Let's talk METRIC!

[Karl_Bonner_1982]

How many of you support a switch to metric in the US?

And how many of you are already able to comfortably think in metric units?

[Heidi]

1. It took me a long time, but metric is now easier for me.

I had such difficulty "thinking metric " when I fist first moved here that my mom sent me measuring spoons, measuring cups, as well as a measuring tape and a ruler marked in feet an inches. I hardly use them anymore and metric now seems to me like a rational system; took me a long while to reach this point, though. :hi:

(I have no opinion about whether the US should switch to metric. I think that decision should be left to the people who'd have to make the transition and live with it.)

[MissHoneychurch]

3. I know what you mean

in the different direction.

When I visited AirmensMom in May I wanted to cook and bake some stuff. Guess what ... I had a real hard time transfering all the metrics in the American measures. But it worked out OK. I prefer the metric system though ... of course, I grew up with it :)

[Heidi]

5. Cups, teaspoons, tablespoons, inches, feet and miles

now seem kind of arbitrary. I know they're not; I realize some thought went into setting up those units a jillion years ago, but metric just makes more sense to me now.

One of us should send AirmensMom a Pyrex measuring cup marked in metric units, so that you can cook your little heart out next time you're there. ;)

Nice to see you, gf! :hug:

[MissHoneychurch]

6. The liquids weren't such a problem

as she had measure cups that had both systems. But the weight .... 100g .... how much cups? As flour and sugar have different volume .... Ack, it was a pain .... I might bring my scale with me the next time :rofl:

Good to see you too. :hug:

[TZ]

2. I work in a lab

So I already use metic units of measurements on a daily basis, so I have a leg up...Now converting KM's to miles and such will take some getting used to but I think I could get used to it...

[CreekDog]

18. you know what's cool about metric?

100 kilometers is about 1 hour on the highway. (60 mph = 100 kmph) :think:

[lizerdbits]

4. Yes!

I'm working with milliliters all day and often grams/milligrams so it's not hard for me. I also do a lot of cooking and most recipes I use are made for ounces/cups so I can go back and forth. It's about time we catch up with the rest of the world.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. Metric has no soul

.... and klicks to go before I sleep.

If you miss the train I'm on you will know that I am gone
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred and sixty kilometers.

Any jazz by Kilometers Davis.

Slowly I turn, centimeter by centimeter ...

Walk one-point-six kilometers in his shoes.

The half-kilogram of flesh which I demand of him Is deerely bought, 'tis mine, and I will have it.


All that will go the way of the Penny-Farthing bicycle.

:hi:

[Karl_Bonner_1982]

8. Metric has a brainy, scientific tone to it, I'll admit

But it's actually a million times easier to use because everything is in tens.

I think I'll start with weather. After a week in the 30s, Eugene has finally cooled down to highs in the more seasonable 27-28 range.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

10. See? We'll have to rename "Fahrenheit 451"

to "Celcius 233"

If I hear it's 30 degrees outside, I'm checking the roads for ice.

[Karl_Bonner_1982]

11. Don't forget to pack winter coats and hats on your next summertime Europe trip

Actually this does happen on a few occasions when American tourists see temps. in the 20s or low 30s for their summer vacation in Europe.

[kentauros]

20. When it is in the low to mid-20s

I wear a light jacket. I'm not happy until it's in the 30-40C range anyway ;)

People in this country are using portions of the metric system anyway.

You don't pay your electric bill according to horsepower or joules used. You can't get anything in medicine that's not in metric. How many 2-quart bottles of Coke are sold? Is our monetary system in base-sixteen? Broadcast frequencies are all metric. Computer speed and storage is all metric. Any more we can add to this list? ;)

We also tend to mix the means by which we denote standard measurements. Such as "kgpm" or "thousand gallons per minute" like for river flow rates. Or "we're flying at 30,000 feet." Not "30,312 feet" but the nearest thousand :)

