Will America Ever Go Metric?
 

This issue has been bugging me for many years. I almost need a shrink. :D

I've been talking to many people from around the world in several languages on the Internet. Before the Internet, I had done so using snail mail. In real life, the majority of the non-Japanese people I've spoken to have been Americans.

Now, I have to confess that the only people I've had any difficulty discussing numbers have been Americans. With them, I can't freely talk about heights, weights, lengths, areas, volumes, outside temperatures, oven temperatures, body temperatures, etc...

It's always been me doing the conversions, either mentally or with a calculator, whenever we tallk about those numbers because they simply don't know how. I already get busy enough speaking to them in their language. How could they expect me to do all the conversions on top of that?

So, America, will you ever go Metric for me?

Honestly, I hope not, I totally forgot the metric system and am waaay used to american measurement system (name slips my mind). We should switch over though, seems like most of the world has.

Probably not you know what happens when a culture gets too comfortable with a certain system if it ever changes it will take decades for it to implemented. Its like asking if Americans will start driving on the left. I must admit i have forgotten the metric system if i ever had a use for it i would relearn it again such if i ever moved to country where it was used.

The metric system left my pathetic American brain back in the 9th grade.


But if it makes you feel better, I'll start doing the conversions :D

Thats exactly how I'm feeling about it haha

Even though I was born in America and grew up there, I feel the pain also. I`ve been in Japan long enough that metric comes first, and if I have to convert I try to think back and recall what it would feel like in the imperial measurements. So I just end up guessing with a lot of things - doing real conversions is too much of a pain. Especially as I`ve forgotten about half the imperial units... Pint? Quart? I honestly no longer have a solid grasp on them.

Clothes sizes are also killing me - Japan uses cm measurements for most clothing, and I have no idea what they convert to in US sizes. Relatives offer to send me clothes and such (for me and my son) but I never have a clue what size to say.

I guess it just boils down to what system sticks in what country. I know if America changed the system tomorrow it would probably be chaos. But as such most people live their whole lives here never having to use the Metric system and forget how to convert soon thereafter. What you dont use you lose just as you stated you grew in the states but you have lived in Japan for so long that their way of doing things has replaced what you learned while growing up in the US its like 2nd nature to you now.

I can see how it could be a pain in the *ss for you 2 though.

Nyororin, Nagoyankee nice to see you guys again after my hiatus.

I'm not sure how it is anymore, but during my days in school we learned standard measurements first and metric just a year or two after that -- hypothetically along with the conversions.

The strange thing is that, even though I've learned many things that way (i.e. first A, then B too), I have never really got a good grasp on metric measurements. But I have bad spacial estimation skills, anyway.

I know the conversions. I have a solid concept of how long a centimeter, meter, and kilometer are. But if you tell me "I am xxx cm. tall," I have no mental image of that. (Sorry Nagoyankee!) However, chances are that if you tell me "I am xx in. tall," I will still have to devide it by twelve to form that mental image!

Ultimately, I think America should maintain its system, but we need to be willing and able to do the conversions for ourselves.

Now I'll go practice my conversions! Don't want to be a hypocrite.

Something I always find amusing is when I say "liter" and am asked "How much is that?" - and answer "Half a two-liter"...

And they are always like "Oh, I get it now!"

Americans and our soda -_-

Reference:



Countries that don't use metric system

LOL! That is embarrassing.

Well you know the US we always have to try to be different.

again sorta not
 

In 1875, the United States solidified its commitment to the development of the internationally recognized metric system by becoming one of the original seventeen signatory nations to the Metre Convention or the Treaty of the Meter. The Treaty of the Meter established the Bureau international des poids et mesures (BIPM, International Bureau of Weights and Measures) The use and disuse of the Metric system in the United States is about as different as the metric system is used by the military-The U.S. military uses metric measurements extensively to ensure interoperability with allied forces, particularly NATO STANAGs, "standardization agreements". Ground forces measure distances in "klicks", slang for kilometers. Most military firearms are measured in metric units, beginning with the M-14 which was introduced in 1957. The Navy and Air Force continue to measure distance in nautical miles and speed in knots = distance and speed.

ah thanks Fluffy i completely forgot the military uses metric system.

i realized how ridiculous it is to use the English system when almost the entire rest of the planet uses metric, so i try to use metric as much as i can, but for things like driving, its kind of difficult to use KM/h when all the signs are MPH=.=

American sysem is ttally different like using mile instead of kilometre, pound intead of kilogram, farenheit ..celsius,
however, i use my phone as a converter but half the time i guess...not much of a nerd.

