid 1800's was not the kind of investment/tech that exists in UK. Multiply that a lot to start to compare to US. --- Quote ---It's far easier to just use the SI system which is designed from the ground up. --- End quote --- Sure it is, in general. Why did it take you guys over 100 years? You didn't know this from the start? Are you saying that UK's brightest minds just figured this out? --- Quote ---There's no point in having 50 or so different units for length, mass, volume, area, etc. --- End quote --- I'm with you in theory, still. --- Quote ---just use one. --- End quote --- Watching UK and waiting to see where that mess ends. |
| vwestlife:
The UK is supposed to be metric, but people there still measure their weight in "stone" (1 stone = 14 pounds = 6.35 kg). :-// Anyway, regarding U.S. government/military contracts specifying metric units but actually being based around customary/imperial sizes, the opposite is actually much more common in consumer products. For example, 11.8 fl. oz. / 350 mL is now a very common size for plastic beverage bottles and skin care products in the U.S. (and probably internationally). Obviously 350 mL is the size the bottle was designed to be, even though "11.8 FL. OZ." is sometimes the primary volume listed, with 350 mL in smaller text underneath. However, glass and aluminum containers are much more likely to still be made in U.S. customary sizes, since they're manufactured in bottling plants that have been around for many, many years and use equipment that is decades old, and they never saw any good reason to shut down and rebuild the entire plant, with great expense and disruption, just to change it to metric sizes. And would a metric carton of eggs only have 10 instead of 12? :-DD |
| boffin:
--- Quote from: vwestlife on January 10, 2020, 01:07:04 am --- And would a metric carton of eggs only have 10 instead of 12? :-DD --- End quote --- This demonstrates perfectly the arrogance of why the US hasn't gone metric The answer is YES, egg cartons in other countries are often 10 eggs. Your pre-conceived notion that they must have 12 is exactly that, pre-conceived. Have a look at the photo in the wikipedia article "Egg Carton" |
| unitedatoms:
Hmm 10 eggs. But what for people with 6 fingers on each hand to do now? |
| boffin:
--- Quote from: unitedatoms on January 10, 2020, 07:13:17 pm ---Hmm 10 eggs. But what for people with 6 fingers on each hand to do now? --- End quote --- avoid Inigo Montoya ? |
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