Why didn't the USA ever adopt the Metric System?
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European countries find it easy to adopt the metric system either because they had already started the process of adoption a century ago or they barely had heavy industry to begin with.
Date: 2022-11-30
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Comments and reviews: 14
Володимир
Interesting story about metric and american systems.
When Soviets had captured some of american bombers B-29, shot over the Japan in 1945, they wanted to create their own copy (Tupolev Tu-4 bomber) to use it as a nuclear bombs carrier. And. they failed to create a perfect copy, having a 3 almost complete original planes, just to the difference between the metric and american measurements - soviet industry didn t produce metal casing and wirings in foots-inches measurements, and there were no metric standards to fit the needed parts made in USA.
Plane fuselage, made from casing with a thickness rounded to a larger side to fit the metric standard types, would ve been too heavy to fly; rounded to a smaller side - not strong enough to carry itself when flying. The same with wirings: wires thicker - too heavy, wires thinner - short circuit and fire.
Thickness difference between the american and soviet parts was fraction of a millimeter.
Tupolev s bureau engineers broke their heads, but Unkle Joe wanted nuclear bomber. So, soviet plants were forced to start produce inch-measured wirings for the Tu-4 planes, and create a mess from metric-measured casing in the fuselage. Result - Tu-4 was 340 kg heavier than Boeing B-29 having worse flying parameters. Development took two years.
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Interesting story about metric and american systems.
When Soviets had captured some of american bombers B-29, shot over the Japan in 1945, they wanted to create their own copy (Tupolev Tu-4 bomber) to use it as a nuclear bombs carrier. And. they failed to create a perfect copy, having a 3 almost complete original planes, just to the difference between the metric and american measurements - soviet industry didn t produce metal casing and wirings in foots-inches measurements, and there were no metric standards to fit the needed parts made in USA.
Plane fuselage, made from casing with a thickness rounded to a larger side to fit the metric standard types, would ve been too heavy to fly; rounded to a smaller side - not strong enough to carry itself when flying. The same with wirings: wires thicker - too heavy, wires thinner - short circuit and fire.
Thickness difference between the american and soviet parts was fraction of a millimeter.
Tupolev s bureau engineers broke their heads, but Unkle Joe wanted nuclear bomber. So, soviet plants were forced to start produce inch-measured wirings for the Tu-4 planes, and create a mess from metric-measured casing in the fuselage. Result - Tu-4 was 340 kg heavier than Boeing B-29 having worse flying parameters. Development took two years.
reply
Something
Another note to add to this video, Reagan didn't necessarily see metric as un-American but a waste of money given circumstances at the time. The U. S was going through major economic problems when Ragan came into office and the metric board and MANY other thigns got removed or their budgets cut. It's not as simple as being opposed to it, in fact the swap to metric was a unanimous vote of approval in the senate. Being half metric has also had its affects, I'm a young American and I have 0 clue what pints or quarts or fl oz look like but I know ml, liters and gallons. I'm good at cm in small quanities and I can do mg and grams perfectly fine, just kg is really hard. The U. S is becoming mixed with it and I can only see this going further as younger people interract with non-anglo foreigners more and more.
Second fact: Canada is a very mixed country with it. Anything personal like weight, height, etc will always be imperial. Good luck finding a Canadian to tell you their height in cm or weight in kg, in more rural provinces miles are still used since each city grid is exactly 1 mile apart. Some random stuff like paint and fish tanks are still sold in gallons as well, and yards remain for sports.
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Another note to add to this video, Reagan didn't necessarily see metric as un-American but a waste of money given circumstances at the time. The U. S was going through major economic problems when Ragan came into office and the metric board and MANY other thigns got removed or their budgets cut. It's not as simple as being opposed to it, in fact the swap to metric was a unanimous vote of approval in the senate. Being half metric has also had its affects, I'm a young American and I have 0 clue what pints or quarts or fl oz look like but I know ml, liters and gallons. I'm good at cm in small quanities and I can do mg and grams perfectly fine, just kg is really hard. The U. S is becoming mixed with it and I can only see this going further as younger people interract with non-anglo foreigners more and more.
Second fact: Canada is a very mixed country with it. Anything personal like weight, height, etc will always be imperial. Good luck finding a Canadian to tell you their height in cm or weight in kg, in more rural provinces miles are still used since each city grid is exactly 1 mile apart. Some random stuff like paint and fish tanks are still sold in gallons as well, and yards remain for sports.
