I for one am against this. I am 33 and the English standard has worked just fine for me so far. I used to work for a company that makes professional race car components and I had no problem using English standard everyday.

Why should we switch to conform to the rest of the world? We are doing just fine as it is.

I think any objection to learning the metric system implies a certain amount of "isolationism" and typical American arrogance. It's foolish to believe that globalism isn't in America's future. Mexico and Canada, our nearest neighbors, are both metric.

I grew up in the States (30 years) and just moved to Europe. I feel crippled by the ability to not be able to visualize a deciliter or intuitively feel how much a kilogram weighs. It's come to a point where I don't even attempt to cook from European recipes or I simply eyeball a cup measurement and refer to my American recipes.

Because of my education, I was only presented pounds, feet and Fahrenheit. I think along side this, the metric system should have been incorporated. Why the heck not!? Kids are maleable - they learn such things easily. If we start now, by trickling it into American society, then we stand a chance of global unity (wasn't it some space mission ruined because one of the engineers was on the wrong system - either Imperial or Metric?)

Metric is inevitable. Not only is it simpler, more understandable (assuming no previous knowledge of either system), and already defacto anywhere precision counts; it's also the only real standard. The US system is ironically termed "standard", but usually referred to as "english". The British system is "imperial", and doesn't match "english". So with the Americans using English, and the English using Imperial, we're already off to a flying start without even touching on numbers.

Ever see an englishman in an american bar, with a dejected look on his face? Any brit will happily tell you a pint is 20 fluid ounces. And the (american) bartender will tell him it's 16. Just to add to the confusion, the american and british fluid ounces differ (by a small amount). So the difference between the american 16 ounces and the british 20 ounces isn't 4 ounces. (3.2 US or 3.3 british ounces for the curious)

Nit-picky, but it scales. This difference makes a british gallon 4.54 litres, and a US one 3.78 litres. A 20% difference that can quickly cause issues.

And the solution to this confusion? Almost everyone else is already using it.

Well since we have been trying to use the metric system at least since the sixties, the problem is not having it taught in schools over the english system. It is a simple problem of refusing to change.

I am for the conversion to metic. I heard from a knowledgable source that much of the arrogance was associated with the huge cost it would have required to retool to metric the extensive industries that we had back when this came up as a global issue. At that time the USA was much more entrenched in the English system than any other country because of all the industrial infrustructure that we had. Our pride in our status as the greatest industrial superpower was wounded when the very power that fed this pride turned out to be based upon a flaw that was rejected by the rest of the world. The cost would have been enormous back then and in many cases even more so today. Perhaps a gradual change would be less painful.

I understand the logic behind the push for metrication (or metrification)--international standards and all that--but do we have to adopt it in toto? Why do we need to switch to the Celsius system of temperature measurement. I can understand the scientific community adopting it, but in the world in which we live--for most of the U.S., the temperatures between 0 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit--Fahrenheit is a much better and more precise system of measurement. Why? Because it allows for finer gradations than Celsius in the ordinary temperature range in which most of us live. The only time we ever have to be concerned about the boiling point of water in everyday life is when we are boiling water. And each 10-degree range in Fahrenheit has a distinct "personality" for those of us who live in the temperate zone. For example, 0-10 is frigid, 50-60 is mild, 90-100 is hot, etc. Furthermore, if one of the goals of the metric system is to divide and subdivide measurements into units of tenths, hundredths, thousandths, etc., Fahrenheit is already structured that way--we say that average normal human body temperature is 98.6, not 98-5/8. So bring on the liters and meters, but leave our degrees Fahrenheit alone.

Yeah, what he ^ said. I can understand that if it's 102 degrees Fahrenheit then I better stay indoors. If it's 37.7 degrees Celsius I'm thinking Oooh, better put a coat on.

As someone who has experience in both systems in designing the metric system is so obviously superior and simpler to use one must be a maniac to prefer the English system. But the feel for whatever system one grew up with is something not easily changed. The argument becomes similar to arguments about religion and not amenable to logic.

I think we have to chance also. I try to remember some of the Measuring System like this. #1. 1 Meter is about the height of a door knob.#2. For Temperature 82 is the same as 28 Celsius.#3. For Speed on the road, 100 k per Hour is the same as 62 miles per hour. when you drive your auto you can see where 62 miles per hour is and the Metric reading will be 100.

The "whereever possible" bit concerns me. Everywhere is possible. Catch up now. What's wrong with those bloody Americans. Metric is the only sane option. Deal with it. Anyone not smart enough to deal with the metric system needs to be shot. Of course when buying drugs or boasting your height for the basketball stats would have to be the obvious exception. Obviosly we can't expect drug dealers or professional athelites to make the switch. But surely the rest of the population is up to it? And whilst your at it 1 billion is one million million, not one thousand million.

Catch up dumb yanks.

