Metric is a French invention, and if one does not wish for their unit of measure to stink, one must not use a French unit of measure!
I live in Canada, and the only place (that I can think of) where we actively use the Imperial system is in the construction field. Everything else uses the Metric system.
you sir, better be a noble englishmen as you speak in term, or your hate for the french can never be compared too ones own!
Probably not going to happen. They'd have to replace a lot of roadsigns and the entire nation would have to re-learn. Although this would be a great improvement, there will always be people with the baby duck syndrome like Commissar.
I'm all for this, though it's probably not going to happen anytime soon at all. Americans are to stubborn. Just like how pennies, nickles, and dimes should be removed from the currency system, but they won't for a long time because of the nature of Americans. But that's another thread in it's self, ha. The only thing I would annoy me is the Celcius temperature scale, but it can't be that difficult to learn.
I'm from the US and I'd be completely ok with this seeing how I am an engineer and have been using the metric system exclusively since High School. It is just a very logical standards of measure.
actually, I wouldn't mind it too much. I can usually guesstimate a close imperial equivalent to a metric measurement fairly easily. adn engineers usually use feet and inches, not metric unless their working on a scientific instrument or something for europe....
Ok, guys really? Full disclosure, I am Canadian and use Metric. Metric makes sence because our number system works on a base ten (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 etc.).
Metric also works on a base ten, all mesurements can be easily manipulated because we are used to useing a base ten number system.
Imperial -or US standard units- don't work on a base ten (do the even work on a base anything?). Yes, some of the numbers can be easily devided, but do you really have that much trouble with 10/2 =5? or 5/2 =2.5? Even 2.5/2 is pretty straight forward (its 1.25). Those numbers are not round, true, but the different units of mesure can be converted much easier than with imperial (100cm=1.0m=.001km).
As for temperature, well celcius may not be perfect, it is actually based apon somthing that is usefull to know. 0c is the freezing point of water, 100c is the boiling point of water, at the pressure of sea-level. That is usefull knolwledge.
As for teaching a whole contry, well, the US is slowly switching over, just look at almost anything you buy at the store, it will have something in metric there. Eventually Amereicans (as a whole) will understand the metric system, and it will become standard, until then: my computer parts are mesured in metric, so I will survive.
The biggest reason for change is for the entire STEM depeartments. Almost every forumla is based around using metric along with almost every universal measurment, or SI, being metric. In addition, In metric, units are not some random and obnoxious number that seems to change based on which person you ask, but base 10. Everytime. One liter is 100 mL. One Meter is 100 Cm. One Km is a hundred meters. It's just... simple. Little time and effort is wasted on conversions. yeah it's not always the easiest to half over and over, but that's why you take a calculator, which can easily be found on a phone, and multply the number by .5.
Seconding this post. I live in Canada, only thing I've seen actively use the imperial system is construction as well, particularily lumber.
Though I can't confirm that Imperial measurements are actually being taught as a secondary method of measurement, if it is it is only being taught for the purposes of communication with Americans, not for actual use. Its well known that Americans are generally unwilling or unable to grasp anything outside of their own borders.
hmmm your wrong,
i thought America used the customary units system simialar to imperial but with several differences. Any way time for my thoughts:
First off i dont like it when someone form a country other than and/or a person who has almost never used the two different system to walk in and tell us what we should change. How would u like it if i walked into canada and said "that you should start using English more and try to get rid of French cuz its a terrible language".
You guys probly wouldnt like it, so why would u try to change something that america has been doing for many years. How about you go back to your own country and let America deal with its own, we dont need someone coming in here and telling us how run things (especially if they arent from America).
Finally i completely disagree with that petition only goes up to 25,000 names out of 311,591,917 american people. thats not even .01% of the population. so even if the idea gets to congress it will probly be shot down anyway because:
1. corportation in america strongly support the current system
2. we have been using the system for many years
3. thier supporters would kill them if they passed it
so good day and
not to mention that almost all industry is based around SI units that are not interchangeable with metric parts, like bolts and screws and sheetmetal and even wiring all of which to replace the machinery to make would cost billions
Most of Canada doesn't speak French. There are only two provinces that officially support French, Quebec and New Brunswick. Quebec is fully French and New Brunswick is bilingual (English and French) although even still, most of NB is still English, only the nothern regions really embrace French. All other provinces officially only support English.
Besides that, changing languages is drastically different than changing a measurement system. Language is deeply part of heritage, whereas units of measurement are a lot less relevant in terms of what people value about their heritage and culture.
I prefer Metric overall since it makes a lot more sense logically, but I also think Imperial also has it's place too. I find it a lot easier to measure TV/monitor screen sizes, document paper, posters, computer components, etc. in Inches.
Gonna throw it out there that at least here in Ontario, more and more I've been seeing bolts, wrenches and whatnot using metric units. It seems most tool sets are either metric or encompass both systems. I'd say that the majority of sets encompass both atm, whereas 10 years ago the majority used US units.
Meh...im english and we use metric except for the fact we use miles instead of kilometers (however this is slowly changing). I find metric to be much simpler with less numbers to remember
http://theoatmeal.com/pl/senior_year/science
5 medium sized gerbil penises to an inch, best thing ive heard all week
metric is simpler...plus it's being used more...I mean, where is imperial being used? the us? and puerto rico (maybe)? you can use whatever you feel like, but stay the hell out of scientific research, cause they'll laugh at you..."this processor is being developed on 10 nano-feet architecture". yeah right, like that's ever gonna be the standard...
we would just say like .00001 inches