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why is the US not Metric

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ajb:

--- Quote from: MagicSmoker on October 25, 2019, 12:34:07 pm ---Sigh... Until American children are taught metric the Imperial system will persist, simple as that. It's not about what is better, it is about what is familiar, and in the US the Imperial system is by far the most familiar one.

--- End quote ---

Metric *IS* taught in schools, or at least it was when I was a student, and I'm sure that science is still taught using metric.  The problem is that all of the day-to-day things are imperial, which as we see in this thread is something many other countries also deal with to some extent, so once taught it's easily lost.  The US is a big enough marketplace to sustain the production of imperial-dimensioned products, so it's not like there's a cost penalty, and the combination of being good enough and entrenched is what keeps it, well... entrenched. 

ebclr:
Look at the regular wall switch in US, that is your answer

German_EE:
Years ago I remember being told that the reason the USA hadn't converted to metric was the cost of retooling, imagine the cost of replacing all those lathes and milling machines, plus the drill bits and everything else.

However............................

Lots of US companies now have their stuff made in Asia, who are quite comfortable working with either system, and the cost of conversion has now shrunk.

bitwelder:
Well, it seems Canada didn't want to miss any of the fun  ;D

AG6QR:

--- Quote from: Simon on October 25, 2019, 04:32:36 pm ---I don't understand horsepower. Again something that like all the roman measurements had to actually be defined at some point as 735W. i see that cars are now measured in kW.

--- End quote ---

I prefer to convert the power ratings of audio amplifiers and radio transmitters into horsepower.

You can really impress an audiophile by boasting that you own an amplifier capable of 1/3 hp output.

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