P.S. Farenheight is for idiots.

I was raised using the English system and learned the metric system in high school in science classes. I couldn't understand why we Americans refused to go totally metric until I realized the incredible commercial cost associated with totally retooling. But changing over to metric might have prevented the disastrous NASA Mars mission back in 2001. NASA has been required to convert to metric but has not (see http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2001/010303-metric.htm). I am renovating my home this week and I am appalled at using the English system. I had an old German measuring rule and made more precise cuts than the workmen around me, supposedly experienced professionals. I don't know if this issue is related or not, but if you measure a 2x4 piece of lumber, the industry standard is 1 1/2" x 3 1/2", with a standard loss of 1/2 an inch on each piece. Not only is the lumber industry charging us for and not delivering on that 1/2 inch on each side but then it's all in English measurements! C'mon America, USA, grow up - go metric!

I attended high school (in the US) in the late 1960s, and we were educated in both "English" and metric systems, being taught to make conversions in science and math classes. It was thought at the time that the US would adopt the metric system within the next few years, so the unstated mandate, at least in the school systems I attended, was to educate us to use both. It's a simple matter for me to do the celcius(we called it "centigrade")/fahrenheit temperature conversions in my head; a liter is approximately a quart, just a tad bigger, four liters is approximately a US gallon, a cup is 243 milliliters, or 243cc, what's the big deal?The bigger argument, to me, is the European method of calculating fuel mileage- liters consumed per 100 kilometers, vs the US method, miles per gallon- if I have a car that gets 40 miles per gallon, I know I can drive no more than 40 miles if I have only a gallon of fuel in the tank (but then I also keep constant track of my fuel mileage, and the distance since my last fuel stop). Knowing my car uses 6 liters to go 100 kilometers wouldn't help me as much, I don't think.

...in all other respects, I have to recognize that the metric system is more logical and "simpler" to use. Converting to metric, however, will only take place when businesses and industries in the US recognize that the benefits outweigh the expense.

A matter of national benefit

I can fully understand americans not wanting to adopt the metric system, you see, every nation has some "ticks" doing things different than its neighbours.This is good and sane.But sometimes it becomes a burden, and I think the english units are becoming a burdening system.Not only the failure in the otherwise excellent mars mission, also calculating lumbers with canadian wood suppliers is becoming strange (Canada has passed its metrication in the 60ies and 70ies).

The pro-metric supports do however forget that units is something in everyone's life which can't be changed in 5 minutes. You seem to "feel" 1 liter when you grow up in Europe and you can imagine a gallon when you grew up in the US.It's part of everyday life.

I had the conversion from DM to Euro, and I had luck because 2 DM is approx 1 Euro. But for french or greek people it is very difficult.

The best way for the US would be to use both units in road signs. Why road signs? Because this is also everybodies' life in the United States. You become familier with kilometres and you can still see the mileage signs.

A big problem are the miles based exit numbers in some state - they would have to be renumbered again.

I like the US with the english units - but it would be better in my opinion to officially adopt the metric system - people will still continue to use fluid ounces, gallons and yards - and the children of today will use metric units tomorrow.

I was born in Finland; which among every other country in the whole world (except the USA) is officially metric. That is all I knew when I moved to the states in 96'. I knew that 0c was where water froze, I knew that 30c was a hot day. I didn't think in Fahrenheit because to me 100F sounded like I was going to be in a weather that was going to boil me alive.. (100c is the boiling point of water). For Americans it is easy to say that they do not want a change but if they gave it a chance, they would soon realize that it is much simpler and more logical and also the world standard. I refused to learn the Old Imperial System for a few reasons and one being that to me that is very un-American. Yes you heard me right, unlike saying that it is very un-American to learn the metric I say that it is un-American to use old British Imperial System. It is not a measuring system that Americans first came up with like many think, no its a system that was used officially in the United Kingdom before the 60s for centuries. It was their system which even they and their commonwealth nations themselves have now thrown away for the most part after the implementation of the Metric System in the 60s. Sure you can get by in the U.S. knowing just the Imperial System but your friends overseas will not know what the heck you are talking about when you say 2'11". The world does not undertand that. I support better education of the Metric System in the public schools and a complete change to the metric system, not only a partial one.. that will confuse the heck out of everyone if it's half and half. So that we can join the International Community in using a common Measuring System.

Any system based on units of 10 is intuitively simpler for us balding apes (as I type with my 10 digits). I wish the US would dump the English system. Even when working on “American made” vehicles one has to have both sets of wrenches. Who am I kidding? If the US changed today I would have to keep the English wrenches and sockets to fix all of the old things.

Why does the US call their unique and illogical system of units "English"?
It is different from the "very slowly being phased out" System used in England, which is called "British" or "Imperial".

