US officially using meter system?

[jackson1]

Have you guys in America officially converted to the meter system and using it? Don't laugh [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[Drsracing]

Re: US officially using meter system?

No and if we ever do, I'll kill whoever is in chrge. I hate metric ****

[jackson1]

Re: US officially using meter system?

Ok, thanks. I mistakenly thought so. Was it England that converted some years ago?

[A. Pulver]

Re: US officially using meter system?

Everyone except the USA is using it.
I've noticed more and more manufacturers switching over to metric though.

[RP]

Re: US officially using meter system?

Yeah, while I can see manufacturing and science and whatnot using the metric system, I can't see ever completely converting in my personal life. I'd have to do math calculations in my head to figure out if I were speeding or how far away anything is. I'd never know how much I weighed, etc.

I really need miles and lbs to stay with me.

Of course, since many soft drinks have gone to "liter" sizes, I guess I do use the metric system a little bit in everyday life, though if 7-11 went metric, I might not be able to figure out how large my Big Gulp was.

[jackson1]

Re: US officially using meter system?

I must appear like an ass then, because i just ordered some stuff from dear budman and everything i listed in my order i wrote in metric. (:embarrased)

Dave hasn't said a word about it though [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[Lev]

Re: US officially using meter system?

I had to switch once I came here... doesn't take long to get used to. I prefer the metric system though, base ten is much easier to think in.

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: US officially using meter system?

Most every time I need a tool at work, it's metric. At least a 90/10 (maybe more even) in favor of metric as far as fasteners go. Most on my measurements are as well.

Shame we didn't swap to metric years ago really. Base ten seems tremendously easier if you started early in life using it. Jeez, inches/feet/ fractions are a pain...

On another tangent, I still can't figure out why anyone decided to put 60 minutes in an hour... Any brainiacs know why that is?

[Budman68]

Re: US officially using meter system?

[ QUOTE ]
I must appear like an ass then, because i just ordered some stuff from dear budman and everything i listed in my order i wrote in metric. (:embarrased)

Dave hasn't said a word about it though [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

<font color="aqua">No need to be worried my friend. I work with converting metric (reading blueprints) to english everyday so there shouldn't be any problems [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I must say I agree with Cleve, as I wished we would have switched to metric sooner also as it does seem easier in the long run.</font>

[jackson1]

Re: US officially using meter system?

[ QUOTE ]
I still can't figure out why anyone decided to put 60 minutes in an hour... Any brainiacs know why that is?

[/ QUOTE ]

Because of the TV program "60 minutes"? [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

All is good then, Dave!

[RP]

Re: US officially using meter system?

[ QUOTE ]
On another tangent, I still can't figure out why anyone decided to put 60 minutes in an hour... Any brainiacs know why that is?

[/ QUOTE ]

From: http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives...2272.Sh.r.html

This all dates back to the Ancient Babylonians who liked to count in base 60. Ratios of 6, 12, 60, and 360 were seen by them as being 'round' numbers in the same way that we use base 10 and see 5, 10, 100 etc as useful numbers to divide things up into.

See: http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/ HistTopics/Babylonian_and_Egyptian.html

The Babylonians divided the sky into the 12 signs of the Zodiac, and a circle into 360 degrees. They divided the day and night each into 12 hours (although in many time systems the lengths of these varied between summer and winter! Babylon was rather nearer the equator than Liverpool, so they didn't get too confused with this). The hour was split into 60 minutes and a minute into 60 seconds.

All these numbers have survived for 4000 years, despite the fact that we have changed our numbering system to base 10! In England, when I was young, we still measured with feet, each divided into 12 inches. The Americans still do! [By the way, do you know where the mile comes from? It's Roman, not Babylonian!]

The year is nearly 360 days long and the Babylonians split it into 12 months. Other civilizations based their calendar on the moon and had 13 months. We still have problems with this today because Easter is based on the lunar calendar and migrates around the Julian calendar in a complex way. Chinese new year is still based on the Lunar calendar.

[RacerX]

Re: US officially using meter system?

[ QUOTE ]
On another tangent, I still can't figure out why anyone decided to put 60 minutes in an hour... Any brainiacs know why that is?

[/ QUOTE ]

We have the Babylonians to thank for our present system of timekeeping.

The number 12 held mystical significance for the ancients, owing to the fact that there were generally 12 full moons a year, and so they divided day and night into 12 parts each. The number 60, apart from being a multiple of 12, is evenly divisible by more integers than any lesser number, and thus was useful for dividing hours into minutes and seconds without the distraction of fractions.

From
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_125.html

-RacerX the Brainiac [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: US officially using meter system?

Damn Babylonians....

Summing minutes into hours/minutes on spreadsheets drove me friggin nuts... Right now, I even forget how I did it!

100 minute hours would be harsh I guess though...

[RacerX]

Re: US officially using meter system?

You're welcome! [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: US officially using meter system?

Ooops, yes, thank you to both of you for taking time digging up the facts!...

Sorry, I was thinking to myself after I posted that, that I didn't thank you actually.