On May 22, 5:27 pm, Dave Smith > wrote:

> It doesn't really matter how often people use the measurements, they are
> part of the nonsensical system of measurement that so many people claim to
> be easier. Even the everyday measurement is nonsense.... 12 inches in a
> foot, 3 feet in a yard, 1760 yards in a mile etc. In metric, everything is
> based on 10s, so you don't have to convert metres to centimetres or
> kilometres. You just move a decimal point.
>

I agree that the U.S. should already have converted.
However, you are ignoring the historical context of
measurement in the Imperial system.

If a carpenter has a string that he's using as a measuring
device, and if the string is, e.g., 1 foot long, he need only
fold it in quarters, halves, thirds, sixths, or twelfths to get
a wide variety of even-inch measurements.

There *is* a reason for having a measuring system based
on factors of 3 and 4: it's extremely simple and flexible
for a nonliterate user with limited technology.

Still, I wish we'd just convert. So many things would be
much easier, and people would eventually adapt. Ah, well,
someday the U.S. won't be the largest economy in the
world, and we'll basically be forced to adopt the metric
system.

Cindy Hamilton