The British and US Gallons are very different.
The British and US Tons are very different.
The British and US units of length (inch, foot, mile etc.) are a fraction of a percent different.
The British weigh people in Stones, the US in pounds.

If the US wants to continue using their system that's their problem, but if they want to export goods that has to be and already is in metric, as used in the rest of the civilised world.

P.S. The US should also abandon its strange way of quoting times and dates.
A day runs from 00:00 to 23:59.
A year runs from 1/1/20xx to 31/12/20xx
A.M. and P.M. are totally confusing.

NO NO AND NO. To all my US neighbours. DON'T DO IT. Back in the 80's our government in Canada spend millions and millions on this useless switch. 60 mph or 10 KPH on the highway?? In terms of physics it's the same speed. We still use pounds, inches, feet, gallons, MPG, etc, but it depens where. Example: speeds are in KPH, but banana's are sold in pounds. So we're using both 50/50. What for? But the most trouble is , how the heck are you going to start changing all the infrastructure that is imperial? In Canada construction, plumbing, tools are manufactured and sold in SAE. I still haven't seen metric screws at The Home Depot. Contractors still measure and talk in inches/feet.

Don't waste your money on this useless crap. I grew up in the 80's and I still have no idea how many Kilograms I weigh. If someone would tell me they weigh 70KG, to me it's meaningless. I would take my conversion table.

alyr315, Who are you telling not to do it? Every country other than the United States, Liberia and Burma have officially switched to the use of metric system in most areas of everyday life. I can answear your every arguement:

First of all the Canadian government brought your country in line with the rest of the world in using a system that is more logical. You must be part of the old generation that grew up knowing only the imperial system and now are rebelling to even look at the superious metric system because you feel too proud to do so for what ever reason.

What did you mean with "60 MPH or 10KPH on the highway" That sentence was like it came out of a retards mouth. If the speed limit was 60mph before, of course they will not increase or lower the speed in the process of converting the speed limit to metric numbers, they will keep the speed about the same.

The reason Canada is using both systems is because you didn't know how to finish up the metric conversion like most other countries like my own: Finland. Hundred some years ago Finland went metric and it went metric in all areas unlike Canada which didn't go all the way. Finland did, Australia did it, and quite frankly just about every other country did it too, so it's not impossible at all.

If to you 70kg is meaningless then it is your problem, but for the rest of the world they know exactly what it is. Maybe you should look at the metric system for a change instead of trying to fight it. anything based on units of 10 is simpler than something that is divided into fractions of 8 or 16. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to prove that fact. Canada is now officially metric and that was the best things you guys could have done for yourself. The switch over might have cost you but the government has made back all the cost and then some because of it. It helps international trade, it helps tourists who come to Canada, it simpliefies life, so get a grip and accept the fact that metric is there to stay and once the big ignorant USA switches over Canada might be able to finish its conversion.

America developed the nuclear bomb, using the Imperial system. It developed computers (with Imperial), made vast strides - architecturally, with Imperial. England made some of the most breathtaking engineering advances with Imperial. - Listening to the Pro-Metric pundits' pontifications on the desirability of changing, one would imagine that America will disintegrate without metric. History suggests otherwise. It's the USA, saddled with this "old fashioned" system that has led the world's technological advances. Has anyone even bothered to consider that a developing child's mind might well be improved by the Imperial system? - "Ridiculous" I hear some people say but the metric system's advocates have their plan so inculcated into their narrow minds that it is probably inconceivable that anything other than metric is the way to go. I'm Australian - we had metric foisted on us. Nothing improved - nothing at all. - If anything, things got a bit worse as kids' minds inevitably went that little bit softer than they were before. The USA is doing FINE with Imperial. If you have a football team that's winning its matches every single time, it makes complete sense to change all the players - doesn't it? That's what the metric Gestapo would have you believe. Leave well alone!Ian Rivlin,Australia

Inertia.

Americans don't use metric because they havent used metric. The cost to convert drops every year, as more and more things are based on computers (CAD drawings don't have to be english/imperial). The trouble is Grandma's pie recipe, or whatever clever mnemonics taught the foot/pound system.

P.s. I don't like that weight measurements (pounds) vary with gravity. So I'd be this many pounds on the Moon or on Mars. I don't care how much I weigh on other planets, I care what my mass is.

If we ever do colonize space, space colonies will use metric for mass/weight measurements, because recipes based on weights will no longer work corectly. Mass only.

A pound IS a measure of mass. A pound FORCE is the weight that one experiences due to gravity. - So aliens or humans who have migrated to Mars or wherever will still be able to use pounds or kilos. The force that either one pound or one kilo exerts on a different is due to gravity or acceleration.Ian

Hey Ian Rivlin, all the 7 wonders of the anchient world were constructed using something other than imperial, so what is your point? That still does not prove imperial is better, it only proves that those things can be constucted and developed using the imperial system. Sure, no one ever said they couldn't be. United States Science and Technology is just about 100% metric nowdays along with the medical field so all the technological advances of the United States you so heavily defend have been influenced by the superior metric system one way or another.