I spend so much time on Japanese lolita websites and American brand sites and then English clothing sites, I basically know all my measurements in cm and inches, my weight in stones, pounds, kilograms etc.

My gran is used to fahrenheit so I also know that in comparison to degrees celcious. In the UK fahrenheit is mentioned in weather reports, but celcious is dominant.

In England things are measured randomly, like a persons measurements would be in inches, but a room would be measured in cm and meters.

Milk is measured in pints but most other things are measured in litres and mililitres. Some of the road signs have 'Junction X in 1 mile,' others have 'Roadworks in 40 yards.'

So yeah, there is a whole mix of all sorts!

I dont think we should favor one system over another. Cause we know what happens when people start demanding that other convert to what they think is the right way of doing things. However I would be in favor of making sure newer generations have an understanding of both systems and how to covert them if need be which means teaching them in school for more than one semester.

You speak the the truth.

Thing is, though, that Japan wasn't metric from the start, either. We converted in 1891 from an old system unique to the country. I know this created great confusion at all levels of life throughout the archipelago. Our great-grandparents, who were already adults by that time must have felt the same way you would if the U.S. were to convert now. But because we converted, we can now talk with the rest of the world about numbers (with the exception of ......). ;)

I really wish we would. When I was in high school my geometry teacher said our kids would be learning the metric system by the time their in school, but that's what my mom was told when she was a kid too. Pretty much all other countries use the metric system except for us, it's kind of embrassing. Sure, it would be hard to learn at first but after awhile you'd get use to it. Plus, for people here that want to travel you're going to need to use the metric system since that's what everyone else knows.

Not sure when NZ converted, some time around the 60's maybe? I have a few conversion site bookmarks in the meantime for when I'm talking to US folks.
:D

I dont really understand why it would be embarrassing. A pain in the butt and inconvenient at timesyes. I have traveled a lot and iv never felt embarrassed about the system the US uses.

I don't even know what to say to majority of your comments. American culture is a blend of almost every culture on the planet thats what America is thats what its foundation is and one of the most important facts which it is built on. You would be hard pressed to find any country that has embraced as many cultures as the US. Hence the name "Melting Pot"

English is taught in many primary schools in numerous countries because it was universally acknowledge as the language of commerce, no one forces another nation to make its people learn English. Over time i am sure it will change as other economic powers come into their own its been proven that having one language of commerce makes trade and business easier it just so happens to be English right now. So i don't see how learning another language be it Japanese, French or English can be for an entire countries convenience.

I dont get this reasoning of "give up something too" comment. Every country decides on a system that they feel is best for their people whether it be health care, social security, education, immigration and just social structure in general. I don't see why a country should have to give up something as you put it. A better choice would be an integration into an already established system giving the people the best of both worlds. Would you ask a country to give up eating a certain type of food just because citizens of other countries dont like it?

The problem is implementing it. When a country has a deep rooted system that stretches into pretty every part of society changing it is no easy feat. Look at Nagoyankee post about when Japan changed their system. The answer is not changing it but integrating it into the system thats already establish. Which means it needs to start in school and be taught all the way through primary school up to High School and maybe even on a University level over time both systems would be in place it would take about 1 generation to establish both systems but then comes the problem of changing all sorts of elements in society such (Speed limits) which would take longer. I agree with how the British do it.

Well, hmmmm. Because MPH sounds cooler than KPH? Honestly, it's prolly nothing more than that. Wich sounds dumb I admit, but is so typically American.

I have a basic understanding of metrics, so I at least have an idea what people are talking about when they use metrics. Allthough it's still fun to stare blankly at them cause it drives them nuts.

Americans have this burning desire to be different... we also have this burning desire to make everyone else on earth like us...the irony is not lost on me here. Still, American's are made, not born..so technically..anyone can become an American.

yeah,when england goes metric.:mtongue:

USA decimalized their currency long time ago. Why can't USA "decimailize" (using metric system) their measures?

It's ironic. USA promotes ANSI (American National Standards Institute) set of standardizations around the world but it can't do the opposite.

