# Adoption of the Metric System (Cheifly American)



## Adelio Altomar (Oct 8, 2009)

So the poll is simple: do you Americans want to adopt the Metric system like the rest of the world has or do wanna keep your old system of measurement, the Imperial system?

Of course people from other countries can vote as well, though I think it's a given as to what the answer from them will be.


----------



## Tycho (Oct 8, 2009)

I'll take metric, given a choice.

Saying you have a 10cm cock sounds better than the alternative :V Bigger number and all that.


----------



## lilEmber (Oct 8, 2009)

Tycho said:


> I'll take metric, given a choice.
> 
> Saying you have a 10cm cock sounds better than the alternative :V Bigger number and all that.



24, baby.


----------



## Shark_the_raptor (Oct 8, 2009)

NewfDraggie said:


> 24, baby.



Nice~  o/`

Yeah, Metric is simple.


----------



## Azure (Oct 8, 2009)

Where is the nobody cares option?   Also, I know both.


----------



## fwLogCGI (Oct 8, 2009)

AzurePhoenix said:


> Where is the nobody cares option?


"No"?


----------



## ElizabethAlexandraMary (Oct 8, 2009)

YES
YES FUCKING YES
OBAMA DO IT


----------



## alaskawolf (Oct 8, 2009)

when i watch top gear and 5th gear i notice they often times say miles per hour and miles per gallon.

 why is that?


----------



## ElizabethAlexandraMary (Oct 8, 2009)

alaskawolf said:


> when i watch top gear and 5th gear i notice they often times say miles per hour and miles per gallon.
> 
> why is that?


 Miles are miles. Everything else from the imperial system is confusing as hell, but for some reason, I'm okay with miles.
Mainly because they're the only distance unit we use on maps. (I never saw a road map in inches.)

I'm fine with leagues, too.


----------



## Holsety (Oct 8, 2009)

I couldn't really care less, although having to use kilometers instead of miles would be annoying (simply because Im so used to saying miles).


----------



## D Void (Oct 8, 2009)

I'm british and I say bring back the imperial messurments.
They are easier to use than metric twaddle.


----------



## Mikael Grizzly (Oct 8, 2009)

Metric. Easy and universal.

Besides, its hard to make a severe mistake when you have tens to work with, rather than x things that equal y stuff, but in reality are actually z thingamajigs.


----------



## Sinjo (Oct 8, 2009)

I'm Canadian; metric all the way.


----------



## Dass (Oct 8, 2009)

Yes, get with the rest of the English speaking world and start spelling colour with the 'u'


----------



## Carenath (Oct 8, 2009)

Dass said:


> Yes, get with the rest of the English speaking world and start spelling colour with the 'u'


 â†‘ This â†‘  Miles are still used in the UK for speed and distance, Ireland used to follow suit until 2005 when we converted to kilometers only. Some older signs still have the dual-measurements for distance, but new cars sold here, are km only, just like the rest of europe.  We still use some imperial units in local speech.. pints, pounds and ounces for certain food items (a pound of butter, a 12ounce steak, a pint of beer), height in feet and inches, weight in stones, area in acres. Half and half.. I just learned to convert between the two in my head all the time.  While we're on this subject though... Learn to use Celcius for temperature.. fahrenheit, like all the other arbitrary x equals so many y measurments.. is retarded.


----------



## ShÃ nwÃ ng (Oct 8, 2009)

Fuck 'u' in color.

Anyways, yes, convert to the metric system for fuck sake.


----------



## MacMillan (Oct 8, 2009)

Imperial is the dark side and the Metric is the...hum...white side (??!)...or something like that, something better .....you know! 

PS: Yeah, I have nothing pertinent to say cause, all I would like say, is already posted ( Â°Â°)


----------



## Bobmuffins (Oct 8, 2009)

I've been using the metric system my whole life, what with me living in Canada and all, and I'm seriously confused at the imperial system. A mile's 5280 feet. Right. And where did you get that number from? Oh, water freezes at 32 degrees? Explain how that number is logical.

The metric system makes far more sense to me, since everything's a multiple of 10 instead of some random number taken from who knows where.


----------



## ChrisPanda (Oct 8, 2009)

Go for it, or don't I really don't care.


----------



## Telnac (Oct 8, 2009)

Yes.  I've used the metric system as the core units for several games I've worked on, and it was quite nice.  A distance of 3 meters is approximately 10 feet, so I used that as my conversion until I got used to the system... which surprisingly didn't take long at all.  When you talk about a distance of 475cm, it's immediately obvious how long that is (a little over 15 feet) but if you say 187 inches (the same distance), even someone familiar with the US system would have to sit down and do the math to convert from inches to feet.

It gets even worse when you talk about volume.  Pints?  Quarts?  Gallons?  Hell, are you talking about US pints (16 ounces of water) or Imperial pints (20 ounces?)  Oh crap, we now have OUNCES to add to the mix!  Jeez, give me a liter & a milliliter any day over that mess.


----------



## Gonebatty (Oct 8, 2009)

I think a new system would be too hard for me. I'd have to throw everything I know out the window.


----------



## Tudd (Oct 8, 2009)

NewfDraggie said:


> 24, baby.



Statistically speaking thats so rare I have no comment.