All I'm willing to add to this is that there are some things which are easier to count in systems other than decimal. We order donuts by the dozen, not 1.2 dekadonuts. And though time isn't fully metric, imagine how we would react to the passing of the day, month, or even year rendered in decimal form. (I think Swatch is trying this with some sort of thousand unit system.)

Also, some units are easier to comprehend than others. While the liter is close to a quart, the kilometer isn't very comparable to a mile. Try discussing engine power in watts rather than horsepower.

Finally, differing scales of dimension might still be useful in some cases. When your temperature is "over a hundred" (degrees Fahrenheit), you're sick. This corresponds to just under 38°C, one degree Celsius over normal. People like nice, round . . . numbers.

I feel that both systems are useful in their own ways, and that we should simply favor metric over English/Imperial/whatever-it-is for the sake of trade. Doing away with one system entirely would break everything.

I still don't understand why temperatures have to be decimalized. Inches and centimeters are different units of measurement. Liters and gallons are different units of measurement. But Fahrenheit degrees and Celsius degrees are identical units of measurement; they're different sizes, but they are both measured in degrees. In the everyday winter-spring-summer-fall world in which most of us live, Fahrenheit is a far more finely grained and precise system of measurement than Celsius. And purists who want everything to be divisible by 10 or 100 should note that it is already a decimal system--we say "98.6 degrees F," we don't say "98-5/8 degrees F." Switching our measurement of temperature to Celsius makes no sense.

Well I order donuts by the dozen too when I lived in a metric country, why would there be a need to use decimals at all? Dozen is a specific quantity, it is not a weight amount or a measurement in that sense.

metric temperature scale is "tuned" finely enough so you cannnot tell the diffence if it is 10c or 11c outside, just like you can't tell the diffence so well if it is 50f or 52f outside. People are quite happy using the celsius scale because it is not only practical but it sounds logical. Only in crazyland does snow fall when it is PLUS or 32 ABOVE zero. The rest of the wold, snow flies when they see 0c or below.

At the end of the day, the USA has a system that works, is understood by all all (except immigrants from countries which are exclusively metric)and is a system that has done us proud - forever. If you have a football team that's winning matches every single week, you'd want to change all the players for some unknown ones, wouldn't you? - No? - Well in that case leave Imperial alone in the US - we're the best country in the world - let others change to our system.Ian Rivlin

There's ALWAYS someone who wants to change a working system - "because it's there" - like a mountain to be climbed. - (Generally these advocates of change for change's sake are Liberals. (Definition of a Liberal - someone who can't even take his own side when he's having an argument). English is fine as it is. For people who don't like it, I have a message for them: - F off and leave our traditions alone. English is the most expressive language on earth. Even hobbled with all these so-called hurdles, it's become totally dominant - Why hasn't that wonderful load of &^%$ Esperanto, that was so simple and regular, become our international language? - Answer is that English is the best language on earth. It's fine, it's ours, it works and we don't need twits with too much time on their hands to tell us the spelling needs changing.

Good day sir!

Just because metric has traditionally been used in U.S.A. cannot be used in this arguement, it still doesn't prove Imperial is better.

irivlin, you are now bringing another issue to this discussion which is the english language. I don't really want to talk about that, but you do know that the U.S. has no official language so basically people can talk any language they want in the U.S. and even make it official in states and some states have done so like New Mexico and Hawaii where Spanish and Hawaiian language serve an equal role in the state. Every year the number of people who undestand and know english decreases and Spanish is gaining a major foothold in the U.S. and it is probably going to increase and I see that someday U.S. is becoming bilingual like Canada, it's already happening.

well since I can't delete my post, I might as well correct it by another comment. I meant to put that:

Just because imperial has traditionally been used in U.S.A. cannot be used in this arguement, it still doesn't prove Imperial is better. It's like saying, why do we have to use cars, horses had been working so good for the past two hundred years of our history.

The post about the proposed change in spelling to a phonetic based system, should have been in a different section. I don't know why my response ended up in the Metric/Imperial debate.

To set the record straight, ALL scientists (even Americans) use the metric system. Most of America's technological achievements are directly linked to the metric system. I expect that this is especially true with nuclear physics and micro-processor design. The USA's nuclear physics program was largely developed by immigrant scientists who wouldn't have been using the English/Imperial system at all. Furthermore, both nuclear physics and micro-processor design deal with objects for which there is no English/Imperial measurement of the right scale (micro-meters and nano-meters).

A full transfer to metric would not undermine our scientific achievements--it would increase them. It is not analogous to "changing everything" about a winning team--it is analogous to eliminating the one player who is obviously a weak link. I've taught science courses and I know from first-hand experience that America's lack of familiarity with metric places a significant burden on our scientific education programs.

