So.. Why did the US never convert to the metric system?? It's 10 X easier..

In the U.S.
Civil engineers use the U.S. survey foot.
Distances less than a foot are measured in 1/100 foot. ( 0.01)
It makes calculations much more simple than using inches and fractions of inches.

But, then there are also the old Surveyors' measurements
1 link = 0.66 feet (7.92 inches)
100 links = 1 chain
Rod = 16.5 feet (1/4 chain)
Chain = 66 feet
10 chains = 1/8 mile
40 chains = 1/2 mile
80 chains = 1 mile

10 chains x 10 chains = 10 acres
80 chains x 80 chains = 640acres

 

What it the name of an ever loving and mercifull God are you talking about?

What dos ''weak'' and ''strong'' have to do with weights and measures?

So it makes you stronger if you use out dated measurements?

By golly-o Im going to start using ancient Egyptian cubits.

Im gunna be SuperMan:laugh:

 

Erik's post of the young man explaining metric time makes me think of something else we do differently in the U.S.
(I'm thinking from his accent, the young man is from England)



Notice, the young man says "..where Swatch's headquarters are."
In the U.S we would say ".. where Swatch's headquarters is."

Also,
in Britain they say " ...the Corporation are.."
Where we in the U.S. would say "... the Corporation is.."

And,
in Britain they would say "... he is in hospital.."
in the U.S we would say "... he is in the hospital.."

The young man in the video says 'naught' for zero.
In Surveying and Engineering 'naught' is used commonly. But I rarely hear it much away from work. Sometimes, away from work, I hear 'aught' for zero. But, rarely do I hear naught, when I am not at work.

 

And Z is zed:laugh:

 

yeah and I don't use naught for zero- but I do know how to be NAUGHTY!! hehe, sorry it's Friday night! yeah baby....(insert Austin Powers character)

 

yep
11 is "railroad"
so it's not confused for seven

---------- Post added at 11:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:00 PM ----------

:laugh:

 

Steeveedee - I hope most Americans have studied enough history to realize that without France, there would be no United States. We owe them at least as much as they owe us.

Erik - Loved your brief post on the Metric system. In the United States, An intellectual is defined as a "person who can listen to the William Tell Overture (The background music in the clip) without thinking of the Lone Ranger".

 

Even more confusing: living outside the USA, being educated/raised with the metric system and have US cars (till 1976) for a hobby...:laugh:

 

Our weights and measure systems, antiquated and hard to understand as they can be, are part of the fabric of the USA.

Gallons, quarts, feet, inches and miles are symbols around the word, that your working with USA technology.

Good portions of our entire history, automotive and otherwise, are intertwined with that system. Change it now, and we lose yet another piece of our identity. In a generation or two, the phrase "409HP 409ci Impala" will have no meaning, or certainly not the impact it does now.

The mars rover is mentioned here, and I see that as a good example of how ever getting involved with the metric system was a mistake. Not the other way around.

Having to describe the potential KV output of some engine build is about as exciting as cow droppings.

Let's hope those students aspiring to lofty education institutions can figure out simple math, which is all it takes to work with the current system.

JW

 

Many spellings are different
color - colour
Neighbor - Neighbour
draft - draught
check - cheque
center - centre
theater - theatre

Then, many words completely different
median - centre reservation
truck - lorry
elevator - lift

In the U.S. , Lieutenant is pronounced (loo-tenant)
In the U.K. , Lieutenant is pronounced (lef-tenant)

 

While Naught may be used to convey zero, its true meaning is "nothingness" or "nonexistant"

Zero on the other hand, is exactly one less than one, and one more than negative one.

 

10 isn't a cubic amount of anything I usually see. Cases of retail product are packed in counts of 12, 16, 24, 32, etc. In that way, I like SAE. On the other hand, now that I've spent most of my life dealing with mm for small measurements, I find it a pain in the ass to sort drill bits by fractions of inches.

What really bothers me is that liquid goods are packaged in metric sizes all over the place, and in the US they are sold as the '13.1oz' size, the '16.9oz' size and so on. In that way, we are lying to each other for no good reason. Fluid Ounces are a pain in the ass because fl-oz is mass, not volume, and yet so many things we buy are standardized by volume.

Why do I suddenly feel like I'm ranting about this stuff???

 

It seems like liquid measurements, unless your a chemist or pharmacist or maybe a cook wouldn't be quite as important as tool, parts or weight
measurements or sizes.

Bob H.

 

another (typical?) US measurement which I don't understand is when asking for a distance the answer comes in time or blocks:

How far from A to B? Answer: '11/2 hour or 4 blocks o No::laugh:

 

Down here in Texas we say "about 4 beers"...

 

My favorite measurement is "Furlongs per Fortnight". :bla:

 

Around here a block is is 350 feet to 450 feet long. But, a block is the space between two side streets on a given road.

I've noticed that in northern states folks say the travel time.
While in southern states folks say the travel distance.

Some people give directions by the number of red lights. I always ask those people , "What if the light is green?"

 

My car gets four rods to the hogshead.

 

Fluid ounce is a unit of volume, not mass - 16 fluid ounces to the pint (had to look it up).

While looking it up, I noticed that there are 231 cubic inches in a gallon - very familiar number. Hmmmm - 1 gallon V6?

 

My father is from Maine and one time he asked an uncle for directions to his house. His uncle said to go down a particular road and "take a left at the last red light".

How far do you have to travel to find the LAST red light? p

In RI, we are famous for giving directions using landmarks that no longer exist. :laugh:

For example, "Go down Post Road and it's across the street from where the skating rink used to be."