Comments on: Non-Metric Countries

By: Paulius

Paulius — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 20:54:24 +0000

Here in the UK metric is the ‘official’ measurement system, but it’s a common misconception that it’s ‘illegal’ to use non-metric system.

Basically, shops, businesses, individuals…anyone…can use any system they like.

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By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 25 May 2009 03:16:03 +0000

I’ve been a UK scientist for 30 years and use SI units (formal version of metric) all the time for work. At home, I generally prefer Imperial for most things since I find them more practical for perceived distances, weights etc. Anyway, converting all the time will help stave off Alzheimer’s! Interestingly, an experiment reported in a cognitive psychology journal supports my erratic use of units. Kids brought up using metric, but aware of Imperial, were asked to estimate the size of a big hall using both units. Those using metric, even though these were “their” units, generally got it hopelessly wrong, with errors of several metres. Those using Imperial units generally made very good estimates, with some getting the dimensions of the hall right to within a few centimetres.

Don’t forget when you hear the arguments for switching, there’s a lot of money to be made from this so the advocates may not be particularly honest. Personally, I don’t know anybody who can’t cope well using whatever units are convenient at the time. Most Brits and Americans can drive and live in Europe without killing anybody or being ripped off! And the UK has millions of metric migrants who have no trouble with Imperial.

By: contrarymary

contrarymary — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:05:25 +0000

In my mind, it’s all about what you’re used to. I grew up in US. Lived in Germany 5 years (had no choice but to learn to live metric. I still weigh myself in kilos). From there we lived in South Africa (25 yrs ago). They had switched to metric not that long before. Folks just got used to right away.
My in-laws (88 and 90 yrs old) think in metric. In other words, let’s get on with the switch. It’s just not that big of a deal.

By: Ratfink

Ratfink — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 13:58:15 +0000

I am not who you are pointing this at but…

@sean
“Do you speak French? No? Why are all the street signs in Toronto (which I am guessing you are from) also in French?”

They aren’t. The only time you see bilingual signs is when you are close to the airport. I have a hard time believing you are actually from Toronto if you haven’t noticed that stop signs are in English only.

“Seems a little backwards to me, that the entire Canada MUST have French on any government things, on all labels, etc. because ONE province wants it that way”

Probably more to do with a quarter of the population speaking french and it being an official language.

By: Dennis

Dennis — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:49:08 +0000

Canada also uses a mixed system. Feet is used to measure lumber. A 2×4 is not called by its metric equivalent, same with plywood.

By: Renshai

Renshai — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:55:00 +0000

As a French I would say that a lot of you are saying the imperial system is more practical because you all have grown up with it, and it’s normal to think that way. I grew up with metric system and when I travelled to the UK I understood nothing about the imperial system (except the pint). all I know is that with the coexistance of both it is very difficult to talk with my British bros about some measures.

By: Jaziel

Jaziel — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:49:27 +0000

Firstly if you can’t divide 10 by 4 or 3 you’re clearly a child who hasn’t progressed to decimals. It’s 2.5 and 3.33. Secondly it’s much easier to convert between weights, lengths etc with metric. i.e. 1 milliliter of water weights 1 gram and measures 1cm cubed. How much does one pint of water weigh ? Answer – 1.04375 pounds. A cup is 250ml or a quarter of a liter. Nice and easy. And finally the best use of grams. One heroic dose of Mushrooms is simply 5 dried grams or 0.17636981 ounces. Tell me which is better now.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:11:18 +0000

I’m a US resident, and I typically use the metric system for day to day things, it’s just so much easier than trying to remember how many ounces in a pound and stuff like that. We really need to catch up.

By: Elvis

Elvis — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:23:42 +0000

Photoshopped

By: Nihilspawn

Nihilspawn — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:19:36 +0000

Ummm….Bad news for you Uncle B. The US military uses metric.