And yes, Metric is what all science is done in so american scientists use the metric system as well but the public is stuck in imperial.


----------



## AlexInsane (Oct 8, 2009)

It'll never happen; America is too stupid and set in its ways to adopt the terrorist Metric system.


----------



## Tudd (Oct 8, 2009)

AlexInsane said:


> It'll never happen; America is too stupid and set in its ways to adopt the terrorist Metric system.



Terrorist system uses chickens, and grains/bags of sand. Where have you been?


----------



## Zseliq (Oct 8, 2009)

I voted yes.


----------



## Ridge (Oct 8, 2009)

What I find funny is the Government has accepted the metric system but doesn't enforce it's use around the country.  So, technically, the US has adopted the much easier metric system but simply doesn't enforce it so we use the old empirical measuring scale.

Man, I love being an American but sometimes I laugh at our own stubbornness to change. >.o


----------



## Rakuen Growlithe (Oct 8, 2009)

America must move on, we're not living in the last millennium or century or whenever normal people changed their measurements. Metric measurements are easier to convert, more accurate and nicely fit a lot of observations, particularly for measuring water.



> Yes, get with the rest of the English speaking world and start spelling colour with the 'u'



America is coming up with it's own alphabet. They've cut 'u' out and replaced 's' with a second 'z' (which they still pronounce wrong).


----------



## Dyluck (Oct 8, 2009)

alaskawolf said:


> when i watch top gear and 5th gear i notice they often times say miles per hour and miles per gallon.
> 
> why is that?



They're probably driving American cars when they use empirical terms.  If not, who knows

I prefer the metric system for most measurements, but I really prefer using feet and inches in regards to measurements referring to the human body because it's relevant to proportions.


----------



## Shark_the_raptor (Oct 8, 2009)

Tudd said:


> Terrorist system uses chickens, and grains/bags of sand. Where have you been?



Probably in his bomb shelter, looking out for them reds.


----------



## Talash (Oct 8, 2009)

In England we use a bastardisation of the two, which can get pretty interesting. Generally I use litres and kilograms, but still use inches and feet for distance. Saying 6' tall and 10" long sounds better than the metric equivalent. Also measuring in feet and miles just seems more natural than metres and kilometers, regardless of ease. Guess its what you grow up with?

Also, being English means I hate being told how to do things by the EU.


----------



## Mulefa Zalif (Oct 8, 2009)

You Americans switch to the metric system, and we Europeans switch to English. Sounds good?


----------



## Shark_the_raptor (Oct 8, 2009)

Mulefa Zalif said:


> You Americans switch to the metric system, and we Europeans switch to English. Sounds good?



Knowing America's luck, that would probably happen.


----------



## LizardKing (Oct 8, 2009)

I measure time in millifortnights just to annoy people.


----------



## Randy-Darkshade (Oct 8, 2009)

I can use both except when it comes to weight, that's where I get confused.


----------



## Fay V (Oct 8, 2009)

I can't for the life of me convert to C temperatures instead of F. I can manage around 0, but then i just get confused. I'm curious does anyone know what -20F is in Celsius? 

As for metric. I don't mind it that much. I'm used to the non-metric measurements, particularly inches, feet, miles, and pounds, but learning is fun.


----------



## Randy-Darkshade (Oct 8, 2009)

Faile said:


> I can't for the life of me convert to C temperatures instead of F. I can manage around 0, but then i just get confused. I'm curious does anyone know what -20F is in Celsius?
> 
> As for metric. I don't mind it that much. I'm used to the non-metric measurements, particularly inches, feet, miles, and pounds, but learning is fun.



-28.8c.

Here, this is a great help because I can't convert C to F so I use this: http://www.onlineconversion.com/temperature.htm


----------



## Talash (Oct 8, 2009)

Farenheit is the most bizzare way to measure temprature, as it has no modern relevant applicaton to 0f and 100f, whereas Celcius is at least mildly accurate as 0c being the freezing point and 100c the boiling point of water.


----------



## Randy-Darkshade (Oct 8, 2009)

The UK has always used C for temperatures. However we switched to metric a few years back except we still measure road distance in miles and not Km's, the only measurements to really change was weight measurements, and now we use cm and mm instead of inches.


----------



## Mayfurr (Oct 8, 2009)

alaskawolf said:


> when i watch top gear and 5th gear i notice they often times say miles per hour and miles per gallon.
> 
> why is that?



Because they're BRITISH!


----------



## Randy-Darkshade (Oct 8, 2009)

Mayfurr said:


> Because they're BRITISH!



I actually don't get it, britain has supposedly converted to the metric system like the rest of europe but fuel consumption is STILL measured in galons. 

I think it is because it is less confusing to us brits, but either way it wouldn't bother me if they said "Miles per liter"......wait to be metric that would be "Km's per liter".


----------



## Mayfurr (Oct 8, 2009)

AlexInsane said:


> It'll never happen; America is too stupid and set in its ways to adopt the terrorist Metric system.



The ironic thing is that Americans are perfectly happy to continue using IMPERIAL measurements 



Faile said:


> I can't for the life of me convert to C temperatures instead of F. I can manage around 0, but then i just get confused. I'm curious does anyone know what -20F is in Celsius?