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keagan
I'm pro metric after exspirencing both systems, imperial is backwards and not very helpful when it comes to sizing.
I learned American standard custom and had to learn metric in the military and as an engineer after my time in the military.
And went back to American standard custom when I was layer off and started working for my dad's plumbing company again.
A lot of German heating systems are becoming very popular here in the states due to being more energy efficient.
And they are sent as metric and plumbers hate them because they don't have metric tools and don't know metric.
Metric is used in about 60% of American products and manufacturing. And it converted again to please the American public.
Why don't they just start teaching metric in schools and in 15 years start moving away from imperial.
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I'm pro metric after exspirencing both systems, imperial is backwards and not very helpful when it comes to sizing.
I learned American standard custom and had to learn metric in the military and as an engineer after my time in the military.
And went back to American standard custom when I was layer off and started working for my dad's plumbing company again.
A lot of German heating systems are becoming very popular here in the states due to being more energy efficient.
And they are sent as metric and plumbers hate them because they don't have metric tools and don't know metric.
Metric is used in about 60% of American products and manufacturing. And it converted again to please the American public.
Why don't they just start teaching metric in schools and in 15 years start moving away from imperial.
reply
Fwiffo
Also, decimal actually kinda sucks. It's only useful for us because we have 10 fingers and are used to it. Being decimal is not one of metric's advantages (its advantage is that it's the standard, and it's not entirely decimal anyway.
Base 12 or base 60 are much better (and we fortunately use them for time and angles. They have a lot more divisors so can easily be divided into thirds, quarters, sixths, etc. 12 divides evenly by 2, 3, 4 and 6. 10 only has 2 and 5. 360 degrees has a huge number of divisors and be further divided into 60 arc-minutes and in turn divided into 60 arc-seconds.
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Also, decimal actually kinda sucks. It's only useful for us because we have 10 fingers and are used to it. Being decimal is not one of metric's advantages (its advantage is that it's the standard, and it's not entirely decimal anyway.
Base 12 or base 60 are much better (and we fortunately use them for time and angles. They have a lot more divisors so can easily be divided into thirds, quarters, sixths, etc. 12 divides evenly by 2, 3, 4 and 6. 10 only has 2 and 5. 360 degrees has a huge number of divisors and be further divided into 60 arc-minutes and in turn divided into 60 arc-seconds.
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HH
As an American, it s interesting to hear the summary out this way. I ve always been told that 1) The main reason we didn t change to metric is that industrial tycoons already had their machines designed for the old system and advocated to not spend the money on change, and 2) at this point we really DO use the metric system in almost every way behind-the-scenes, but we just convert to the old system at the point goods face consumers because that s the system they re still the most familiar with.
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As an American, it s interesting to hear the summary out this way. I ve always been told that 1) The main reason we didn t change to metric is that industrial tycoons already had their machines designed for the old system and advocated to not spend the money on change, and 2) at this point we really DO use the metric system in almost every way behind-the-scenes, but we just convert to the old system at the point goods face consumers because that s the system they re still the most familiar with.
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Wkbj79
There is at least one metric measurement that has completely infiltrated the USA. Ever heard of a 2 liter?
In my opinion, the biggest thing holding the USA back from converting to metric is cost. The prime example of this is our interstate system. Most of our interstates are marked in miles. (The only exception that I know of is interstate 19, a comparatively short interstate in Arizona) I cannot even begin to fathom the cost of changing all of the interstate signage to kilometers.
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There is at least one metric measurement that has completely infiltrated the USA. Ever heard of a 2 liter?
In my opinion, the biggest thing holding the USA back from converting to metric is cost. The prime example of this is our interstate system. Most of our interstates are marked in miles. (The only exception that I know of is interstate 19, a comparatively short interstate in Arizona) I cannot even begin to fathom the cost of changing all of the interstate signage to kilometers.
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Steven
I did some consulting work for a steel distributor soon after I got out of school the second time with an accounting degree, originally having studied math and science and thus being fully used to the metric system. I was really surprised when the business was doing everything in pounds. The real kicker is that when they ordered from China, they had to order in 100 kg batches, so it was always of question of what multiple of 220 lb they were ordering.
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I did some consulting work for a steel distributor soon after I got out of school the second time with an accounting degree, originally having studied math and science and thus being fully used to the metric system. I was really surprised when the business was doing everything in pounds. The real kicker is that when they ordered from China, they had to order in 100 kg batches, so it was always of question of what multiple of 220 lb they were ordering.