Personally I do not think nor do I want us to change. Our founders decided when they freed themselves to be different from the others. As to converting just say it in metric. If they really want to know they will convert it themselves. I have a conversion page bookmarked.

I don't get it? America's founding fathers wanted America to be based upon imperial units? Seriously though - I imagine America used the imperial units because that's what the much hated British were using at the time. There was certainly no uniqueness in using imperial units back then. The USA's reluctance to adopt metric units, is not a problem, but it's just a bit old fashioned really. The UK has been encouraged to adopt some metric units by the European Union, there was a lot of outcry about it - particularly by old ladies - but really it's been for the best conversions between metric units and metric units is, naturally, so much easier than conversions between imperial and imperial. I say don't knock it until you've tried it.

Read my previous post apparently some of you think its as easy as slicing off a piece of pie. Think again and actually think about it not just talk.

I pretty much agree with you

When we have to cooperate with other countries we use the metric system (joint military operations and training) look if you don't want to do the conversion then learn both damn systems. I have not seen anyone say its hard just a pain in an ass which i link more to laziness. "If it ain't broke don't fix it"

It would not be an easy thing, but that is also not a good enough reason to simply give up on it totally. Obviously it cannot happen overnight, or everyone would be utterly lost and confused. But a gradual introduction of metric units into all facets of daily life, along with more emphasis on them in schools would make a huge difference. People aren`t going to go out of their way to learn something if it gives them no benefit in daily life - and at this point, it really doesn`t. For example, change road speed signs to dual, and make the kph larger on new cars... Make it easier to determine things by looking to the metric side by pricing things in stores by gram/kilogram, without removing the option to use imperial units. Just make them more inconvenient to use bit by bit.

I think the whole conversion issue is hampered more by tradition and laziness than anything else. It would take considerable adjustment for the American public (myself included), but I have still endorsed ever since I can remember.

It is just plain ridiculous that gasoline is sold by the American gallon, the Imperial Gallon (come on UK, you too!), the barrel and the liter.

Since decimal math is easier, let's just get the conversion done and over with!

I have the same problem on the Internet. Every time the conversation goes around height, weight or temperature, I always use the metric system, and expect the other person to use the online converter if he really is interested in knowing. But instead I get "how much is that in pounds, inches, etc?" and in the end, I'm the one who ends up using the online converter.

Oh i agree with you that is exactly what Nagoyankee and myself were discussing and that was my suggestion from the get go. I favor a dual method giving people the option to use both people react better with choices. But some think this can happen over night which it cant. As you said people wont bother with something that has no benefit in their daily life and honestly like you said there wont be one in the short run. I think both systems should be taught side by side all the way through school and once it has cycled for a generation start slowly but surely change road signs ect ect to dual. I dont mind either system but im not in favor of completely eliminating a system that has been in place for a long time. America is better at melding rather than getting rid of one system in favor of another.

But some of the ignorant comments on here makes me want to face palm.

In non-western countries, their traditional measuring systems were eliminated to favor either metric or imperial (but most imperial countries chose metric) or seldom use in a limited context. A loss of traditional culture.

In many of those countries, officializing dual use is not a optimal long-term plan because of need for industrialization (favoring the West).

Many of these countries didn't have the luxury to have more than one respected standards. America is one of the few cases that doesn't.

In many cases, dual systems are very short-lived.

Sorry about that but perhaps that's because we use a measuring system that is quasi-universal except for three countries. We just have different mindsets with few significant differences on this issue. That's about it.

I used to use the imperial system but forgot it completely.

Being British, I'm very used to the metric system, and I think it's far easier to use than imperial/American measures. However, I always seem to think of road distances in miles, my steak in ounces, a person's weight in stones and pounds (a stone is 12 lbs.), and a person's height in feet and inches (I've no idea what my height is in centimetres, all I know is that it's 5' 8"!). As for America going metric, I really think they should, as it's easier, more accurate, easier to convert to smaller measures (ie. metres to centimetres is easier than feet to inches), and it's pretty much the only universally recognised system.

It kind of upsets me that Americans expect other countries to be the ones that should know our system, or expect people from other countries to have converters ready and stuff. We should be the ones that know other countries system, ESPECIALLY since all the other countries use the Metric system, and we're practically the only ones that aren't using it. I feel like it shows how selfish a lot of Americans are =\