Maybe because it works? It ain’t a good system, but changes like this affect a lot of different areas and would cause a lot of disruption.

Changes happened to other countries too. They also don’t have to do it everywhere all at once.

It could be solved by teaching an incoming generation both units, teaching conversion, and printing both units on packaging, speed limit signs, etc, until that generation's children start school, then phasing out the printing of both units.

the bigger issue is replacing every drill bit and wrench in the country

Metric units are frequently used in US school coursework.

I just randomly looked around the kitchen and everything seems to have both units!

Well I'm older, so there's that.

We’ve been doing that for decades.

we love our Imperial units

Yup, stormtroopers are very big in the U S of A

Because the entire country has a foot fetish.

Fact Check: TRUE ✅

It is even worse as there are two feet.

My theory is that the federal nature of the US leads to a default popular attitude of hostility toward any policy that originates above the state level, unless there are commercial interests willing to pay for the marketing and campaign contributions to sell it to the people and/or legislators. And businesses aren’t that interested in an improvement that only marginally affects their profits.

One of the very first things the US govt standardized was the size of screws because it was wreaking havoc with shipbuilding efforts.

Originally it was because the ship carrying the official metric measures from France to the US in 1793 was captured by pirates. More recently it’s because there was a near-revolt when Jimmy Carter tried to reintroduce it in the 1970s in an attempt to make the US even slightly less regressive.

That reminds me of a road in AZ that had signage in KM when I was a kid. I guess it was a part of this program and it never got changed back? It was always a mindfuck suddenly seeing kms instead of miles on road trips through the area.

There was a stretch of the Florida coast that had metric in the late 90s and early 2000s, but people kept stealing the speed limit signs. They also had a problem with people misunderstanding 100kph (about 60mph) and doing 100mph instead.

“Misunderstanding”. They just wanted to speed

It’s still there

azdot.gov/adot-blog/kilometers-arizona-you-bet

I’m assuming 2L soda bottles are also a remnant of this era.

Yeah. The attempt was made to convert everything to metric for official government documents, but that just meant most businesses paid people to convert it back for their use.

Technically they do. The US units are defined by the metric system, and they are full members of the Metre Convention since 1878.

Officially, we’re the only ones still using imperial units. But, the British use a mash-up of units in their daily lives, as does Liberia and Myanmar.

Reagan pulled the plug on our attempted conversion in 1980.

We’ll convert someday, probably after our imperial reign is over, somewhat fittingly.

Except it’s not imperial units, it’s US customary. Similar names, different actual quantities.

The US uses the metric system. SI units are provided by Federal Government for almost every quantifiable product produced by a federal agency and its been like that for decades. Often they use a mix of customary and SI units, providing conversions between the two in official reports. Generally you see customary units communicated when work more directly impacts the general public with more technical work using the SI system. Many industrial fields use predominantly the metric system as is the case for medicine and many engineering fields.

The US does not use, exclusively, the metric system because many units had been adopted by convention prior to the formalization of the modern international SI system and for cultural or historic reasons people don’t want to change.

That’s not so different from other places where measurement systems in common use are often retained.

The metric system debate is, for me, one of the most interesting cultural bugbears on the internet. Because it does not really matter that much what system of measurement a nation uses, its really not going to impact your life that much at the end of the day. Particularly in the modern era where conversion is as trivial as looking up a calculator online. But for whatever reason people get huffy about the metric system.

You seem to be well informed. I have no knowledge of what units are used formally, or in engineering or so, but often when I read news from the USA where measures are present, I find that they sometimes use the imperial units, and sometimes “the asteroid of the size of 5 football fields” or “a hole of the size of 4 washing machines opened in the road”.

That being said, it’s likely a journalism issue. Clickbaits matter more than accuracy. That unfortunately holds true not just for the USA…

This message is half a screen long.

It’s a journalism thing, I think. I’ve never heard anyone in conversation say things like that. I have heard people describe things like that when someone says “Well, how long is x in, mm, ft, km, etc.” “It’s about this many of that long” or whatever.

It’s actually about a quarter of a screen (for my phone anyway)

you make valid points! however, you did misuse some terms (no shade though hehe)

“SI” is short for “système international d’unités”, or international system of units. thus, we call it “the SI”, not “SI system”.

the SI outlines practices for using units, along with an approved set of units. they are the ones who say to write “3.2 kg” and not “3.2kg” or “3.2 Kg”, for instance. the units outlined include stuff like the meter, kilogram, and second too—in fact the SI is the successor to the “meter-kilogram-second” system! however, the SI does not include units such as millibar or liter. hectare, for example, is a metric unit, but is not an SI unit. this wikipedia page has a big list of them.

basically, the SI is a standard used so scientists don’t get confused by units.

the metric system, or rather a metric system, is a framework for attributes of stuff (aka numbers and units!) that is decimal-based (i.e. around powers of 10), uses a set of specific base units, and has ways of specifying unit multiplication applicable to any unit. the SI is a metric system!

while there are other metric systems too, most commonly you will see the spirit of the SI used in conjunction with non-SI units. this is what “the metric system” usually means. the liter is a very common example; the SI would say liter is not to be used and to instead use cm³, but you’ll still see L and mL about. their connotations are useful!

but yeah honestly so long as they work and don’t cause confusion use whatever units you want.

