I have to admit - sometimes we Americans are slow
 

For example, when are we gonna embrace the metric system?

I agree actually.

Yeah, I remember in grade school we were being taught the metric system and being told we would be soon using it in the US. 25 years later ...

Most people don't know how many feet are in a mile anyway.

You know what's really scarey? Back in 1996 there was a news article that came out in the paper here with headlines that: Courts Rule English is Primary Language in the US.


Like this was something we weren't sure about all this time?

Apparently back then some school nutted up over the spanish speaking kids and their families the felt that language should be given more teaching because of all the Mexicana in the US and all the ones who spoke spanish as their native language.

WHY this needed to go to court is beyond me. I mean. YOU'RE IN THE US, SPEAK ENGLISH. You go to France, you speak french, go to germany, speak german.

I'm glad they cleared it up.


In 1996. heheh riot.

morons --> http://www.bwmaonline.com/

Hey, we switched over our soda bottles. What more do you want?

5280 feet..

hehehe.. i am not so sure here, a lot of refugees from the eastern europe make it hard for teachers to understand their pupils.
eg here in switzerland in urban low-grade schools 2/3 of each class is yugoslawian/albanian/turkish/... origin. We have BIG problems to adapt these kids to the german language. and to remind you, we have 4 official languages here german/french/italian/retoroman and the question here is if it is more important to know at least a second language spoken here or the english language.

I agree.

Nice.

Yup. 8 furlongs of length 660 feet each.

Know what's interesting? The name for mile comes from the Latin "mille pasuum" meaning 1000 paces. You could say the mile is "old metric", from a certain point of view.

When in Miami, speak Spanish. I just moved here. I need to get a "Learn Spanish" CD.

the situation over the world is, 1st learn the native language, 2nd learn english or you're fucked...why not just skip the 1st language and replace it with english...it's just pure dumbness to actually use more than one language...

The metric system is a piece of shit.
You give your height in cm...
If I say I'm 183cm tall does that give you a good idea of my height, or is saying 6'0 easier?

Yes. It's 183 cm. 1.83 m. You don't need to convert it to feet. You're just used to "feet".

The metric system really stands heads and shoulders above the english when converting.

Which of these questions is easier?
1. How many inches in a mile?
2. How many cm in a km?

In the english system you have to know inches, feet, yards, and miles. In the metric, just meters. Everything else is just a prefix in front of it like centi, milli, kilo, etc.

Well obviously if you were used to the metric system, 183cm would give a better idea. :)

What kind of argument is this that the metric is a piece of shit because you are used to measuring in feet and inches?

I doubt we will ever switch. People like their feet over kilos!

America can't change to the metric system because it will confuse football fans. 1st down and 9.144 meters to go.

Here in South Florida they like "kilos" more than feet.

I'm Canadian for christ sakes, the metric system was introduced and taught in school since I was very young. I know both systems fine. I just like the old way a little more.

feet = height & kilos = weight.
Unless your trying to weigh your feet, I think your confused.
:1orglaugh

I'm used to feet and inches too but you have to admit the english system for measuring volume really sucks.

Gallon, quarts, pints, cups, ounces, teaspoons, tablespoons.

Yeah there are some good & bad from both systems. We need to combine them and make a new & better system.

The English version.... you mean the 'Imperial' version adopted by the US?

Over in the UK we kinda use both - which is even more fucked...

Road sign posts are in Miles and you travel at X Miles Per Hour but the gas station pumps are in Litres.....

It will be a couple of years I think before we trully convert to metric 100%.... even traders/stores don't want to convert fully because when it comes to weights, a lot of people still understand the Imperial system as opposed to metric. Total fucked system here.

Frog:

*Yeah there are some good & bad from both systems. We need to combine them and make a new & better system.*

Great suggestion there! We got some who can't comprehend the two, (some can't even understand the one!) and now ya want a "better system"? :Graucho

Think the US is about the only country that has not adopted metric? The world gonna change to some "better system" to suit the US?

Meanwhile..Bollocks.. I fee lucky - I'm gonna drive on the "wrong" side of the road today :-)

We already have the metric system, if you're willing to see numbers with 3 or more digits after the decimal point. For example, one foot = .3048 meter. :1orglaugh

You got something against Burma and Liberia?

91-66-91

think metric ........................

you already use metric Im sure, dont you weight your weed in grams?


:)

dont you weight your weed in grams?

************************************

I weigh min in tons...........

just for personal use of course

and I have never inhaled (much)

Colin:

*g* Hell.. I thought ya went along to the butcher in street market in Burma and ordered 2.2kilos of dog :-)

we're americans, we dont have to embrace shit... we run this mutha!

on the same note, these Thai people have fully embraced the metric system, and their country is dirty, they are lazy, dumb, need I go on?

Dont worry it's gonna happen soon,

actually soon after your country starts using Euro as its currency.

But seriously, don't American scientists use metric system? In physics, astronomy etc?

There used to be folks who thought the idea of converting to the metric system was part of the Communist conspiracy to take over the world ... don't know if they are still out there, but I imagine they are.

I think most of the fasteners on my Cadillac are metric, though ... I know the oil plug is. Damn commies made me crawl back out from underneathi it to get the metric set ... :(

:thumbsup for any American who can actually admit to this.

Actually, it's funny that in construction everyone still uses the empirical system. Well, about 50/50, I guess.

i like metric because 16cm sounds more impressive.

370 kph sounds better than 230 mph. Plus, it's easy to tell that it's 3.7x the normal highway speed limit. :)

metric bolts on a Cadillac? Really?

they must be subcontracting outside the USA :P

fuck the metric system..... it sucks ass.

I'm waiting for metric time :1orglaugh

I couldn't imagin ordering litres of beer though

what a concise argument, Im convinced.

the whole knows the metric system

only in America you need education to learn it

Agreed, an intelligent comment indeed.

Or portuguese.

this is pracmatic, and sounds logic. but this happens to be like this for a looooong time, since switzerland was established 1291. this is hard to change ;)

That's all I needed to hear. I'm starting a petition to switch us back to empirical right now.

Yes, everyone uses the SI unit system.

I just bookmarked this thread :Graucho

Inquiring minds want to know why