The """""METRIC"""""" system?

Question

Why cant the people of America be like everyone else and change to the metric system, its soooo much easier to use, eg. cm,m,km

miles, feet, and fahrenheit are too hard to understand or is it just me??????????

Answer 1

The same reason they refer to football as soccer.

I'm starting a movement to refer to baseball as podkin, that'll show them. "Oh, look at those Americans playing their podkin."

I'm American, by the way.

Edit: I'm not speaking of American football, geezerbill, I'm speaking of what is called football in the rest of the world but Americans insist on calling soccer. I edited my answer to make it easier to understand that is what I meant.

Answer 2

For the same reason Americans can't ever seem to convert to a dollar coin, and the same reason we lost in VietNam and are letting Iraq go to hell: lack of resolve and commitment of necessary resources.

As a kid in the 1970s, I distinctly remember there being a plan to convert the USA to metric over time. I even vaguely remember seeing some road signs in kilometers....It just fizzled, though. I don't know why...I'll go see if I can find out.

Likewise, there are so many good reasons to go to a dollar coin. We've had the Eisenhower dollar coin, the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin, and the Sacajawea dollar coin...but every time they get issued, people just collect them instead of spending them. I just don't understand why the government doesn't issue massive amounts of the coins, and destroy dollar bills as they receive them....but again, it seems to be a lack of commitment.

That's just my opinion.

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Update: I found a pretty good history of the metric system in the USA at http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/usmetric.html It bears out what I said about the push to "metricize" the USA in the 1970s that flopped.

Answer 3

We do use the metric system in the school system.. It's only in every day life that we don't. I don't understand it either.

Those who went to college or beyond, studying some type of physics, or engineering have no problem understanding both.. Being educated in the engineering field, I consider myself bilingual I suppose. It is great for me when I travel to Europe and Canada. I think the metric system should be taught at more than just school classrooms, but on highways, and in gas stations, for everyone else's sake.

Answer 4

I live in the U.S., and I agree. Everything is so much more simpler to convert since everything is a factor of 10.

Unfortunately, old habits die hard. I think people fear it would take too much of a mental adjustment to think in one's head about distances in terms of kilometers instead of miles, or thinking how "hot" or "cold" a weather report in celcius means. Though we do buy soft drinks in 2 litre bottles, and code all of our maps and spedometers in both km and miles, so maybe all is not lost!

(Oh, and for the record, "Football" in america is derived from a older game called "Football-Rugby", the two games it's a combination of. But at some point the name was shortened.)

Answer 5

Almost the whole of world excepting USA have introduced Metric sysrem of measurement earlier.I think USA does not like to follow others and wants the others to follow its policies.So donot be surprised if it wants Iraq,Afghanistan

Answer 6

its just you. but have to know both sides metric or the other. it is much better you know it its additonal knowledge for specially if you are going to study engineering in college or bs in mathematics.

Answer 7

I am proud to be an american that HATES INCHES AND FEET AND YARDS AND MILES AND FURLONGS AND FORTNIGHTS AND RODS AND ACRES AND BARRELS AND GALONS AND HOGS HEADS o.0 so yeah you get my drift...

Answer 8

i think it has something to do with us being better than everyone else. Yeah...i think Bush said it