Not the only country Liberia uses the imperial system too.

I think its more odd that many countries use a mix (e.g. the UK with units like stones and some lengths in imperial while others are not)

I only know this because of Archer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIWDVuHDpq0

It’s mainly older people that use imperial in my experience. Though we still have things like miles for roads.

Because that was George Washington’s dream

The actual answer is it’s too expensive to convert everything at this point. If it takes months to get a pothole filled, good luck with changing all the sighs even as a start. A lot of people use metric anyway. SAE tools can go where the sun don’t shine. Fuck your fractions. Give me a 10 or a 12 or a 17 (mm, stay away Jeffrey) makes more sense than 13/32" … just why, it’s so dumb.

SAE tools for SAE hardware. I agree, saying something like “gimme a 7/16 wrench for this 1/4-20 by 3/8 bolt” is probably like speaking a foreign language to someone accustomed to metric. But you get used to it if you see it every day.

Now metric measurements of wire are fucking ridiculous in my eye. AWG (American wire gauge) all day. The metric equivalent measures the diameter of the wire and calls it like 1 mm2 for 18 awg, 1.5 for 16, 2.5 for 14, 4 for 12 awg etc. AWG keeps it nice and easy, every other even number starting at like 32 down to 2.

It does get a little fucky from there tho lol. Like then it goes 1 and 0 AWG, then 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, 4/0 (pronounced like 1 awwt), then 250, 500, 750, 1000 MCM. But I’ve also heard those sizes of 250-1000 called KCMIL instead for… reasons…

It’s like most of our measurements. It’s what “feels” right if that makes any sense. Fahrenheit is more accurate to what changes are noticeable to the human body, a foot or a yard just paints a way better picture than half a meter etc. I’m sure most of it is based off like farmers or something rather than scientific measurements.

Yeah you make a proper point; most of the stuff the hardware I work with is metric, the wiring is awg, and the temps are Fahrenheit. Honestly other than a 1/4" wrench and 3/8" spark plug socket, I don’t remember the last time I used any of my anything out of my box wrench sets. They basically are wall ornaments that collect dust. Same with range, I would just use meters since they’re close enough. You know like, target out 300 meters leading left.

We bend raw copper and aluminum busbars at work for manufacturing industrial electrical systems. All standard hardware. Plus whatever else goes into it like insulated supports, polyballs, mounting hardware of components on panels, etc. So I’m probably one of the rare exceptions that use SAE more than metric, especially how pretty much every car (even American made ones) use metric now. Other than maybe changing an old bolt for an old lawnmower or something, yeah I get why it’s not really used much anymore.

Yeah I think an old Briggs and Stratton engine was the only time time I remember using SAE. I mean I still use SAE [Tap] die sets but the irony is the nut outer is metric.

It’s funny how often I have to repeat myself; as in you need 3/8 brass pipe or 1/2 brass pipe, no not 3/8 compression or flared. I work on high end espresso machines these days, like 20-40k ones.

3/8 is such a cursed measurement lol. Like this 3/8 wrench fits a #10 hex head screw. No it doesn’t fit 3/8 hardware. You want 9/16 for that. Oh 9/16 hardware? You can use either 7/8 or 13/16. Or just grab a metric wrench that’s close enough like a 7/16 is the same thing as an 11mm or 3/4 is the same as 19mm. Not gonna lie at certain point it’s just memorizing shit and pattern recognition

3/8 is such a cursed measurement lol yes. lol.

And yeah, I think it’s easier to remember not fractions. I can’t say that I don’t have some shims…

I’m old enough to remember when they tried to convert us to metric. I can tell you why.

People tried to force it on us and we don’t need the metric system for daily use. Trying to force people to use it isn’t going to work. Now, personally, I’d prefer if measurements on rulers and in cars were still given in both systems.

Metric advocates tend to be smug and insulting towards anyone not using the metric system. I have seen this myself more than once. Calling a whole nation stupid because they use a different but functional system of measurement is hardly a good strategy for converting them to your system.

I learned the metric system in school. I understand that the metric system is superior in many sciences. I have strong interests in anthropology. And here I am at 55 and I have never, not once, needed to use metric. Bone measurements are often given in metric but it’s not such a big issue that I need to wholly convert to metric.

