Originally Posted By Mrs ElderP I read some place an article pointing out why the US still uses "imperial/standard" instead of metric. The authors idea is that the non-metric units generally make more sense for the things we measure on a day to day basis. Feet are perfect for most things that we deal with. A meter (roughly 3 feet) is too big for most things that we touch and handle everyday, and a centimeter is too small. Of course, it's doable. I can be 1.62 meters or 162 centimeters, (5'4"). The prime example of this is centigrade vs. fahrenheit. In F 0 to 100 roughly describes the range of temperatures tolerable to humans. Whereas in C 0 to 100 exactly describes the liqued state of water, a much much bigger range. So in F weather predictions can range over 120 degrees or so, while in C, weather predictions range only over about 60 degrees. So, in day to day life, F is more precise and more useful. Standard evolved over millenia for people to use in day to day life, Metric was invented mainly to make scientist's lives easier. Don't get me wrong, if the powers that be decide we should switch, I'll switch with out too much fuss. My counter argument is liquids. I can never keep straight pints, quarts and gallons. Oh, and on a completely seperate note, I wish americans would get in the habit of writing recipies with the weights of ingredients rather than the cups and tsps, ect. Depending on how you measure 5 cups of flour for bread (do you sift, do you spoon it in the cup, do you dig the measuring cup into the canister, and so on) your bread can come out heavy or light. On the other hand, no matter how you get it on to the scale, sifting, spooning, ect, 15 ounces (or 425 grams) of flour will be the same every time. --rant over
Originally Posted By CrouchingTigger >>A meter (roughly 3 feet) is too big for most things that we touch and handle everyday, and a centimeter is too small.<< Decimeters. Problem solved. I've seen numerous engineers (even outside of the U.S.) say that the reason that they deal in imperial units is because of, believe it or not, the lack of standards among vendors of metric goods. They say that they can order a quarter-inch bolt from one source, and a nut from another source, and they will *always* fit together. But apparently ordering a 10mm bolt from one source and getting the nuts from another can wind up getting stuff that won't fit together because the two sources have different opinions about details like screw pitch and thread depth.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad <<<Americans aren't "comfortable", they're lazy.>>> hehehehehe True words, my friend, true words.
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 <<I wish americans would get in the habit of writing recipies with the weights of ingredients rather than the cups and tsps, ect. Depending on how you measure 5 cups of flour for bread (do you sift, do you spoon it in the cup, do you dig the measuring cup into the canister, and so on) your bread can come out heavy or light.>> Oh, no! Does this mean if we go to metric we have to use scales instead of measuring cups?! I agree, Mrs ElderP, that it's VERY vexing when a recipe doesn't stipulate whether you should sift the dry ingredients before measuring. I've had to use a jackhammer to remove many a waffle from the iron for just that reason. But I'd MUCH rather have well-written recipes than having to use a scale to measure ingredients! Metric people, how do you measure things for cooking? Do you have measuring spoons and measuring cups?
Originally Posted By tiki tiki tiki tiki I have a huge collection of recipes, half of which are from the U.S. and the other half from Spain. I´ve simply brought over measuring utensils from home over here and I also have a another set for my recipes that come in the metric system, including scales. My conversion chart posted up on the pantry door is a must! At first it was a bit chaotic but a little bit of patience always helps. It´s really not as bad as everyone thinks!
Originally Posted By Schmitty Good Vibes I'm late chiming in on this, but I have a lot of experience to share. From when I was about twenty I had to know the metric system inside and out because I was working as an engineer on international projects. Later, I worked (and still do) for the State of California where we were required to prepare plans in the metric format in order to receive some reimbursement from the federal government. There were a lot of dummies who would call for a 4" by 4" product as 102mm by 102mm. That kind of stuff can make you crazy because it should have been called out as 100mm by 100mm. Two millimeters doesn't amount to much. All said, the metric system is far superior to the imperial system. We are now back to using the imperial system and it stinks. The metric system is not very hard to learn. Like anything, if you don't use it, you quickly forget it, but if you use it every day, it just comes naturally. The advantages of the metric sytem are too many to list, but just think. You break a foot down to inches, so you are deviding by twelve. Inches are usualy broken down to sixteenths. Two cups to a pint and two pints to a quart, but four quarts to a gallon. how do a teaspoon and a tablespoon relate? It's nuts!! We absolutely should go metric, but we are too lazy.
Originally Posted By Mrs Nurmi <<how do a teaspoon and a tablespoon relate?>> Three teaspoons to a tablespoon.
Originally Posted By Ursula I don't think we are lazy. I think we are stubborn and arrogant. Heck, I'm stubborn and I'm rather smart at things. When I saw that map, I said, "Well, at least three countries have it right!" I don't WANT to learn the metric system as I already was taught the metric system in school. It made zero sense to me then, and I'm sure it will make no sense to me now. Why does everything end in metre, anyway? It makes it too confusing and as someone pointed out above, we have no unit of comparison. How long is a metre anyway? Who knows? I can't visualize it, that's for sure. A foot is a foot, an inch an inch, no confusion there!
Originally Posted By alexbook >>When I saw that map, I said, "Well, at least three countries have it right!"<< Actually, Myanmar doesn't use feet and inches or meters, either. They measure distances in twas, tauns, and furlongs (according Wikipedia, anyway).
