Metric

[gfish]

Talking to my mom tonight, she mentioned that I was arguing for the metric system when I was ten. Which would be super cool if I was particularly good at thinking in it by now, but I'm not. I have mass, length and temperature down pretty well. I'm much weaker on volume, speed and pressure. Curse the US Congress for not mandating a switch in the 70s like they promised! One of the few powers explicitly granted to them by the Consitution, and all they've managed to do is a toothless 1988 proclamation that metric is the "preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce". Bah.

Comments

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

I read the other night -- and probably already knew but had forgotten -- that A: in 1866 Congress declared the metric system a legal system for commerce (the only system they've so certified) and in 1893, because the 'standard yard' was noticeably changing size, we officially stopped using the Imperial system as a standard, and rebased Imperial on metric definitions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendenhall_Order). So we *are* using metric, just with goofy awkward units.

I'm not sure whether that makes it better or worse.

[creeves78.livejournal.com]

i think it makes it worse...