Finally, for what it's worth, I've lived in the USA my entire life and I can't tell you how many feet are in a mile...it's some arbitrary number. Even if I knew the number, I wouldn't be able to do the conversion in my head (because the number is arbitrary), so it's pretty useless.

Engineers seem to go back and forth between metric and

A while ago I was reading an article in Popular Science they said that there were only 2 people in the US out of a population of 300,000,000 whose job it was to promote metric. When asked how tall they were in metres, only one of them knew the answer!

This does not bode well.

As a Canadian who was around before the switch I have to admit that I still prefer Fahrenheit over Celcius. Other than that, Metric is a great system.

Americans have our own measurement system. It's ingrained in our culture, in our history, and in our books. We're stuck with it, so just accept it. We should be taught the metric system only so that we can make conversions between our system and the metric system when the situation calls for it. For most Americans, the closest we come to daily use of the metric system is when we buy a 2-liter bottle of soda, or when we try to do a little maintenance on our imported cars. I wear size 12 boots, like to play golf when it's 72 degrees fahrenheit, and drink my glasses of water 8 ounces at a time. If foreigners come to my country, they can just get used to our system, just like I have to put up with the metric system when I travel to Europe.

Once again, I guess no one reads what I write here. It is not an American System. The English Imperial system is un-American, old British BS system. All these things you tell me still don't prove anything, how is Imperial better? You didn't really address that at all. I personally refuse to learn a measuring system that is unlogical and inferior to the one I was brought up with no matter if I stayed the rest of my life in the U.S.

"If foreigners come to my country, they can just get used to our system"

This sentiment is reasonable if you want America to be some rinky-dink backwards country in some far-off corner of the globe. However, many Americans (myself included) appreciate the fact that America is the center of the global economy, an academic mecca, and an example of for how diverse individuals of varied backgrounds can live together peacefully and productively. The metric system is a perfect match for America.

I convert back and forth without difficulty. This just isn't important to me.

Tires are measured in metric, wheels in inches. Some habits are hard to break. Why not just make the yard a meter long? About the only advantage of the 12 inch foot is that it is evenly divided by 2,3,4,6, and 12, as is the yard. Making the yard a meter long conveys that advantage to metrics. Big deal!

Even Thomas Jefferson encouraged the adoption of the metric system.

I'm 6ft tall - NOT 1.825 meters. I like the weather to be 72-74 Fahrenheit - NOT 23 or whatever centimeters. I have a 34" waist - not 90 something centimeters. It's all BS about NEEDING to change. The US is doing fine as it is. One of the previous posts was so brilliantly succinct. - When we go abroad, we have to put up with their metric system. Let's not see the entire world be boringly similar. America is what most countries in the world would want to be, if they could. I suspect a starving African would be quite happy to change to Imperial measurements, if it meant he could live like the average US citizen. America got to be the greatest powerhouse on earth WITH the English language, WITH Imperial measurement and with all it's funny little quirks that obviously work well. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's something Metric proponents seem oblivious to.

Well why horses worked fine in the 1800s, I got from A to B, why change something if it isn't broke? Oh well I got my my field plowed with manpower, why need tractors, why change something if it isn't broke? Why I was able to read my book under candle light, why do I need electric light bulbs in my house. I like my oven, why do I need a microwave. I mean come on man, times change and we move on to bigger and better things all the time and moving to the world standard of measument is moving up to bigger and better things because it's better, you can't argue with that. You can get by with the imperial system but that still doesn't prove imperial is better, time after time you are not proving anything, you are just making yourself look like a fool with your pointless comments. Like I had said earlier months ago, I was born in Finland but I have lived in the U.S. for 11 years now and have refused to learn the Imperial system because it's not logical like the metric system and I only learned enough of the imperial to get by.

A lot of stuff is metric already in the United States. I am now in the United States Military and the United States Military is mostly metric by the way mister know it all American who thinks everything is imperial in the U.S. For example: targets, elevation and distances are in meters and kilometers and not feet and miles and that I already found out in Basic Training because they wouldn't even give orders in imperial measurements. I use a 5.56mm caliber M16A2 Assault Rifle when I go out to the qualification range semi annually that has a maxium effective range of 550m. We could not work with our allies if we used imperial units, it just don't work that way.

I was wondering when someone - frustrated with not winning the argument - would resort to insults to attempt to assert their opinion. If the only way you can drive your thoughts home is to accuse another of being "a fool", you must be either from the extreme right or the extreme left of the political spectrum. Since pragmatic right wingers don't embrace change for changes sake, I must assume that you are one of those ultra-left Democrats who believes their opinion is the only one worth considering. I wouldn't lower myself to your levels by responding with another insult. Learn to live with a multitude of opinions, other than your own. It opens up whole new vistas. I have carefully considered the metric -v- Imperial systems. I have a degree in engineering (plus other degrees also but we don't need to go into that). I'm qualified to offer an opinion. I respect others's opinions - and I never have accused others of foolishness, just because they don't agree with me.For shame.