My question is, what’s the big deal? Is the metric system a religion? I’ve seen evangelical Christians less intent on converting people. Why?

The main reason it annoys me is because a lot of English-language recipes online are written by USAmericans and therefore use imperial units that I have to convert. I’ve also noticed that they seem to measure everything in cups even for things where it makes no sense to use volume (flour is a common one—isn’t baking supposed to be precise? Flours can have different densities, air pockets, etc). I find ounces really confusing because they can be volume or mass.

Also, imperial is not standardised, so different countries have different amounts for a cup, an ounce, a pint, etc. I guess I can check the recipe author’s country and then convert to metric. But I just find it confusing. Can’t we just all use the same units that are nice and easy to use together since they’re powers of 10?

It’s way easier to bake in ounces, IME

Metric is designed more for calculating on paper. For things using your hands like baking and carpentry, customary units are better. They’re designed for that.

The first time I encountered a baking recipe with ounces, I looked up ounces as I didn’t know what they were. Imperial units aren’t taught in a lot of countries. The Wikipedia article said ounces could be mass or volume, and also had different values in different countries. So I was just very confused as to what the author meant.

Everybody knows what a ml is, what a gram is, etc. They have the same value everywhere. There’s no ambiguity. What is “customary” for you is a confusing system imposed on the rest of the world who want to understand what you mean.

Yeah no they’re just more confusing.

Kinda seems like you answered your own question…

base 10 is way better than whatever the fuck cups, pints, ounces, different ounces, and so on are

Functionally, what’s better about it? I mean, really.

way easier to learn/remember or to convert things in your head. less chance of getting it wrong.
but once you’ve spent years and years getting used to the mess that’s US customary measurements, you’ve already put the work in, so metric doesnt look that much easier (and if you’re unfamiliar with it, will look downright harder).

Is it that much easier? I think y’all make US customary out to be more complicated than it is.

yes, it’s generally easier to remember 10 as the conversion number and nothing else, and it’s also easier not to have to add/multiply fractions of an inch in your head.

this also works between types of units, so it’s pretty simple to remember that 10cm^3 i’m a fucking idiot, it’s a 10cm x 10cm x 10cm cube, so 1000cm^3 is 1l is ~1kg of water, for example.

I already know how many cups to a pint, pints to a quart, and quarts to a gallon there are bad fractions are so simple that we learn them in the 1st grade.

it’s still more stuff to remember than you have to in metric. but yes, of course, now that you’ve already spent years memorizing this shit and practicing fraction addition/multiplication in your head a lot, it seems easy to you.

Fractional math of a US tape measure is certainly more complicated than it needs to be. I’d rather just add and subtract directly than find the common denominator and subtract that in my head.

US car manufacturers got halfway through converting to metric, but decided to keep a few things that require SAE tools, cluttering up a garage or shop with slightly different tools.

Ounces vs fluid ounces is infuriating. So is having a recipe call for a pint of blueberries but blueberries are sold by the dry pint. Making larger or smaller portions in grams/weight is way easier than figuring out what sort of measuring spoon combinations you need for making a smaller/larger portion of a quart ingredient.

The only thing on US cars that isn’t metric these days may be bolt threads, but I’m pretty sure even those are metric now, except maybe for wheel nuts.

it’s so complicated i definitely don’t remember ounces in a pint or quart or yards in a mile, let alone any of the less common ones despite living in this shithole.

division by 10 is the easiest division you can have in base 10

When have you ever needed to know yards in a mile?

less often than knowing the mass of a volume of water would have been useful, which is trivial in metric.

For something as standard as math and science; it would be beneficial to have consistency across the whole board.

Im American and learned the metric system and it was helpful with science. I completly bombed the A.C.T but I scored in the top 3% in the science category.

At least some of the drugs in Americas still use the metric system. Thanks MDMA and LSD. Meth too I guess since people buy points aka 100mg

This is the big deal.

These people didn’t need to die because people can’t see how doing something that makes it easier to communicate important information was too boring to bother with.

This is the same fucking stupidity to resist for literally no good reason simply because it would benefit literally everyone.

Because "less people will need to die for dumb reasons. Less sons and daughters will die after their own children are in the ground. It might not be a lot but it includes some of the smartest and most capable people wouldn’t have had to be blown to smithereens.

Vapourized in an instant, because you and everyone like you in this regard, are to fucking stupid to see the obvious benefits of choosing not to impose a handicap on endeavoring the biggest projects in human history.

And having the fucking gall to ask, what’s even the big deal?

See his third paragraph about being smug and insulting.

If your point is “but you’re mean” then you don’t have a point.