I had the reverse problem when visiting the US - usually along the lines of the radio announcer telling me the temperature was 32 degrees when there was snow on the ground (32C is a very warm summer's day!), and trying to work out whether 78F on the weather forecast was cold, warm, or hot...

"It's going to be 104 today? Shit, that's over boiling point - oh, wait. Right..."


----------



## Shay Feral (Oct 8, 2009)

Progress for the sake of progress just causes problems, the mother of invention and change is necessity, and we don't need a metric system, our system works just fine if not better. So I am against changing to the Metric System for the simple fact I grew up on Gallons, Miles, Inches, Feet and pounds.

Changing to metric would mean I'd have to carry a conversion chart just to drive on the highway, unless the government wanted to buy me a new speedometer for my car...

Changing our system to a metric system will just cause problems, cos no average hard working individual without a degree in math cares about the metric system. There is no use for it on our highways, at our gas stations or in my fucking car! It's bad enough these new "soda can" vehicles use metric bolts and shit.


----------



## Mayfurr (Oct 8, 2009)

RandyDarkshade said:


> I actually don't get it, britain has supposedly converted to the metric system like the rest of europe but fuel consumption is STILL measured in galons.



Tell me about it. Confused the hell out of me when I was over in the UK - distances in miles and yards, volumes in litres... and there was this big hoo-ha about people being forced to switch selling stuff from pounds to kilos (usually along the lines of claiming that the Maccas "Quarter Pounder" would have to be relabelled the "357 Grammer" or something).

Which is daft - because in New Zealand we switched over completely in one go to metric in the 70s and we've never looked back.

The Germans have a joke that when the UK converts to driving on the right (to align with the rest of Europe), the UK will phase in the change gradually with only the trucks switching to the right first...


----------



## Mayfurr (Oct 8, 2009)

Shay Feral said:


> Changing to metric would mean I'd have to carry a conversion chart just to drive on the highway, unless the government wanted to buy me a new speedometer for my car...
> 
> Changing our system to a metric system will just cause problems, cos no average hard working individual without a degree in math cares about the metric system. There is no use for it on our highways, at our gas stations or in my fucking car!



Oh pu-leeze... You think switching from imperial to metric hasn't been done before?

When we switched over, for cars that didn't already have km/h marked on them you could buy stickers that you could mark the standard speed limits with - and in any case, the speed limits themselves don't change so you pick up very quickly that 30mph = 50km/h, 40mph = 70km/h, 55mph = 100km/h and so forth. 

I recall very few problems occurring in New Zealand when we went metric, so unless most American are dumber than a box of spanners I don't think you'd have any real problems.


----------



## Randy-Darkshade (Oct 8, 2009)

Mayfurr said:


> Tell me about it. Confused the hell out of me when I was over in the UK - distances in miles and yards, volumes in litres... and there was this big hoo-ha about people being forced to switch selling stuff from pounds to kilos (usually along the lines of claiming that the Maccas "Quarter Pounder" would have to be relabelled the "357 Grammer" or something).
> 
> Which is daft - because in New Zealand we switched over completely in one go to metric in the 70s and we've never looked back.
> 
> The Germans have a joke that when the UK converts to driving on the right (to align with the rest of Europe), the UK will phase in the change gradually with only the trucks switching to the right first...



We get alot of truck drivers hitting our railway bridges (especialy in my town) because the height still reads in feet and inches, and many truck drivers that come to our town are foreign, usually french, german or polish and read the signs metricaly and end up smashing into the railway bridges. The railway agency ended up having to re-inforce one of the bridges in town cause it was so frequent it was weakening the bridge. Maybe an idea would be to put such signs in both measurements. Or teach foreign drivers to read imperial?


----------



## Randy-Darkshade (Oct 8, 2009)

Shay Feral said:


> Progress for the sake of progress just causes problems, the mother of invention and change is necessity, and we don't need a metric system, our system works just fine if not better. So I am against changing to the Metric System for the simple fact I grew up on Gallons, Miles, Inches, Feet and pounds.
> 
> Changing to metric would mean I'd have to carry a conversion chart just to drive on the highway, unless the government wanted to buy me a new speedometer for my car...
> 
> Changing our system to a metric system will just cause problems, cos no average hard working individual without a degree in math cares about the metric system. There is no use for it on our highways, at our gas stations or in my fucking car! It's bad enough these new "soda can" vehicles use metric bolts and shit.



Speedometers in cars have both scales on them here, both mph and kph, which saves alot of trouble. But all business have to use metric measurements here now. Me, I just use what ever I feel best to use at the time.


----------



## Shay Feral (Oct 8, 2009)

Well, I wouldn't call someone who isn't familiar with the metric system "dumb". You can ask just about any one of my friends to convert something to metric and they couldn't do it, and I know I can't... Because we don't have the need to, so we don't pay attention to what _you_ use because we use our system.

And since is mostly about American measurements, only Americans should be allotted to decide whether or not America should use the metric system. Get your nose out of our measuring cup or get bombed!



RandyDarkshade said:


> Speedometers in cars have both scales on them here, both mph and kph, which saves alot of trouble. But all business have to use metric measurements here now. Me, I just use what ever I feel best to use at the time.



