I would be so confused then! I'm so used to hearing our metric system words. Like when they use Centimeters instead of Feet and Inches for height... it's wierd.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

How has anyone disagreed with this? Are people really so selfish they'd rather keep one of the most populous and economically significant countries in the world using an incredibly flawed and outdated system that be inconvenienced by learning one that actually makes sense?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Even though it was my post, I can understand why. it would be so hard to get used to.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

The rest of the world did it in the eighties.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I never really understood the tradition side of any tradition vs. efficiency debate.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

From an economic standpoint, it would cause a lot of problems. Take a piping system, for example. A lot of them still use inches in the US. So, if a one inch valve breaks on a line, but we've switched to metric, then the ENTIRE SYSTEM has to be redone. Because you are not going to find any metric supplies that are exactly the same size as an inch (2.54cm). It's either going to be slightly to big, or slightly to small, which could cause leaks and general safety hazards. Then you have to redo all the casting processes in manufacturing, and you have a whole bunch of useless product that you can't sell. It could make the whole company collapse. I'm not really opposed to switching, mind you, I'm just saying it's not a simple thing and there are reasons we haven't switched yet.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Couldnt it work to teach both, like we do in Canada? If you started labeling things in imperial and metric and gradually phase over? I know that seems impractical, but the inconsistent "exchange rate" between the two has actually cost a lot of lives in failed conversions, so it could be advantageous to work something out.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

You really think we never thought of that? Our economy sucks so bad. It would cost so much to replace our system and we don't have that kind of money.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

has our economy stopped us from spending money in the past?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Nope. But we spend money when it's absolutely necessary (did I spell that right?) not just uselessly. We're getting by just fine for now so maybe in the future if we have money, we'll change

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Totally agree with SuperSukh, also I think at least a little bit of the reason we never have, is just because we like to have that sense of "we can do whatever the hell we want."

by Anonymous 12 years ago

But this is 'MURICA. We don't tolerate no fancy foreign metric system.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

The rest of the world managed to do it, so why can't America? And you guys are the ones going around saying you're "the greatest country in the world"...

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Several people already said it, but I'll say it again. Changing systems means replacing everything with the metric system. Textbooks that mention the original system would have to be replaced and all of a sudden companies that manufacture things based on inches couldn't sell their products because everyone wants it in centimeters. I agree that the US should convert to the metric system but they'd have to do it slowly and later because the economy is so bad right now. At least everything science related is in the metric system, that's process at least.

by Anonymous 12 years ago