On Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:44:56 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

> "pat" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Pennyaline wrote:
>>>James Silverton wrote:
>>>>Well, I won't hold onto my hat since theMetric systemhas been *legal*
>>>>here for about a century. I'd also forgotten what was a "Chopine" :-)
>>>
>>>It may be legal, young fella, but it isn't American!
>>
>> There are US laws that forbid metrication. US Federal law (the FPLA,
>> for example) forbids metric-only labels on most prepackaged things you
>> see in the supermarket.
>
> Probably because too many people would not know how to easily do the
> conversion or think in metric terms. Bacon has always been a pound and thus
> will remain so, or something like that. 500 grams or a half kilo would make
> their brain hurt.
>
> The two reasons I've always run into is a large percentage just don't want
> to change and are afraid, another big group thinks the US system is
> superior, just because it is the US system. We are in a world economy, like
> it or not, and if we used metric, it would be easier for our country to deal
> wit the rest of the world. The Hubble telescope would not have been screwed
> up.
>
> I've been using metric at work for 20 years now. It is easy and sensible,
> and the choice of most everyone there now that they've used it.

i'm not that old, but i think i would spend the rest of my life thinking,
'o.k., a half kilo is about a pound.'

but at least the dopers out there know it's 28 grams to the ounce.


your pal,
blake