I have a 1974 Chevelle, and 1995 Buick Century... neither have metric readings... Come to think about it, the only cars I ever owned that had metric readings where my old 79 Camaro and 89 F150


----------



## Shark_the_raptor (Oct 8, 2009)

RandyDarkshade said:


> I actually don't get it, britain has supposedly converted to the metric system like the rest of europe but fuel consumption is STILL measured in galons.
> 
> I think it is because it is less confusing to us brits, but either way it wouldn't bother me if they said "Miles per liter"......wait to be metric that would be "Km's per liter".



Probably because the gallon is larger than the liter.  Imagine selling gas by the liter.  o.o


----------



## Randy-Darkshade (Oct 8, 2009)

Shay Feral said:


> Well, I wouldn't call someone who isn't familiar with the metric system "dumb". You can ask just about any one of my friends to convert something to metric and they couldn't do it, and I know I can't... Because we don't have the need to, so we don't pay attention to what _you_ use because we use our system.
> 
> And since is mostly about American measurements, only Americans should be allotted to decide whether or not America should use the metric system. Get your nose out of our measuring cup or get bombed!



Doesn't bother me which one America uses. Just use what ever you feel comfortable with.


----------



## Randy-Darkshade (Oct 8, 2009)

Shark_the_raptor said:


> Probably because the gallon is larger than the liter.  Imagine selling gas by the liter.  o.o



It is here. all gas pumps give you liter measurements.

EDIT: Must stop fricken double posting >.<


----------



## Shark_the_raptor (Oct 8, 2009)

RandyDarkshade said:


> It is here. all gas pumps give you liter measurements.
> 
> EDIT: Must stop fricken double posting >.<



Ouch.  It was like that in Canada when I traveled there for a week.  $2.00+ per liter.


----------



## Dass (Oct 8, 2009)

Shark_the_raptor said:


> Ouch.  It was like that in Canada when I traveled there for a week.  $2.00+ per liter.



There's a place in Canada where the gas is $2/L?


----------



## SnowFox (Oct 8, 2009)

RandyDarkshade said:


> The UK has always used C for temperatures.



I've always used F for temperatures.

Metric is great for "science" stuff where using imperial is just pointless, but for everyday stuff I think it's better to stick with imperial. We're already used to using it so why bother confusing people with units that don't mean anything to them. I know how to convert between most things, but if someone says they weigh 50kg or are 170cm tall I'll stare blankly until I've roughly worked out what that is in old measurements.

I also disagree that it's easier to make mistakes with imperial. All you need to do in metric is put a decimal point in the wrong place to get it very wrong. Having 12 inches in a foot is nice. 12 is a nice number, it has lots of factors and all that cool shit. Can you imagine having metric time?

See you at 10:75 tomorrow afternoon.


----------



## Mayfurr (Oct 8, 2009)

RandyDarkshade said:


> We get alot of truck drivers hitting our railway bridges (especialy in my town) because the height still reads in feet and inches, and many truck drivers that come to our town are foreign, usually french, german or polish and read the signs metricaly and end up smashing into the railway bridges. The railway agency ended up having to re-inforce one of the bridges in town cause it was so frequent it was weakening the bridge. Maybe an idea would be to put such signs in both measurements. Or teach foreign drivers to read imperial?



Or actually get the UK to finally switch over completely to metric?



Shark_the_raptor said:


> Probably because the gallon is larger than the liter.  *Imagine selling gas by the liter*.  o.o



What about it? We sell petrol by the litre here - have done for decades.

Besides, although you get less in a litre than a gallon, it'll be cheaper. And while your towns and cities will be further away, you'll be able to drive faster to get there so you won't lose anything


----------



## Shark_the_raptor (Oct 8, 2009)

Dass said:


> There's a place in Canada where the gas is $2/L?



Yeah, I think.  This was back in 1999, though.  So my memory might be incorrect.


----------



## Shay Feral (Oct 8, 2009)

Mayfurr said:


> Besides, although you get less in a litre than a gallon, it'll be cheaper. And while your towns and cities will be further away, you'll be able to drive faster to get there so you won't lose anything



How would buying gas by the liter be any different than buying it by the gallon? They're going to make proper price conversions, buying $20 worth of gas in gallons is going to get you the same amount of gas if you were buying $20 worth of gas in liters...


----------



## Gonebatty (Oct 8, 2009)

Still take me a hell of a lot of time to adapt everything to metric. I'm good like that.


----------



## Mayfurr (Oct 8, 2009)

Shay Feral said:


> And since is mostly about American measurements, only Americans should be allotted to decide whether or not America should use the metric system. Get your nose out of our measuring cup or get bombed!



The last time I looked, the only countries that didn't officially use the metric system were Burma, Liberia... and the USA. And apparently, even Burma and Liberia mostly use metric measurements anyway - which leaves the USA as the last non-metric holdout.

Resistance is futile


----------



## Mayfurr (Oct 8, 2009)

Shay Feral said:


> How would buying gas by the liter be any different than buying it by the gallon? They're going to make proper price conversions, buying $20 worth of gas in gallons is going to get you the same amount of gas if you were buying $20 worth of gas in liters...



That's exactly right. 

But there's some out there who fall for that gag every time


----------



## lilEmber (Oct 8, 2009)

Tudd said:


> Statistically speaking thats so rare I have no comment.:confused


;3


----------



## Jashwa (Oct 8, 2009)

LizardKing said:


> I measure time in millifortnights just to annoy people.