I am sorry you took offense but I didn't resort to calling your comments foolish because I am loosing the arguement, if you haven't seen or read the other comments here by other people then you probably haven't noticed that you are actually one of the few people here who actually defends the British Imperial System. The statistics speak for themselves: Responses: 32 (27 in support, 1 neutral, 4 in opposition).

If the U.S.A. had a government with leadership skills and vision, we would be metric already and no one would be whining about this already. There is absolutely no excuse why America has not become metric, other than arrogance, ignorance and laziness. This seems to be what A.I.L.s America on many levels. Americans have short attention spans. If we were to go metric today, the imperial system would be in the trash bin of history along with 8 track tapes and the pet rock. There would be no looking back. People, the imperial system, or whatever you want to call it, is a tool, not a sentimental journey or an identity. The metric system is simply a better tool.We've had over 200 years to go metric. This is beyond silly for it to take sooooo long!

No Metric!<p>I am opposed to changing something cultural for little practical return. In these time of computers and cheap, handheld calculators in every device, conversion of units is a trivial issue. It may have made sense in the '60s when these calculations had to be done manually.</p><p>There is an intrinsic value to something unique and different. There have already been so many attacks on individuality. Why create another one?<p>

America and England (hobbled by the unimaginably antiquated Imperial system) have managed to bring to fruition some of the world's greatest technical discoveries. Has anyone even stopped to consider that a child's mind could be subtly altered by different mathematical teaching methods? Could it be that being brought up in an Imperial orientated environment can bring about different brain development than being taught in a metric environment? - Do I hear you say "not possible"? If so, consider the huge effects of language on brain development. Generally, industry and the science community will always try and bring in new ideas to inhibit intellectual degeneracy. Ensuring that everyone on earth has to think in a uniform way could hardly be an asset for scientific innovation. I advocate maintaining the Imperial System, not for the tradition but for the simple reason that it works, that it may well permit people to view matters in a different perspective and mainly for the reason that it has been proven to NOT in any shape or form inhibit scientific discovery. We shouldn't be so focused on uniformity - that could be the greatest detriment the world faces.

I am a machinist. I have to convert fractions to decimals and standard to metric. Having an international standard based on 100units would be much simpler. This would help greatly in international trade and it would also avoid embarassments like, oh I don't know... maybe an international Mars probe.

American, you guys are hopeless, and will never catch up to the rest of the world, so go ahead and live with your fahrenheit, yards, inches, gallon....... :)

It's too late now, there's just no going back

Recently, WalMart has pushed for compact fluorescent lights. They devote a lot of shelf space to these lights, and are promoting them for energy savings. WalMart carries a lot of weight in retail and manufacturing, and has had great influence in the adoption of RFID tags on merchandise, etc. They may be the "evil empire" of retailing, but they are also the biggest single entity in world retailing.

If WalMart were to begin a phase-out of U.S. measurement-based products, they may be able to push for general adoption of metric standards for all consumer products in this country. They could easily argue that it is a cost-savings measure, since it would obviate the need for separate production streams for U.S. stores vs stores in other countries.

I'm an engineer and I agree that the metric system is easy/more logical etc. tc. Why not go metric? It's not that hard to know both systems (a kilogram is about 2.2 pounds, an inch is 2.54 centimeters, oooh hard), especially since the metric system is so easy, the conversions aren't that hard. I agree that the only hard part is people getting used to it, especially for cooking, etc. It can be done, it'll just take a while.

The USA is already metric. Its industries are already retooled - so much so that the only unnecessary extra cost incurred these days is the high cost involved in continuing to maintain backwards-compatibity with Engish/imperial for the sake of the masses. America is paying $$$ for the priveledge of Joe-American-On-The-Street not knowing his units, but Joe on the street is the only American who doesn't know it - any American actually working in any meaningful field works with metric already. Even the English units are a subset of metric now - the official length of the inch is defined in metric units.

The conversion has already happened. Any American who can't be bothered understanding the units that their country now runs on is just retarding themselves and their country.

As an engineering student in the 80's I was taught predominantely in metric, only to become employed and discover that my college had done a huge disservice to me, as all equations, measurement, etc used in the 'real world' were in the 'American' system.

But as most engineers, I'm conversant in both.

What strikes me a detriment to metric is that all of the units require multiple syllables to pronounce. inch. one syllable. centimeter. four syllables. pound. one syllable. kilogram. three syllables. mile-again, one vs. kilometer--four.

Is there a work-around for this? If I say 'cm' that is, 'cee-em,' people look at me funny. Does everybody else just pronounce the whole words?

