boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

That's why I use crescent wrenches when I have room

JohnFrim Loc: Somewhere in the Great White North.

I disagree with your statement that "Celsius is imprecise, lacks any human relatable quality". Precision can be any number of decimal places you like (note: the decimal counting system is VERY much like metric -- multiples/divisions of tens -- or do you count in octal???). As for relatability, how about the freezing and boiling of water as the fixed points on the scale? What is the rationale for 32 and 212 on the Fahrenheit scale?

When it comes to units of measure, some things have a tangible aspect while others are simply a numerical value that we remember and relate to.

For example, when someone tells you the length of an object in inches you can easily visualize that dimension. A piece of 2 x 4 that is 18" long or a 4 x 8 x 3/4" sheet of plywood are easy to imagine. Giving those exact dimensions in metric would be quite awkward to remember, let alone visualize, and it would take a shift of product shapes to make the metric system easier to use (e.g., don't sell a 1 lb tub of margarine and label it 453.6 g; sell 500 g as the new standard size).

But what about less tangible units? When you say a car gets 35 mpg do you really visualize the vehicle travelling between 2 points 35 miles apart on a specific volume of fuel? I doubt it. You know that 35 mpg is much better than 20 mpg. In metric you would say that 6.72 L/100km is better than 11.76 L/100km, and you soon learn that smaller is better, and you even get a feel for the scale when you start relating those numbers to specific vehicle styles such as compacts, sedans, SUVs, etc.

The same can be said about temperature. When it is 50 deg F outside you have a good sense of how to dress, but you would be clueless if told it is 10 Celcius. However, your "50" value is not really related to temperature but rather to the amount of clothing you should wear under those conditions. If you say someone has a fever of 102 F you have a sense of severity regarding health, but do you associate that temperature with it being a hot day in Texas? I doubt it. I was a budding scientist in my university days before Canada went metric, so I was quite familiar with Celcius regarding biological systems. I knew body temperature is 37 C, refrigerator temperature is 4 C, water freezes at 0 C, acetone and dry ice make a -78 C bath, and cells can be stored at -196 C (liquid nitrogen) for a very long time. But ask me what to wear when it is 14 C outside and I was clueless.

In many cases we are just using numbers on an ambiguous scale, but once you get a sense of that scale you can handle it with ease.

llamb Loc: Northeast Ohio

Let's look at this from a photographer's viewpoint. Our lenses are measured using metrics. Our printed efforts are in inches. It is just that way - no big thing.

~Lee

Keldon Loc: Yukon, B.C.

As each generation has proceeded through the educational system in Canada since metrification, the use and understanding of it has increased. I grew up with the old "Imperial" system but use Celcius exclusively for temperature and kilometers for speed and distance but inches and feet for my carpentry. My children understand and use the Metric system exclusively but know about the old system whereas my grandchildren have no idea at all what an inch or foot is. The Imperial system is dying out, and so it should, it's imprecise and awkward, not to mention idiotic and archaic.
One poster mentioned he thought metric temperature was imprecise. What could be more precise and logical than a range from zero, where water freezes, to 100, where water boils? And an infinite calibration in between for when it's neecessary.

James Slick Loc: Pittsburgh,PA

I believe at one time we also drove on the left, (or at least our cars had the steering wheel on the a right in the "brass era") I was told that the Model T Ford changed or at least popularized putting the wheel on the left. This maybe BS, half of everything we were told about Henry Ford an Thomas Edison is BS...It's a fact that most countries in the world drive on rhe right though.

bob44044 Loc: Ohio

Because the public likes and prefers the present system.