1 millifortnight=.014 days?


----------



## Shay Feral (Oct 8, 2009)

Mayfurr said:


> The last time I looked, the only countries that didn't officially use the metric system were Burma, Liberia... and the USA. And apparently, even Burma and Liberia mostly use metric measurements anyway - which leaves the USA as the last non-metric holdout.
> 
> Resistance is futile



Maybe we are the only country left with a head on it's shoulders...



Mayfurr said:


> That's exactly right.
> 
> But there's some out there who fall for that gag every time



Unfortunately my father would be one of them


----------



## Mayfurr (Oct 8, 2009)

Jashwa said:


> 1 millifortnight=.014 days?



I'll see your millifortnight and raise you an attoparsec...


----------



## lilEmber (Oct 8, 2009)

Mayfurr said:


> I'll see your millifortnight and raise you an attoparsec...



Hahahaa!


----------



## Jashwa (Oct 8, 2009)

Mayfurr said:


> I'll see your millifortnight and raise you an attoparsec...


I've never heard the prefix atto before.


----------



## Mayfurr (Oct 8, 2009)

Jashwa said:


> I've never heard the prefix atto before.



"Atto" is the 10^-18 unit, so 1 attometre = 0.000000000000000001 metres.

A parsec is approximately 3.26 light-years. Combining it with the "atto-" prefix yields an attoparsec (apc) of about 3.085 cm (1 7â„32 in).


----------



## Jashwa (Oct 8, 2009)

Mayfurr said:


> "Atto" is the 10^-18 unit, so 1 attometre = 0.000000000000000001 metres.
> 
> A parsec is approximately 3.26 light-years. Combining it with the "atto-" prefix yields an attoparsec (apc) of about 3.085 cm (1 7â„32 in).


Oh, interesting.


----------



## Shay Feral (Oct 8, 2009)

I can travel at 60 miles an hour and arrive at a location 60 miles away in one hour...

I can travel at 60 KPH and arrive at a location 60 miles away the following week lol


----------



## Talash (Oct 8, 2009)

NewfDraggie said:


> ;3



It's more likely that you think.


----------



## Carenath (Oct 8, 2009)

Shay Feral said:


> Progress for the sake of progress just causes problems, the mother of invention and change is necessity, and we don't need a metric system, our system works just fine if not better. So I am against changing to the Metric System for the simple fact I grew up on Gallons, Miles, Inches, Feet and pounds.
> 
> Changing to metric would mean I'd have to carry a conversion chart just to drive on the highway, unless the government wanted to buy me a new speedometer for my car...
> 
> Changing our system to a metric system will just cause problems, cos no average hard working individual without a degree in math cares about the metric system. There is no use for it on our highways, at our gas stations or in my fucking car! It's bad enough these new "soda can" vehicles use metric bolts and shit.


And you dont think it's harder to teach a system with such arbitrary conversions to the respective units.. compared to a system where everything is in groups of 10s.
12 inches in a foot.
3 foot (36") in a yard.
1760 yards (5280ft/63360") in a mile.

16 ounces in a pound.
14 pounds in a stone.
163 stones in a ton.



Mayfurr said:


> The Germans have a joke that when the UK converts to driving on the right (to align with the rest of Europe), the UK will phase in the change gradually with only the trucks switching to the right first...


The UK's never going to convert to driving on the right, europe should have converted to driving on the left years ago too 



Shark_the_raptor said:


> Probably because the gallon is larger than the liter.  Imagine selling gas by the liter.  o.o


They do that here anyway.. and current prices are ~â‚¬1.12/litre (â‚¬4.23/Gal).


----------



## Shay Feral (Oct 8, 2009)

Carenath said:


> And you dont think it's harder to teach a system with such arbitrary conversions to the respective units.. compared to a system where everything is in groups of 10s.
> 6 inches in a foot.
> 3 foot (36") in a yard.
> 1760 yards (5280ft/63360") in a mile.
> ...



America isn't gonna convert to metric, because it's not needed... Don't fix what is not broken... Cos you usually break what isn't broken when you try to fix it...


----------



## Elessara (Oct 8, 2009)

Nah, I like being difficult. 

It keeps things interesting.


----------



## Ishnuvalok (Oct 8, 2009)

Shay Feral said:


> I can travel at 60 miles an hour and arrive at a location 60 miles away in one hour...
> 
> I can travel at 60 KPH and arrive at a location 60 miles away the following week lol



*facepalm* You sir, fail. Go back to school, you obviously failed math.

60 km/h is about 37 mph. 

So, thus to drive 60 miles with the speed of 37 mph would take us about 1 hour and 37 minutes.

And when you start switching over to the metric system the speed limits will be the same. 60 mph will just become 100 kmh. 


Shay Feral said:


> America isn't gonna convert to metric, because it's not needed... Don't fix what is not broken... Cos you usually break what isn't broken when you try to fix it...



You already use the metric system in science, medicine and many industries and the military. Hopefully the Imperial system with fade away with time. 

We're not fixing it. We're replacing it.


