Why is the US only country in the world with non-metric system of measurement?

Question

(Except Liberia and Burma). Measurements in the metric system are derived from scientific principles. Even the English are metric who actually invented the imperial measurements based on natural measures in a simple agricultural society. It makes no sense to retain the old system - advantages of metric are simplicity, ease of calculation and international standards. Is there any plan to bring US measurements into the modern world?

Answer 1

It is happening although very slowly..The problem was back in the late 1960's or so the US got pressure to change to the Metric System..Well the politicians gave into the "European Demand" that we change...BIG MISTAKE!! The citizens here TOTALLY REJECTED METRIX! They resented the Europeans for trying to dictate policy in their own country..Thus the Metric System met an early demise..People simply would not use it! So slowly it is being reintroduced, instead of being flung at people...It would be like us telling the Brits they couldn't have their pounds anymore and HAD TO CHANGE TO EURO'S!

Answer 2

Non Metric Countries

Answer 3

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Why is the US only country in the world with non-metric system of measurement?
(Except Liberia and Burma). Measurements in the metric system are derived from scientific principles. Even the English are metric who actually invented the imperial measurements based on natural measures in a simple agricultural society. It makes no sense to retain the old system - advantages...

Answer 4

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In science everything is done using the metric system. Outside of science there are two forms of metric measurements, soft metric and hard metric. In the soft metric system, all of the non-metric units are merely relabeled using metric units that are equivalent to the non-metric units. Thus, a gallon of milk would just be relabeled as a certain number of liters of milk. Hard metric systems means that the milk bottles themselves would be remade into 4 liter bottles. Soft metric is relatively cheap, but hard metric is much more expensive. The debate over metric conversion continues. Although metric units have become more familiar and more widely used, the United States remains a "soft metric" country. (The phrase "soft metric" refers to designations like "1 pint (473 mL)" in which metric equivalents are simply tagged onto traditional measurements.) Proponents of the metric system in the U.S. often claim that "the United States, Liberia, and Burma (or Myanmar) are the only countries that have not adopted the metric system." This statement is not correct with respect to the U.S., and probably it isn't correct with respect to Liberia and Burma, either. The U.S. adopted the metric system in 1866. What the U.S. has failed to do is to restrict or prohibit the use of traditional units in areas touching the ordinary citizen: construction, real estate transactions, retail trade, and education. The U.S. has not made the crucial transition from "soft metric" to "hard metric", so that "1 pint (473 mL)" becomes "500 mL (1.057 pint)", with the traditional equivalent fading into smaller type sizes and finally disappearing.

Answer 5

In the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, the United States government designated the metric system of measurement as "the preferred system of weights and measures for U.S. trade and commerce". The legislation states that the Federal Government has a responsibility to assist industry, especially small business, as it voluntarily converts to the metric system of measurement. This process of legislation and conversion is known as metrication, and in the U.S. is most evident in labeling requirements on food products, where SI units are almost always presented alongside customary units.

However, metrication in the United States has been less forcefully imposed than in other countries, and has encountered more resistance from industrial and consumer market forces, so customary units are still widely used on consumer products and in industrial manufacturing; only in military, medical, and scientific contexts are SI units generally the norm. Since everyday weights and measures are mostly non-SI, children in U.S. public schools are generally taught customary units before SI, although many schools are now attempting to teach SI units at an earlier age.

There are anecdotal objections to the use of metric units in carpentry and the building trades, on the basis that it is easier to remember an integer number of inches plus a fraction than a measurement in millimeters, or that inch measurements are more suitable when distances are frequently divided by two.

Answer 6

"The metre or meter[1](symbol: m) is the fundamental unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). The metre was originally defined by a prototype object meant to represent 1⁄10,000,000 the distance between the poles and the Equator. Today, it is defined as 1⁄299,792,458 of a light-second."

While the metric system is (fairly) esoteric, the British system is ergonometric. It took the infamous Reign of Terror to establish the metric system in France. Napoleon then imposed it on the rest of continental Europe. The US was justifiably wary of the system and the attendant politics.

Further impediments to a change-over come from the land in the US being divided into ranges, townships, and sections. A section is 1 mile square, a township 6 sections square, and a range 6 townships square. Cities are laid out 12 blocks to the mile.

Answer 7

Interesting point and as I far as I know there is NOT a plan in place. Its just like our military using a 5.56mm round in our m-16, when the ENTIRE rest of world except NATO uses the 7.62mm. If your a NATO troop and run out of ammo with no resupply your screwed. No scavenging off dead soldiers of the enemy. ok Im done bitching about that lol. Basically if you look at it sociologically, it would take too much effort and cause culture shock in the US to switch over to metric now. Too much too fast. It is taught in schools here though. Truthfully there are too many other more important things that need to be fixed in this country than the system of measurement,.

Answer 8

Living here in NM, I really can't see a reason to convert to metric. I mean, calculations are easier and all when applied to basic life, but let me tell you what: saying something is ten feet long is a lot simpler than saying that it's a kagillion centimeters long, and saying that somebody is six-foot-three is a lot simpler than saying that they are 180-something centimeters tall. Simply put; there is a large gap in between centimeters and meters that makes it a lot less pleasing to use, and this gap is filled in perfectly by feet and inches. This is the reason that we don't tend to use it in everyday life. However, in areas where it's a lot more convenient, (as in calculations) we tend to use metric instead. Basically, it depends on the needed type of calculation to be performed that determines whether we use the metric or domestic system.

Answer 9

If this particular issue is so important to you then you need to tell your Congressional representatives to adopt the metric system as our standard of measurement. Every science class in every middle school, junior high school, and high school use the metric system. Although not formally adopted, this system *is* becoming the standard here.

Answer 10

I don't understand why, either. Metric is so much easier. Any objections are understandable but metric measurements ultimately pose no real problem. When Australia changed to metric, the same things were said, but now metric is accepted and the norm.