FrankR Loc: NYC

You're among a handful of countries, many your former colonies, so they can be forgiven, that still swim upstream when it comes to driving. Some of your motorcars as you call them, are idiosyncratic at best (I'm being kind) and the Lucas electrical system was a crime against humanity. How you ever produced Sterling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart, John Surtees and something as incredibly beautiful as the E Type is beyond me. Your food, except for Scotch eggs and trifle, is horrid. Your weather is worse and it was only in the latter part of the past century that your monetary system moved out of the dark ages. Remember two shillings thruppence ha'penny? Yet the rest of the world is made up of lesser countries. One must give a nod to the British for bravado. Mad dogs and Englishmen indeed. Aahh, but your beer is sublime; few others compare with Courage Directors. No one does pomp and ceremony better and your women are stunning, they're glorious, they're breathtaking. So let's call it a push shall we? The UK can continue along on the other side of the road, we won't convert to metric and you of course, can stay. We can always use a trombone player with a sense of humor. Oh and as for that DC house burning in 1812? If you hadn't, what would we have called it?

llamb Loc: Northeast Ohio

New mower I was looking at had the usual mixed systems. It didn't faze me a bit. I prefer to use the Imperial system, but not enough to fight.

HP/CC 159 cc
Fuel Tank Size 0.40 Gallon
Cycles 4-Cycle
Cylinders 1 Cylinder
Oil Filter No
Drive
System Self-Propelled
Speeds Variable
Drive Wheels Rear Wheels
Maximum Speed 4.5 Mph
Maximum Reverse Speed 0.0 Mph
Wheels
Front Tire Size 8 Inch
Rear Tire Size 8 Inch
Deck
Cutting Height 1.0-4.0 Inches
Overview
Weight 86.0 Lbs. (39.01 kilograms)
Dimensions 59.0L x 23.0W x 44.0H
(149.86 x 58.42 x 111.76 cm)
Consumer Warranty 2 Years

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

I think if kids were taught the metric system (together with the U.S. system) right from the beginning it would be much easier for them to understand as adults. I worked in laboratories all my career and only metrics are used in those settings. It is so much more simple and understandable than the U.S. system. Today, I can't relate to "gallons" but think in liters for volumes. Our money system is metric and no one has a problem with that. The only problem I see would be would be converting miles to kilometers.

rps Loc: Muskoka Ontario Canada

Very easy to convert kilometres to miles...just mentally multiply by 6 (point 6 actually.) I used to do it all the time but I've begun to think kilometres.
Or to be very rough, a kilometre is just a tad more than half a mile so 50 miles is roughly 90-95 kilometres.
Incidentally why do people keep mispronouncing it kil-LOM-eter?
It's KILO-meter, same as it's MIL-i-meter and CENT-i-meter. Nobody ever talks about a cent-TIM-eter.

Duckfart Loc: Olympia, Washington

Crescent wrenches? You mean 'variable metrics' don't you. That's what we called them when I was younger.

Tigger1 Loc: Surrey, BC Canada

As a citizen that was schooled in the Imperial system of measurement and then by government decree was forced to embrace the metric system I concur with your thoughts on the subject Jerry particularly if you are a "consumer".
If on the other hand, you are in the military, export trade such as the lumber industry, medical industry, scientific community etc., then the metric system is the system of choice both within the USA and outside the USA.

In terms of population, the USA is large enough and has a large enough internal market that it does not need to use the metric system in order to compete in the global mercantile markets. Countries like Canada by comparison are too small in population to support themselves within the home market and are forced to compete in the global mercantile market where metric is the system of choice.

You are also correct Jerry when you say that the change from Imperial to Metric would incur a huge cost. As to the issue of cost/benefits that may/could be derived from a country like yours switching from Imperial to Metric, IMO, I doubt anyone really knows as there are too many unknown factors.

As you said, "if it ain't broke don't fix it".
Garth

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

Yeah, but what I meant is that our entire country is laid out in miles and I don't see how that will ever get changed to kilometers.

Tigger1 Loc: Surrey, BC Canada

Not that hard to change the road signs to read kilometres instead of miles. The hard part is getting the populace to accept the change and you Americans have no desire or reason to change.

foodie65

DirtFarmer is not 100% correct.
In addition to the USA, Liberia and Myanmar use the "US" system.