----------



## Elessara (Oct 8, 2009)

Ishnuvalok said:


> *facepalm* You sir, fail. Go back to school, you obviously failed math.
> 
> 60 km/h is about 37 mph.
> 
> So, thus to drive 60 miles with the speed of 37 mph would take us about 1 hour and 37 minutes.


 
You beat me to it! DX


----------



## Shino (Oct 8, 2009)

Oh gawd, yes, it's been needing to be changed for ages. I try to use metric whenever possible, but the inevitable "durrr" I get from other people failing at math forces me to stick with imperial.

It's about time we decided to use something slightly less arbitrary...


----------



## Ratte (Oct 8, 2009)

I can function fine with either one, so it wouldn't bother me too much if we switched.

The only thing that would is if the family, being the measurement-tarded people they are, bothered me night and day because they refuse to use it or can't be helped.

Also



Carenath said:


> 6 inches in a foot.



wat


----------



## Aurali (Oct 8, 2009)

Virginia state schools wouldn't pass me unless I knew both.


Carenath said:


> *6 inches in a foot.*
> 3 foot (36") in a yard.
> 1760 yards (5280ft/63360") in a mile.



XD


----------



## Ishnuvalok (Oct 8, 2009)

Elessara said:


> You beat me to it! DX



That I did 

Oh, I found out that the US are converting to the metric system, it's been happening since the 70's apparently. It's just that it's happening extremely slowly.


----------



## Ishnuvalok (Oct 8, 2009)

Carenath said:


> 6 inches in a foot.



I thought it was 12 inches in a foot?


----------



## Jashwa (Oct 8, 2009)

Ishnuvalok said:


> I thought it was 12 inches in a foot?


It is.  Carenath just failed. 

See, this is why we should use the metric system.


----------



## Ishnuvalok (Oct 8, 2009)

Jashwa said:


> It is.  Carenath just failed.
> 
> See, this is why we should use the metric system.



It's kinda hard to fail with the metric system. 10 mm to a cm, 10 cm to a dm 10 dm on a meter. 1000 meters on a kilometer.


----------



## Jashwa (Oct 8, 2009)

Ishnuvalok said:


> It's kinda hard to fail with the metric system. 10 mm to a cm, 10 cm to a dm 10 dm on a meter. 1000 meters on a kilometer.


It's not as hard when you're doing scientific notation and lots of conversions if you're not careful.


----------



## Ishnuvalok (Oct 8, 2009)

Jashwa said:


> It's not as hard when you're doing scientific notation and lots of conversions if you're not careful.



If only they both had used the metric system....


----------



## Randy-Darkshade (Oct 8, 2009)

Ishnuvalok said:


> *facepalm* You sir, fail. Go back to school, you obviously failed math.
> 
> 60 km/h is about 37 mph.
> 
> ...



if we are all gonna be precise it is actually 62mph = 100kph.


----------



## Ishnuvalok (Oct 8, 2009)

RandyDarkshade said:


> if we are all gonna be precise it is actually 62mph = 100kph.



Well yes, but it's an approximate. I've never seen a speed limit sign that doesn't end in a 5 or 0.


----------



## Jashwa (Oct 8, 2009)

Ishnuvalok said:


> If only they both had used the metric system....


I remember that.  Even smart people make mistakes sometimes.


----------



## Randy-Darkshade (Oct 8, 2009)

Ishnuvalok said:


> Well yes, but it's an approximate. I've never seen a speed limit sign that doesn't end in a 5 or 0.



Come to think of it....Neither have I.


----------



## lilEmber (Oct 8, 2009)

Ishnuvalok said:


> Well yes, but it's an approximate. I've never seen a speed limit sign that doesn't end in a 5 or 0.



I have.


----------



## Azure (Oct 8, 2009)

Here's a valid question.  WHO CARES? I mean seriously.

EDIT-  I will never spell color with a fucking "u". EVER.


----------



## M. LeRenard (Oct 8, 2009)

Screw Celsius.  We should do all temperatures in Kelvins.  And distances should be measured in cubits.


----------



## Gonebatty (Oct 8, 2009)

M. Le Renard said:


> Screw Celsius.  We should do all temperatures in Kelvins.  And distances should be measured in cubits.



You made that up, didnt you?


----------



## Ishnuvalok (Oct 8, 2009)

Gonebatty said:


> You made that up, didnt you?



No, it's an ancient Egyptian unit of length. About 0.5 meters.


----------



## Gonebatty (Oct 8, 2009)

looks interesting.


----------



## SnowFox (Oct 8, 2009)

M. Le Renard said:


> Screw Celsius.  We should do all temperatures in Kelvins.  And distances should be measured in cubits.



Good point. If you're going to go metric you might as well do it properly and use Kelvins. Celsius is gay.


----------



## lilEmber (Oct 8, 2009)

Celsius makes  more sense for everyday temperatures like weather and rooms, kelvins make more sense for everything else.


----------



## Azure (Oct 8, 2009)

Celsius is useless for everything and doesn't break down into 10's at all.


----------



## Nargle (Oct 8, 2009)

We kinda already use both =/


----------



## Ibuuyk (Oct 8, 2009)

If America should evolve instead of staying retarded forever?  Stupid question, it'll never happen ^^


----------



## Jashwa (Oct 8, 2009)

AzurePhoenix said:


> Celsius is useless for everything and doesn't break down into 10's at all.