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Bobby
Metric and imperial are like a simplified version of foreign languages. Some languages are just inferior to other ones, but they continue to be used because reasons. Metric is objectively superior to imperial, but eliminating imperial isn't so simple.
Eventually, if humanity lasts long enough, either imperial or metric will cease to exist, in the same way that if humanity lasts for long enough, the world will use a single universal language.
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Metric and imperial are like a simplified version of foreign languages. Some languages are just inferior to other ones, but they continue to be used because reasons. Metric is objectively superior to imperial, but eliminating imperial isn't so simple.
Eventually, if humanity lasts long enough, either imperial or metric will cease to exist, in the same way that if humanity lasts for long enough, the world will use a single universal language.
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Doltsbane
What's so great about the metric system anyway? It's basis is just as arbitrary as the alternative, and the units are all either awkwardly small or awkwardly large. It's only real advantage is that it's decimal and that only matters when you're making a conversion. Outside of science and engineering how often does your average person find themselves in a situation where a pint's a pound the world around isn't good enough?
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What's so great about the metric system anyway? It's basis is just as arbitrary as the alternative, and the units are all either awkwardly small or awkwardly large. It's only real advantage is that it's decimal and that only matters when you're making a conversion. Outside of science and engineering how often does your average person find themselves in a situation where a pint's a pound the world around isn't good enough?
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Chris55433
In the US we have no need to convert, but we know how to convert if needed. They teach that in school. Converting from one metric unit to another isn't much different than converting metric to imperial. just different multipliers. just like 1m=1000mm, 1m=39. 37, or 1 =25. 4mm. we also know multipliers for kg to pounds or Celsius to Fahrenheit. What sucks though is needing 2 sets of tools: (
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In the US we have no need to convert, but we know how to convert if needed. They teach that in school. Converting from one metric unit to another isn't much different than converting metric to imperial. just different multipliers. just like 1m=1000mm, 1m=39. 37, or 1 =25. 4mm. we also know multipliers for kg to pounds or Celsius to Fahrenheit. What sucks though is needing 2 sets of tools: (
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IM
Fun fact: As a kid in the 70's and 80's I was ONLY taught the metric system in school. Which was worthless outside of school, since no one used it. Right after I graduated high school, it was decided that schools would go back to teaching the old system. Hence all my education in the metric systemic is useless here in the USA, and yet, I was never taught the system we actually use.
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Fun fact: As a kid in the 70's and 80's I was ONLY taught the metric system in school. Which was worthless outside of school, since no one used it. Right after I graduated high school, it was decided that schools would go back to teaching the old system. Hence all my education in the metric systemic is useless here in the USA, and yet, I was never taught the system we actually use.
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N. S.
To be fair, all of the infrastructure, buildings, and pretty much everything made in the US was built with the American system. It would make for a lot of wonky measurements trying to Frankenstein the existing neglected roads, towers, and bridges with new soon to be neglected roads, towers, and bridges. That and Texas. We can't change ANYTHING as long as Texas is around.
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To be fair, all of the infrastructure, buildings, and pretty much everything made in the US was built with the American system. It would make for a lot of wonky measurements trying to Frankenstein the existing neglected roads, towers, and bridges with new soon to be neglected roads, towers, and bridges. That and Texas. We can't change ANYTHING as long as Texas is around.
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will2217
I did not finish the presentation because this does not address the real reason America did not adopt the metric system. Internally, America possessed an exceptional arterial river system, unparalleled in the world which means the American domestic market was more important than the European market, and that remains true to this day. We don't need Europe. Ha-ha.
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I did not finish the presentation because this does not address the real reason America did not adopt the metric system. Internally, America possessed an exceptional arterial river system, unparalleled in the world which means the American domestic market was more important than the European market, and that remains true to this day. We don't need Europe. Ha-ha.
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Itay
The quality of life in pre ww1 England and us was the highest in the world, including mainland western and central Europe. Keeping that in mind even though its still dumb to correlate that with the imperial system, you can understand Americans at the time saying why should we convert to the measurements economically inferior nations?
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The quality of life in pre ww1 England and us was the highest in the world, including mainland western and central Europe. Keeping that in mind even though its still dumb to correlate that with the imperial system, you can understand Americans at the time saying why should we convert to the measurements economically inferior nations?
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