By: Bloke

Bloke — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:42:06 +0000

I must say, I use Imperial for most things. As a British motorist, Its easier to think in miles, yards and MPH, as a golfer, its easier to think in yards and feet, as a beer drinker, its easier to drink in pints. But if I was measuring something and it needed to be acurate, I’d do it in centimetres and metres.

By: sean

sean — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:14:37 +0000

@ Uncle B…
backwards country, huh? Do you speak French? No? Why are all the street signs in Toronto (which I am guessing you are from) also in French? Seems a little backwards to me, that the entire Canada MUST have French on any government things, on all labels, etc. because ONE province wants it that way… at least in the states they leave the choice of metric vs imperial to each individual state. after all, and the “they produced the â€˜Hummerâ€™ just in time for peak oil” crap, is just that, crap. The hummer has been out for years & years. Thats besides the fact that you are talking about one “American” company. (GM is as much Canadian as it is American.) What about Canada’s trouble with knowing when to pull out? How many Canadian soldiers were killed in Afghanistan so far? But go ahead and blame that on the US, no problem. BTW I live in Toronto, and I liked the “health care” in the states a lot more than in Canada. See in the states, most insurances cover Dental… does OHIP cover that? Is dental not part of health care? The same goes for prescription medicines… why do most insurances in the US pay for them, but OHIP doesn’t? And lets not talk about the coverage of experimental life saving cancer drugs…. And about Vista… For some reason I have a lot harder of a time convincing my Canadian friends to TRY out Ubuntu, then my American friends, of which I have already convinced a few to switch. It seems to me that Canadians like having Americans screwing them over….

*Deep breath*

After all that, I wouldn’t live here if I didn’t love it, its just wimpy, blame it on America, lets shut our lights off all together for one hour, thereby causing a surge in electricity and accomplishing the exact opposite of what we are trying to do, people like you that I cannot stand.

By: Alaska

Alaska — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:07:05 +0000

Alaska is not a country

By: Lars

Lars — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:23:03 +0000

geologist, you are wrong. The article is correct, and the country coloured is in fact Myanmar, or Burma.

Btw, metric all the way….

By: greasy steve

greasy steve — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:01:46 +0000

i’m an engineer, i use imperial and metric daily and am comfortable with both.

in everyday life i more naturally use imperial- i think of height in feet and inches, distances in miles and yards, drinks in pints and so on.

however i’m under no illusion that i do so because there is something more intuitive about imperial measurements; this is clearly daft. if i’d only been around metric growing up i’d have no problem thinking in km, cm and litres. it’s such an obviously better system, and as an engineer my life would be much easier if it were universal.

the only reason i don’t is because we brits are too stubborn to give it up, probably out of some superiority complex/ xenophobia towards our european neighbours.

the usa is the same. we need to swallow our pride and admit metric’s better.

By: Namagem

Namagem — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:09:47 +0000

Like someone previously said, both systems have their uses. Imperial is good for every day, casual measurements, while metric is much better for things that require precise amounts, such as cooking or chemistry.

By: James

James — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 03:08:52 +0000

Well, after working on cars for several years i find that i use both systems. For example, the diameter of car wheels are measured in inches, the bolt circle in millimeters, and the bolt size in inches. Although the rest of the car with the exception of tolerances in the engine are metric on new cars. The Imperial system is better suited for tolerances in engines(0.030, 0.036, 0.026 are some common measurements).

By: John

John — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 01:39:26 +0000

there have been a great deal of different systems of measure that have come and gone.however, the imperial system, as said before, has some intrinsic characteristic that makes it optimal for proportional and modular thinking. it is simply easier to use in a number of situations due to the curious nature of its proportions. metric may be easier mathematically, but apparently it lacks that indefinable imperial quality.

By: Uncle B Hater

Uncle B Hater — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:05:44 +0000

Ubuntu is for retards that don’t know how to use a real computer.

Like mentioned before the US does use the metric system. Dumb asses like yourself find any excuse to start ranting anti-America BS.

Damn, we can’t find that “philosopher in a toga and a turban” because he out foxed us with the all mighty metric system.