Except water.


----------



## Azure (Oct 8, 2009)

Jashwa said:


> Except water.


What?  I believe that's milliliters. Anyway, we use a whole lot of both, kind of a mishmash.  So I really see no reason for change to a complete version of either one.  I mean, we don't use stone to measure anything, or imperial pints, or fortnights, so there really isn't much to discuss except the usual stereotyped jibes.


----------



## Jashwa (Oct 8, 2009)

AzurePhoenix said:


> What?  I believe that's milliliters. Anyway, we use a whole lot of both, kind of a mishmash.  So I really see no reason for change to a complete version of either one.  I mean, we don't use stone to measure anything, or imperial pints, or fortnights, so there really isn't much to discuss except the usual stereotyped jibes.


You said Celsius isn't good for anything.  Celsius is good for water.  

I take it you didn't mean to say Celsius there.


----------



## Wreth (Oct 8, 2009)

Metric system is logical and easy to use :3


----------



## Mayfurr (Oct 8, 2009)

Ishnuvalok said:


> Well yes, but it's an approximate. I've never seen a speed limit sign that doesn't end in a 5 or 0.



I remember seeing old roadside billboard adverts that went to rather unnecessary precision in converting their "1 mile ahead" tags to "1.609km ahead" - I mean, who really cares about that last 9 metres?!?


----------



## Fay V (Oct 8, 2009)

Talash said:


> Farenheit is the most bizzare way to measure temprature, as it has no modern relevant applicaton to 0f and 100f, whereas Celcius is at least mildly accurate as 0c being the freezing point and 100c the boiling point of water.



Actually i find it rather more useful. pretty much when the weather hits 100 it's a clear note of "zomg it's too hot to go outside" and while it will snow here at around 32, the groundwater, pipes and such won't really freeze until 0.


----------



## Mayfurr (Oct 8, 2009)

Imperial is a mismash compared to metric. I mean, even once you've sorted out the conversion factors between inches / feet / miles and so forth you have to ask _which_ system you're using - the US gallon is different to the Imperial UK gallon for starters! 

And you also have the ludicrous situation where a pound of feathers is technically heavier than a pound of gold - because gold is measured in troy ounces which are different to 'regular' ounces...

Why make life deliberately hard for yourselves?


----------



## Fay V (Oct 8, 2009)

I didn't know that about gold, it's never come up i guess. I know they come in ingots, and bars, I always just assumed when they say "X tons of gold" they mean like a regular pound.


----------



## ShÃ nwÃ ng (Oct 8, 2009)

Zoopedia said:


> Metric system is logical and easy to use :3



Hell they're both logical, it's just that the Imperial has a bunch of impractical conversions. Metric is pretty straight forward and simple.


----------



## Azure (Oct 8, 2009)

Jashwa said:


> You said Celsius isn't good for anything.  Celsius is good for water.
> 
> I take it you didn't mean to say Celsius there.


How the fuck is Celsius good for water?


----------



## Torrijos-sama (Oct 8, 2009)

Adelio Altomar said:


> So the poll is simple: do you Americans want to adopt the Metric system like the rest of the world has or do wanna keep your old system of measurement, the Imperial system?
> 
> Of course people from other countries can vote as well, though I think it's a given as to what the answer from them will be.


 
I already use it for most things... But I gotta use Imperial in AutoCADD, since all the architectural standards here are in Imperial Measurements. >:[


----------



## fwLogCGI (Oct 8, 2009)

AzurePhoenix said:


> How the fuck is Celsius good for water?


This:


			
				http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celsius said:
			
		

> 0 Â°C was defined as the freezing point of water and 100 Â°C was defined as the boiling point of water,


----------



## Azure (Oct 8, 2009)

fwLogCGI said:


> This:


Wow, great.  And yet, useless for everything else. 32 degrees is the freezing point for water, and 212 is the boiling point.  Wow, so bloody difficult. I think people who use metric don't like to use their noggin very much.


----------



## Torrijos-sama (Oct 8, 2009)

AzurePhoenix said:


> Wow, great. And yet, useless for everything else. 32 degrees is the freezing point for water, and 212 is the boiling point. Wow, so bloody difficult. I* think people who use metric don't like to use their noggin very much*.


 
Then it should be more popular here in America....

And that is exactly why I like it: Measurements use less math.


----------



## Mayfurr (Oct 8, 2009)

Fay V said:


> I didn't know that about gold, it's never come up i guess. I know they come in ingots, and bars, I always just assumed when they say "X tons of gold" they mean like a regular pound.



Fun fact: During the development of the atomic bomb in WW2, due to wartime shortages of copper the Manhattan Project had to ask the US Treasury for silver for building the electromagnetic coils used in the electromagnetic isotope separators used for the enriching of uranium...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y-12_National_Security_Complex


> Colonel James C. Marshall met with the Under Secretary of the Treasury, Daniel Bell, and requested between five and ten thousand tons of silver. Bellâ€™s stunned reply was _â€œColonel, in the Treasury we do not speak of tons of silver; our unit is the Troy ounce.â€ _Thus the Manhattan Engineer District requested and was loaned *395 million Troy ounces of silver (13,540 tons)* from the West Point Depository for the duration of the Manhattan Project._(emphasis added)_


----------



## joey2joey (Oct 8, 2009)

Oh god yes! I am sofa king sick of the Imperial System. It's archaic and if another reason why I am moving out of america (the main reason is we still elect our leaders based on superstition)




Shay Feral said:


> America isn't gonna convert to metric, because it's not needed... Don't fix what is not broken... Cos you usually break what isn't broken when you try to fix it...