Originally Posted By jonvn The metric system is so easy to use, it's crazy to not want to adopt it. Really. It's easier. Lots easier.
Originally Posted By Schmitty Good Vibes >>>I already was taught the metric system in school. It made zero sense to me then, and I'm sure it will make no sense to me now. <<< That's because you don't use it every day. If you HAD to use it every day you would quickly learn it, you would quickly make sense of it, and you would probably quickly come to love it. It's like anything. If you don't use it you'll lose it. You won't appreciate it until you use it regularly. Why is a mile better than a kilometer? A lot of people think so, but that's only because they are USED to miles. A mile is 5,280 feet. Quick! What's half a mile?? A kilometer is 1,000 meters. Quick! What's half a kilometer? Hey, that was a lot easier! There are 1,000 liters in a cubic meter. There are 807.9 quarts in a cubic yard. HUH? Yeah, the metric system has a few things that don't make sense for a little while, but the imperial system is full of things that don't make any sense at all. Feet are based on inches and that's a unit of 12. A yard is based in feet and that's a unit of 3. If you were measuring land, you would have to know the length of a rod. that is 16.5 feet. You'd have to know the length of a chain (That's how they measured everything up to around forty years ago)that's 66 feet. A chain is 1/80th of a mile. Again, a mile is 5,280 feet. A gram is 1/1000 of a kilogram. An ounce is 1/16 of a pound. This is nuts!!!!!! A millimeter is a smidgen. A centemeter (10 millimeters) is the width of a fingernail. 10 centemeters is the width of your palm. A meter (1,000 millimeters or 100 centemeters, is the waist to the ground for Tall Disney Guy), etc. STOP thinking about how may inches or feet the metric measurements are equal to!! Inches and feet make no sense, except that's what we are used to and so we think they are superior. That's just not right!! I wish everyone had the same exposure I had.
Originally Posted By jonvn That's right. STop trying to convert, just use. What you need to know: A meter is about a yard, a liter is about a quart. A centemeter is about half an inch. A kilometer about half a mile. OK? There. That should be about all the conversion you need. Now go use the metric system.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb ^^^Thank you Big Brother ;-). But I'll continue to measure everything in parsecs if I want to thankyouverymuch.
Originally Posted By jonvn You know, since a parsec is about 19 trillion miles, you might consider using a smaller unit of measure. In baking, anyway.
Originally Posted By Ursula <Why is a mile better than a kilometer> Uhm, because I know how long a mile is...? I know what it looks like and how long it is. :+) Kilometer, not so much. Is that like a foot?
Originally Posted By Mr X >>Uhm, because I know how long a mile is...? I know what it looks like and how long it is. :+) Kilometer, not so much. Is that like a foot?<< Well, Ursula, just because you happen to be more familiar with it doesn't make it "better", as you are claiming. I still don't have the metric stuff down cold (as far as converting one to another off the cuff), but you get used to it as with anything else. I learned meters VERY quickly because the signs in the train stations in Japan tell you "such and such platform 120 meters...such and such platform 580 meters" and so on. I learned VERY quickly that 580 meters was a LONG way and 120, not so much. In fact, I have to say that if I saw a sign that read 0.4 miles, on foot, I'd have a much harder time judging just how far that might be (in a car, sure I'm used to it just like anything else)... But to make the stubborn argument that something is better just because "I know it"...that's a touch silly don't you think?
Originally Posted By tiki tiki tiki tiki It´s just like being in a foreign country where the native language is not english, you´re forced to learn it. And before you know it, you actually understand what people are saying or you find yourself saying little phrases here and there without even realizing it. And that´s when you say "wow, it´s easier than I thought" And we´re talking about learning the metric system which is just a little easier than a language. When I first moved out here, I seriously thought was never going to learn the metric system but I learned, very fast, because it makes so much sense and it is SO much more logical. Concepts different from ours shouldn´t be shooed away just because we don´t understand them, they at least have to be given a chance. Anyway, my point of view.
Originally Posted By Ursula Yes, but I AM stubborn and I don't want to learn it. I seriously think I would be interested in it if all of the units of measurement didn't sound all the same. How is that for being stubborn!? I'm not lazy, trust me. I did learn French when I had to... What we use isn't broken, so why fix it? I am very pleased that others like it and use it and more power to you! Oh, and I meant better for me, not for everyone else. I am in egocentric America, don't forget. <I learned meters VERY quickly because the signs in the train stations in Japan tell you "such and such platform 120 meters> Well, it is a good thing I'm not in Japan!
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<Yes, but I AM stubborn and I don't want to learn it. >> FWIW, its all around you already. Do you buy soda in 2 liter bottles? Your car is full of metric sized components. You electric bill is measured in kilowatt hours, any medication you might take is measured in milligrams or millileters. You count calories (actually shorthnd for kilocalories) rather than BTUs. I don't think that its a big deal that we still use pounds or miles or gallons in our daily lives, but it does make us look like ignoramuses when we are proud to admit that we don't have a clue as to what meters, liters or grams are, or that learning the standard metric prefixes (kilo, hecto, deca, deci, centi and milli) is beyond our ability when we can memorize every contestant's name on American Idol.
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<Uhm, because I know how long a mile is...? >> Do you really? If I asked you to walk a down a street would you really be able to accurately measure a mile? Heck, most people can't seem to remember how many feet are in a mile.