In cooking, I would suggest switching over to weighing ingredients for any baking needs. That's always more accurate and you can find measuring standards for all ingredients, considering that the volume of flour will be more than sugar for the same weight. (We were taught to always measure ingredients in pastry school since the accuracy is more noticeable in larger recipes.) Something to know that's useful in baking and cooking: Milk, eggs and water all weigh the same for the same equivalent volume. That is, 8oz of milk = 248.8g of eggs = 227.3ml of water. A lt of water is equal to a kilo of eggs or milk :)

As a mapper, I can switch between metric and standard easily. Our pipers can't, since every bit of pipe in the US (and some of the countries that we build in) is all in standard and they will argue with you until you give up in frustration. There's simply no yielding for some people. Maybe we can just switch over when there are enough younger people in the world that understand the greater value of metric :D

[MrCoffee]

17. Hear Hear!

:applause:

[dropkickpa]

9. Me! Me!

[KitchenWitch]

12. I do, and I could get comfortable with metric rather easily

But I also had heavy scientific concentration in college (Chemistry major).

[pokerfan]

13. Yes, yes

I have to work in both systems, which is really fucked up. Switch or don't switch, I don't care. The problem comes when we straddle the fence and use both. It leads to embarrassments like crashing the Mars probe.

[Karl_Bonner_1982]

27. What a boner! Seriously!

None of this would have happened if metrication had been further along by then.

At least Lockheed Martin, which made some of the components, should have been smart enough to realize that in science-heavy fields you use metric, period. But alas, the whole construction and manufacturing establishment is stubbornly wedded to Imperial units, almost as tightly as cookbooks and weather forecasts are.

This was one of those topics that I used to be able to mention to grandpa and he'd break out in a rant. A pro-metric rant, mind you.

[ghostsofgiants]

14. They're playing here tomorrow, but I can' go.

Ohhh, you mean the metric SYSTEM...that's cool too I guess. :P

[IndianaJones]

15. boo on metric. nt.

[Road Scholar]

16. I found this out in HS Chem 40 years ago; If you go to the trouble

to understand the gist of it, it's much easier to use than what we have. Everything is related length volume weight. Stuff we pondered trying to convert, like inches to cu inches to gallons to pounds is no problem using metric system. Really, I'm not kiddin'.

[redqueen]

19. Again - you get the hell outta here with your goddamn commie metric system!

[kentauros]

22. You better stop using money, then,

or having hands and feet with ten fingers or toes ;)

[pokerfan]

30. It's a damned shame that we didn't evolve twelve fingers

because base 12 is much superior to Base 10. Much more easily factorable. In duodecimal, the five most elementary fractions (1⁄4, 1⁄3, 1⁄2, 2⁄3, and 3⁄4) have short terminating representations. In decimal, this is only true for 1⁄2.

This is because twelve has twice as many non-trivial factors (2, 3, 4, 6) as does decimal (2, 5).

But no one wants to even consider changing our number system. You think the resistance to metric is bad? This would send countries to war.

[PBS Poll-435]

21. Only when they switch time to base-10.

Freakin' commies. :eyes:

[Karl_Bonner_1982]

24. Metric time

1 metric hour = 1/10 Earth day = 2.4 standard hours
1 metric minute = 1/100 metric hour = 1.44 standard minutes
1 metric second = 1/100 metric minute = 0.86 standard seconds

[Initech]

23. The metric system is the tool of the devil!!!!

[Dukkha]

29. My car gets forty rods to the hogshead

and that's the way I likes it!

[u4ic]

25. I'm bilingual

I use some metric - like km, celsius, grams and litres while I feel more comfortable some imperial measurements like ft, lbs and tsp/tbsp/cups.

I'm Canadian, so ya'll have to decide whether you want metric or not without me. :P

[MrScorpio]

26. I'd love to drive a 100

About 62 MPH

[KamaAina]

28. What? And abandon our non-metric allies Liberia and Please Don't Call It Myanmar?

What kind of example would that set? That would make us no better than the perfidious Tongans, who caved in to this metric madness a few years ago! :sarcasm:

edit: smilie

[leeroysphitz]

31. How old are you in metric years?

How long is a metric minute? Don't you just take a regular minute and multiply by 25.4?

:shrug: