What do the United States, Liberia and Myanmar have in common?

Myanmar is switching over. Back in the 70 there was an attempt to switch over but it was dropped due to the lack of public support. There is a stretch of highway (highway 19) from Tucson to Nogales that has all of the speed and mile markers in metric to this day. That's because it was built during the period when the country was attempting to switch. Interesting enough they sate was going to switch all of the signs out last year for the imperial measurements and all of the business along the route got up in arms so it stays metric to this day.
 
The biggest problem converting here in the US is folks like my FIL. Any discussion of Imperial/Metric gets him pontificating that the rest of the world needs to adopt what he's always known. He won't accept that we're the ones who are behind the times. If I start to explain how easy it is to convert one measurement to another, his eyes glaze over!
 
If one thinks in terms of US exports then greater economies of scale could be achieved for those manufacturers making both metric and imperial whatever so there could be an advantage to the US to switch. Just consider the EU has a population double that of the US all metric. Never mind India and China.

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JConsidering the close ties between the US and France in the very early days of the US, it is a bit odd that the US didn't adopt Metric. When I watch US science shows, I see scientists telling me that light goes at 186,000 mi/sec, when I know that in their calculations and papers, it's 300,000 km/sec.We in Canada still do most of our wood measurements in Imperial, but it wouldn't be hard to change the measure of a 4' x 8' sheet to 122 cm. x 244 cm. For another generation, we'd still call it a 4 x 8 sheet, and until we start to build houses with even metric units, it would take a while to get that down to 1.25m x2.5m. Hmmm, then how far apart are the studs? It'll take a while. I'll have to check with my English cousins.
 
If one thinks in terms of US exports then greater economies of scale could be achieved for those manufacturers making both metric and imperial whatever so there could be an advantage to the US to switch. Just consider the EU has a population double that of the US all metric. Never mind India and China.

The U.S. may be 'officially' on the Imperial system, but nearly every product we make - whether for domestic use or export - is engineered in metric. Many - maybe even most - are also manufactured using metric standards and fasteners. Cars, farm equipment, heavy machinery... all metric. Our space program? Metric. Nearly all our packaged food products show both systems of measurement, too. It's just the folks like Bill's FIL that are holding us back.
 
I would love to standardize everything in the metric system. I knew before the question was asked what the common thread was. Not great company to be in.

In the 70s when we tried to convert, I had the same discussion with my parents that Bill had with his FIL. They were dead set against it, too. When I was a military pilot flying in Europe or Asia, I used metric when I traveled off base, Imperial when I was on base, and nautical miles when I was in the air. Makes for one confusing tape measure.

In the 90s, there was a requirement to put both measurements on traffic signs. The signs were made and them someone got a court to vacate the rule and the last I heard, there were warehouses full of signs with both measurements.

NASA learned the hard way about mixing measures. Two teams worked on a Mars Lander. One used metric and one used imperial and no one resolved the math. Turned into a Mars Splatter instead.
 
we'd still call it a 4 x 8 sheet, and until we start to build houses with even metric units, it would take a while to get that down to 1.25m x2.5m. Hmmm, then how far apart are the studs?

I vaguely remember when Canada went metric when I was in grade school and if it goes anything like that I reckon that it would be a 1mx2m sheet for the same price, at least that's what I remember happening to all of the canned goods (well candy bars actually, but I remember all the adults complaining about the canned goods :D).

It'll take a while. I'll have to check with my English cousins.

Ask them how many stone they weigh and then get back to us on how much they're on the metric system :rofl:

My theory on choosing AZ for the metric pilot in the states was that they knew it would fail there (AZ has historically been on the conservative side as a whole). I've worked in enough bureaucracies to know how to intentionally torpedo a project while looking helpful about it.
 
I have been brought up within the metric system, for me it is as much pain on the neck to figure out measures in imperial as the opposite to many of you. With the time that I'm in this fórum and Reading US ww books and magazines I'm better used to it, when measures are expressed as 1,5" or 1,25, my problems start when I have to convert 1 -3/16 and other fractions.

Not to mention if I had to translate old english measurements like yards, furlongs and so forth. However, when we buy by the weight some of us still talk in pounds or ounces, for us here 1 pound (libra) is 400 grams and 1 ounce (onza)is 100 grams. Younger shop tenders don't know them at all.

One thing is for sure, no matter how good or bad is the thing to change to, there will be always a lot of inertias to overcome, and reluctancy to abandon the known system. When the Euro was implanted everybody was converting prices from their local currency to the euro to know the Price and value of things. Now everybody is used to it, except some people who cannot get used to, and still continue making the conversión, but that is misleading as the prices have gone up since year 2000 so their reference prices is outdated and they think that everything is expensive.
 
Back when I was still working, I did international shipping and freight rates were expressed in metric... but often freight arrived in imperial weights and imperials dimensions... which I had to convert... domestic rates were expressed in imperial, so on carriage from an international carrier had to be converted, some U.S. airlines and steamship lines quoted rated in pounds/tons/cubic feet, which had to be converted to kilos/tonnes/cubic meters.... seems like I spent half my day changing weights from one factor to the other, dimensions and or volume... air freight rates are expressed in weight or volume which ever is greater, and the conversion factors from pounds to imperial volume or kilos to metric volume were different.... fortunately, since I have retired from that work, I have also retired all that information.
 
JConsidering the close ties between the US and France in the very early days of the US, it is a bit odd that the US didn't adopt Metric. When I watch US science shows, I see scientists telling me that light goes at 186,000 mi/sec, when I know that in their calculations and papers, it's 300,000 km/sec.We in Canada still do most of our wood measurements in Imperial, but it wouldn't be hard to change the measure of a 4' x 8' sheet to 122 cm. x 244 cm. For another generation, we'd still call it a 4 x 8 sheet, and until we start to build houses with even metric units, it would take a while to get that down to 1.25m x2.5m. Hmmm, then how far apart are the studs? It'll take a while. I'll have to check with my English cousins.

Back when I worked for Santini in Houston, we bought most of our plywood out of Brazil, because it was cheaper then taking a truck around the block to Georgia Pacific... we used mostly 1/2 inch plywood in 4x8 sheets... the sizes always came in in metric which we had to convert to imperial for customs... even the last time I went to Lowe's for plywood, they had odd sized wood they were selling for 1/2 inch... something like 31/64 or 15/32, which is actually smaller than 1/2 inch.

Life would certainly be simpler in metric, 1/10 is easier to figure in your head than 1/12... plus our money is already in metric??

Maybe if it catches on with the oil companies and they start selling gas by the litre, it will change. :D:D:eek:
 
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I vaguely remember when Canada went metric when I was in grade school and if it goes anything like that I reckon that it would be a 1mx2m sheet for the same price, at least that's what I remember happening to all of the canned goods (well candy bars actually, but I remember all the adults complaining about the canned goods :D).



Ask [the English cousins] how many stone they weigh and then get back to us on how much they're on the metric system :rofl:

They order meat in kilos, and buy metric screws. In Canada we ask for meat in grams, and lumber in inches, and drive in Km/h. We put litres of oil in our cars, and generally follow baking directions in cups. Our kids don't bake or put oil in their own cars.
 
buy metric screws.

Worth it to get rid of the Whitworth threads (yeah ok I know.. that's not technically for screws but bolts..)

In Canada we ask for meat in grams

Last time I was up in B.C. the local store had meat for sale in 100g units, 500g units, kg units and lb units. All for the same types of meat to. Try price comparing with that labeling!! :eek: Luckily we had the pocket computer.
 
Last time I was up in B.C. the local store had meat for sale in 100g units, 500g units, kg units and lb units. All for the same types of meat to. Try price comparing with that labeling!! :eek: Luckily we had the pocket computer.

Unit pricing is designed to confuse, not to clarify, although down here they are getting better at it. Toothpaste manufactureres, apparently, were the first to go metric, to standardize on sizes, years ago. Me, I just buy the biggest looking tube.
 
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