It's also annoying that we've confused mass and force with pounds vs. kilograms--not Newtons.

The fact is, America is constantly converting but it may never actually 'get there.' A large problem comes from the inertia of manufacturing--for instance I can't purchase a gear cut in the States with a metric pitch--they only sell in tpi--teeth per inch. I could get that gear overseas, but I don't want to. As for fasteners, they're all imported anyway and many companies use only metric screws and bolts.

Being a Finn, I'm probably not qualified to have an opinion on what americans should or should not do, but a couple of thoughts:A few years back the EU gor a unified currency, the Euro. Most member countries switched from their old currency to the Euro using predetermined exchange rates. I can tell you that trying to adapt to a new price on everything is a much bigger deal than switching measurement units. The exchange rate for us Finns was 1 EUR = 5.94573 FIM. So overnight everything cost a sixth (but not precisely) of what it had cost. Some people are still today (6 years later) convertng back to FIM to get a feel of wether a price is cheap or expensive... but it has been worthwile to conform, since it makes global interaction so much more convenient.The metric system is brilliantly simple and logical so just go ahead and switch. You'll get the hang of it in a few years if it's forced upon you everywhere...

I agree completelyThe english system is far more complicated and many americans see this but the majority is too used to that system to try and changebut looking at the logic side of things metric is way more comfortable - 1oo cm make one m 1000m make a km simple as that.Way easier to use simple numbers to messure things

yes yes, yes, and YES! metric is the way of the universe!

I wonder if most of you know that all American Cars started converting to metric units in 1978. All bolts and fasteners on American cars are metric today. All the designs of all parts are done in metric dimensions. The only reason vehicle power is still quoted in English horsepower is because that's what you people are familiar with. Same for miles per gallon.

If we had a Congress with guts we'd be all metric, and English would be our national language, just as Spanish is the official language of Mexico. It would be an efficiency, but as our Congressmen pander to every new possible vote, we drift around and Americans will soon have to generate all documents in both English and Spanish.

Everytime I go to an auto supply store I ask them why they are still selling English fasteners. The best answer I get is that there are a lot of people still working on very old cars.

I am English and over here we no longer use what you call the English system. In England metric has all but displaced the old, what we call imperial, system. I think that the USA is storing up major problems for itself for the future by not embracing metrication. The USA is the only country in the world that has not converted to metric. Even tomorrows Giant economy China use metric. Save the USA from the loss of trade and from the tag of international luddites. Before we went decimal our money system was as crazy as your "English" system. 1 GBP consisted of 20 shillings which in turn consisted of 12 pennies which was 2 ha'pennies or 4 farthings. There were 240 pennies or 560 farthings to the 1 GBP. And whilst we were working all that nonsense out the USA had 1 Dollar consisting of 100 cents. Sensible!! Now get to grips with metric. It really is sensible too! Weight, volume and distance all tied to the properties of good old H2O.

No way! I can read and understand the metric system, but i dont want to have to in my own home country. And i couldnt care less if every other country is using it. When i go there, ill expect to see it. But if you come here, then your gonna use the English way or go tour some other place. I dont have to change, i dont have to use, and the system isnt broken when everyone here can easily tell how fast their going, and what the temp is outside. Its our country, our ways, our system!!!

And THAT is the point, isn't it? - "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Why do people insist on uniformity so staunchly? - Uniformity is what makes things boring. Variety is the spice of life and having the two systems has worked for hundreds of years. This new age, politically correct everything-has-to-be-the-same lunacy must stop or well all disappear up our own you know what....

Once again, a lot of things can be done in many ways. We can hand write our letters, or we can upgrade and use a type writer, or as times change we can write our letters electronically in an email using a computer and either way the letter gets done. Out of all these three choices, none of them are broken, all of them get to the end result but the question is, which is the most efficient way that produces the cleanest and finest results. Writing with an ink pen as they did back in the day made it hard to correct mistakes, same with the type writer, but with a computer you can just press the backspace and try again. Clearly times change, old goes out the door and and new comes in. British Imperial system is the old, Metric is the new, more fine tuned and logical system of units. Do you want to stick with the 1950s Ford, I mean it got the job done, or do you want to upgrade to a new 2009 luxury vehicle if you had the chance? Hmm... I think most people would would upgrade and accept natural progression of the human accomplishments here on earth. If you don't want to, then it's up to you, but change is going to happen, like it or not, it always has and always will. Metric system is the way to go, and eventually it will be standard in the United States.

I agree, the US is behind even China in some ways... Really, metric is so much better.

But Europe has its own flaws, like the phonejacks, electricity jacks. It should be a piece of cake to have the same standard, but no one has done anything.

In China where i live now, they have implemented all European and us style in one. That is a freaky solution but not good.

So, i suggest Europlug from Germany for all countries in Europe. Also the german plug. Period.