Ok shitwood

Did you really have to americanise my name to get the pun? Embarrassing.

cringe

I believe NASA had a disaster involving metric vs imperial conversion issues but the Challenger had nothing to do with that

I’m almost 100% that wasn’t because of metric or not using it.

Because metric is in base 10

The American system of crazy random measuring is in base 16, base 12, on and on it goes

Only a complete dingbat would think there’s anything ok with keeping that tradition

Bass ackwards

We use both

USA uses both, just like the UK and Canada. It’s standard in the states for…medicine, the military, science, and… two-liter beverage bottles.

Soft drinks in general. A can is 255ml, a bottle is 500ml, a big bottle is 2L

Convenience store wise, a can of Coke is 12 ounces and a bottle is 20 ounces in the states. They have the volume in ml on the bottle though.

Grocery stores have 1l, 16.9oz, 12oz bottles, and 7.5oz cans.

It’s all over the map.

Containers of Specific Volumes For industry.

Ah yes, CSVFI.

355 for the standard aluminum can irc

Could have sworn it was 330

330 is perhaps the most common standard can size in Europe (other common ones being 250, 500, and for beer also 440 and 568 ml). Most drinks that I see that are imported from the USA have strange can (or bottle) sizes, 355 ml being the only one I remember off the top of my head. But I don’t buy them often because A) imperialism and B) they’re expensive.

I can tell you that the military doesn’t use it much in my experience in aircraft maintenance. I rarely ever saw a repair manual use metric.

Nation of proud morons. Most of them do unofficially anyway

What I always found funny is the drug trade. No, not medicine I mean the illegal drugs. They typically start at grams(metric) go up to ounces (imperial) then pounds(imperial) then back to kilograms(metric).

I don’t care which we use(I prefer metric but won’t die on that hill) but wish we would all just agree on one. Like hex keys, you need 2 sets one metric one imperial, same with socket sets. Or go to a machinist and ask them to “take a mil off” of some part, do you mean millimeter or millionth of an inch? Same thing with measurement gear, do you measure pressure in bar, psi, inHg, torr and for more fun are you measuring them positively or negatively… Yes that’s a thing. I had a sensor to measure humidity, the output was in ppm(parts per million) but the calibration was done in degrees Celsius dew point but our specificion was in ppm. Those measurements are not linearly related. So let’s say the sensor came back out of calibration as arrived(typically it would be adjusted and sent back to us within calibration). Now we had to find the closest measurement we had to the limit in ppm, convert that to degrees Celsius dew point, add in the percentage of reading outside of calibration, add in a extra safety factor, convert that back to ppm, compare to specified limit, determine if any product was made outside specifications and then write a report about if it actually mattered…

Because my car gets 40 rods to the hogshead and that’s the way I like it!

Put it in H!

Americans aren’t taught the metric system in school in a way that would force them to understand why it’s better. American education rarely teaches life skills, and in my case, almost none at all even though I was a full honors student at a top high school.

because they industrialized before metricalization and it would’ve been incredibly expensive to convert all their machines and tooling to metric afterwards. same reason as the UK. a lot of places industrialized later, in metric from the start, and didnt have this problem.

and then they became the hegemon, and didnt have to convert, because fuck you, why should i cooperate with vassals.

the US will convert to metric when it sinks to the level it deserves and the customary units become a pain because nobody else is willing to deal with them and all the importable equipment is in metric.

As a science teacher, when I see a worksheet online mention inches or pounds, that open tab on my browser closes at a rapid speed.

Why is the USA the only country that doesn’t use the metric system?

Ignorant question.

This thing is like the Harry Potter of countries. Yknow the way people say “Harry Potter is the only book that xyz” when it’s really the only book they have read

See the world, it’s more interesting than you’ve been told.

Because “‘MURICA” okay?

we do! one inch is exactly 25.4 mm. fluid volumes are almost always seen in both standard measure and metric. most disposable plastic water bottles contain 500 mL of water. lots of engineering for american stuff is actually using metric measures too, including automobiles!

other places use the standard measure as well. in canada, you’ll construct something with 2x4s and 4’x8’ sheets of OSB. in the UK, oh goodness… it’s a complete catastrophe. you’ll see distances in kilometers but speeds in miles per hour, and don’t even get started on stuff like body weight measured in stone, or the breakfast cup (these are actual, real units!)

a very good example is altitudes of aircraft. except for russia, china, and some ex-soviet nations, it will be in feet (or hundreds of feet; “flight level” 320 is 32 000 feet!). this holds true from the bahamas to japan to lithuania. the speed unit knot is a bit weirder, doesn’t neatly fit into either boat (pun absolutely intended), and is worthy of its own write-up.

whatever units you use, really our main suggestions would be to follow in the footsteps of the SI (even if using non-SI/non-metric units), be clear, and be consistent!!

stay safe and happy measuring :)

Because there’s no reason to switch.