Umm, the system is broken, just look at what happened to the challenger.


----------



## Gaius_Baltar (Oct 8, 2009)

10 millimeters=1 centimeter
10cm=1 decimeter
10dm=1 meter
1000 meters= 1 kilometer

1 liter = 10cm cube volume
1 kilogram = 1 litre of pure water at 15 degrees celcius
0 celcius= freezing point of pure water
100 celcius = boiling point of 'pure' water

It's pretty hard to get any more simple, or logical than that.

The entire metric system is rooted in the freezing/boiling temp of pure water.

Where as the Imperial system is based off multiple things.

When England still used shillings and stuff; money was based of 12's, not 10's.
12 pence= 1 shilling.
144 pence = 1 pound, in both currency and weight.
So 144 pennies = 1 pound in weight
an inch = the length of some king's thumb, and a foot the length of his foot, which was latter changed to 12 inches/foot, the only logical decision ever made in changing the imperial system... except maybe when that one queen had the length of a mile changed.


----------



## Aurali (Oct 8, 2009)

Gaius_Baltar said:


> 10 millimeters=1 centimeter
> 10cm=1 decimeter
> 10dm=1 meter
> 1000 meters= 1 kilometer
> ...



DUDE, I haven't seen you in forever, where you been?


----------



## Gaius_Baltar (Oct 8, 2009)

Aurali said:


> DUDE, I haven't seen you in forever, where you been?


I had surgery in the summer, and college's been devouring my time lately x3


----------



## M. LeRenard (Oct 9, 2009)

AzurePhoenix said:
			
		

> And yet, useless for everything else.


You can measure temperatures of things other than water in degrees Celsius, you know.
Here's a scale for you, if you're scared of it: 0 is freezing, 10 is chilly, 20 is room temperature, 30 is getting pretty warm, 40 is hot.  Boy, yeah, that makes no sense at all and is so difficult to understand.  I totally see your point.
Changing the system here would be a useless expenditure, though (all the road signs, speedometer designs in cars, bank thermometers, etc.).  It's not really necessary.


----------



## Kommodore (Oct 9, 2009)

All measurement systems are by their nature completely arbitrary in the first place. If you set the metric system to be on factors of 2.5 instead of 10 all of your calculations and numbers would still work just as fine. The number you pick to represent a unit of something is not important, it is whatever you find easier. It just so happens that making things work on a logarithmic scale is good for math and science because of conversions. (and even then, it only matters on calculations not handled by computers) For everyday use it really is not any better. If you are familiar with both, you will know exactly what I mean if I say about km or about a half a mile. 

As a _system for reference _the Imperial system is perfect for America as people are already familiar with it. It is already used exclusively for science and technology here so the accuracy of the system is not a problem. All it needs to do is act as a reference point for measuring units of "things."

I say "no" because there is no point in doing so. The metric system is just as arbitrary as the Imperial system, and so is not any "better," just easier to use for some people.


----------



## Icarus (Oct 9, 2009)

Imperial system is cocks. D:<
I like the metric system because I take science classes.  Really, there's no need to learn Imperial system >.>


----------



## Get-dancing (Oct 9, 2009)

Imperial stystem ftw!


----------



## Rakuen Growlithe (Oct 9, 2009)

We should really use Kelvin for temperature, since it's an absolute scale. A negative temperature really makes no sense, and kelvin applies in equations where Celsius doesn't.

An interesting thing I remembered is that although South Africa uses the metric system, computer monitors are measured in inches. TV screens are measured in centimetres though. I'm not sure if there are any other exceptions.


----------



## Randy-Darkshade (Oct 9, 2009)

Rakuen Growlithe said:


> We should really use Kelvin for temperature, since it's an absolute scale. A negative temperature really makes no sense, and kelvin applies in equations where Celsius doesn't.
> 
> An interesting thing I remembered is that although South Africa uses the metric system, computer monitors are measured in inches. TV screens are measured in centimetres though. I'm not sure if there are any other exceptions.



Now that you mention it, despite the UK supposedly being metric now, road sighns are still imperial, TV and monitor screens are still done in inches.


----------



## Tycho (Oct 9, 2009)

joey2joey said:


> Umm, the system is broken, just look at what happened to the challenger.



What the hell does a defect in an O-ring on a solid-fuel rocket booster have to do with metric, Imperial, or the price of tea in fuckin' China for that matter?

Also: no on Kelvin as a standard temperature measurement.  It's something you use for nuclear reactions and stars.  (Which are actually one and the same.)


----------



## Kommodore (Oct 9, 2009)

Kelvin is just a system of temperature based on molecular movement, with 0 being no molecular movement and 1 unit kelvin being the same size as 1 unit Celsius for simplicities sake. At the temperatures inside stars, there is no appreciable difference between Kelvins and Celsius, so I don't know what that was about. 

In any event it would also be pointless to switch over to kelvins.


----------

