Why Does the US Cling To Imperial Measurements?

Tagged: Imperial Measurements, Metric System, Off Topic, Technology
Source: Slashdot - Read the full article
Posted: 2 years 4 weeks ago

"As one of only three countries on Earth that hasn't converted to a metric system of units and measurements, there is a huge amount of resistance within the US to change the status quo. Whilst the cost of switching would be huge, there is also a massive hidden cost in not switching when dealing with the rest of the world (except for Liberia & Burma, the only other two countries that don't use the metric system) With one of the largest organisations in the US, the military, using metric units extensively, why does the general public in the US still cling to their customary system of units?"
 

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Comments

Mon, 05/02/2011 - 04:43
#1
falmatrix2r
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Joined: 09/26/2010
Posts: 574

eh just keep it how it is...

I have a gaming PC and all gaming consoles and it definately doens't get you laid!
My youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/falmatrix2r
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Thu, 04/21/2011 - 18:41
#2
Tivon
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Joined: 04/26/2002
Posts: 1719

Funny how I can only understand heat based on what I'm doing. Such as with Computers I know 70 ~ 80C is getting hot for CPU's, but I have no idea what that translate into the temperatures outside. Anything over 77F is kind of hot for me outside.

Don't test my skills, I was trained by myself!™ Check out my Gaming Videos!

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Thu, 04/21/2011 - 13:31
#3
Anonymous

Just as it would be wierd for us metric people to use the imperal system. I respect both systems and I try to be good at both, but I really think that the whole world needs to switch to one system and that would be good for everyone.

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Thu, 04/21/2011 - 07:08
#4
Anonymous

That's a tough one, most of our products are still imperial and our culture is imperial. We understand what 70deg F. feels like and wouldn't have a clue what 21 deg C would mean. We know what a gallon is but would have a hard time figuring our quarts to liters. It would be very confusing here for some time if they did switch.

It is happening slowly though, most of our autos are being built using metric standards and science has embraced the metric system for some time.

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