For the next 20 years i suggest that the other countries buys adapters so the old stuff still can be used. New houses should be equipped with the new standard.

I hate traveling in Europe. I go to france and can not shave! That is a joke.

If i sold phones in Europe i had to have plenty of different plugs in stock, so inconvinient.

US= get metric will u!EU= Show the world we are not morons and when united it should have one standard!

This is such a simple matter... the world is using a 10 base scale while we use some kind of clusterfack of 12,16,1.2,3.2. Anyone who has done physics can respect the meter. I'm a pre-dental student and I convert between metric and US daily. It's STUPID and is one good reason for other countries to not respect US intelligence that i can agree with. my foot isn't 12 inches anyways, it's 0.3429 meters.

There are no real reason to keep the English measurement, at all. It is a impractical mishmash of measurements and it's plain insanity

please look at http://www.metric4us.com/why.html and READ the page, if you still claim English is better, then um.. i don't know what, i'll feel sorry for you? No, i don't think i will.

Fine, fine, fine. But again, as I posted on July 1, 2005 and on October 13, 2006, metrification of temperature makes absolutely, positively in sense, and pushing it on us only undermines the rest of the far more legitimate aspects of the changeover. For many of us temperature is the first and most important measurement that concerns us each and every day--how hot/cold is it outside (so I'll know how to dress), how high should the temp setting be on my toaster oven, etc. But Fahrenheit degrees and Celsius degrees are identical units of measurement; they're just different sizes. Are you looking for precision and think you're going to find it in Celsius, just because it is (mistakenly, in my opinion) considered one of the essentials of the metric system? Guess again. In the everyday winter-spring-summer-fall world in which most of us live, Fahrenheit is a far more finely grained and precise system of measurement than Celsius is. And purists who want everything to be divisible by 10 or 100 should note that Fahrenheit is already a decimal system--we say "98.6 degrees F," we don't say "98-5/8 degrees F."

Give us the Celsius nonsense, and you've got a metrification convert here.

Whoops! I meant to say . . .

(1) metrification of temperature makes absolutely, positively no sense, and

(2) Give up the Celsius nonsense . . .

Blame my dodgy, non-metric keyboard!

The system might not be broken in a sense that you couldn't get by with it but it is an old system and there is a better way of measuring things and the whole world has realized that. I don't know about you but I like doing things easier and move on with the times, that's why I don't use an old 486 computer with windows 3.1 anymore because I wanted to move on with the times and do things faster and more efficiently. You don't have to change, but the world will change around you. Old goes out, new comes in.

Pardon the repetition but just go over a few things the USA did - saddled with the Imperial system: 1) Skyscrapers. 2) Hoover DAM. 3) Panama canal. 4) Aircraft industry (the world's best and most advanced) 5) Computers. 6) Microprocessors. 7) The nuclear bomb. 8) Rockets to the the moon. 9) The space station. 10) The astonishingly complex railway system. These are just a few of the thousands of achievements that Americans have succeeded in bringing to the world. How on earth was this done with such an antiquated measuring system???? Listening to these people bleat on about metrication, you'd think that the USA had done absolutely NOTHING technologically and needed a scapegoat for its miserable failure. This isn't the case, though, is it? The US has led the whole damn world in innovation. For crying out loud, haven't you twits bothered to consider whether it was the very presence of the Imperial system that might have somehow contributed to all this amazing success? We've done brilliantly with the Imperial system - don't change things just because you think it's a good idea to change.

Do you know - it's been absolutely ages since comments were posted on this forum. Then we get an ultra left wing president and administration - then there's been a deluge of metrication supporters coming out of the woodwork. What on earth is the matter with Liberals? Can't they leave (good) things alone for five minutes? Is it the sickness of the left winger that whenever anything is working well they adopt the attitude "Let's change it". You don't ever need to ask. Anyone and everyone who is a proponent of metrication is a socialist - period.

Everything you can do with the metric system you can also do with the imperial system, no one is arguing against that, but no matter how many things you list that were accomplished using the imperial system it does not prove that it is better. There is no question about the fact that the metric system is more logical and simple to use, there is no arguement there at all, it's just as simple as that and changing to the metric system is more than just a good idea. I want you to just prove to me for example how diving an inch to 8, 16, or 32 fractions is better than dividing a centimeter to 10 millimeters, how it is? How is it? Okay well that's exactly my point, it is not, it just isn't better, plain and simple like a clear blue sky.

I totally agree with this, if the rest of the world uses the metric system, why don't we? It just makes things more confusing.

Currencies are not objective measurement systems--they can be manipulated in ways that physical measurements cannot. Currencies rely on authority and confer power on whoever controls it, so they are an important part of sovereignty.

With that being said, there are several nations that peg their currency to the US dollar (a few even use US dollars directly), and when most of the world used the gold standard, everyone did in fact use the same currency.