brooklyn1 wrote:
> "Ed Pawlowski" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "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.
>>
> The key obstacle is with interpolation, it's impossible for anyone to
> interpolate acurately between different measuring systems. Once one has
> been exposed to a particular measurement system from birth all others will
> forever be foreign. You may use metric (we all do to a degree) but you use
> it the same way say native Spanish speaking folks learn English as a second
> language... metric will never become as second nature for you as English
> measurement. If your car's speedometer wasn't marked side by side in MPH
> and KPH there'd be no way you could come close to estimating your KPH, but
> I'd bet you could tell even before looking that you're doing 60MPH in a
> 55MPH zone.. your toe would be easing off the gas even before you saw the
> man in the big hat in your rear view mirror, and even though you realized he
> wasn't gunning for anyone 5 miles over you'd be holding your breath till he
> passed.


Thats complete nonsense. I have driven cars exclusively marked in metric
units and there is absolutely no issue after a really short period.

Don't tell me you can go outdoors right now without looking at a
> thermometer and guesstimate the temperature in Celsius, no friggin' way...


Really, don't bet me and a lot of folks I know on that.

> you'd be scratchin' your head screwin' up your eyes, and even though you can
> come within 5º F you'd need to go look for a conversion table. Quick, how
> many inches is a 27 mm wrench... I'm positive you'd have to look it up, or
> at least calculate millimeters in your head. I happen to know that one
> because I had to buy a 27 mm wrench for the bolt that holds on my big mower
> blades... it's nearly 1 1/16" but not quite. I've used all kinds of metric
> tools for more than 40 years but still need to double check... I can eyeball
> a 1/4"-20 Allen screw at 20 feet but I will always need to measure metric
> hardware. I can slice 1 pound of balogna +/- one slice just by heft in my
> hand, but the closest I can interpolate a Kilo of balogna is to figure near
> abouts the heft of a 36 C cup. LOL
>
>
>
Sounds like you are really challenged. Super quick without thinking you
know there are 2.2 lb in a kilo. Where exactly is the problem?