Why are Americans still using the old imperial unit system?
07-27-2008, 03:53 PM
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Originally Posted by swajames' post='633542' date='Jul 27 2008, 09:10 AM
How can it be more accurate? They measure and represent exactly the same thing. One is no more accurate than the other.
a 10 mill wrench opposed to a a fraction of w/e wrench
using two systems instead of one really complicates things too, there was a nasa project to mars long time ago, and the probe never made it, why? because one team used centimeters while the other used inches, 15 billion wasted like that.
by "accurate" i meant easier to understand a simple measurement, inches are big and cumbersome while centimeters and small and nimble
07-27-2008, 07:44 PM
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07-27-2008, 10:57 PM
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07-28-2008, 02:05 AM
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Originally Posted by AlexFW' post='633468' date='Jul 27 2008, 09:00 AM
Britons need to feel special: hey, they are english, they are 20 km far from the rest of Europe!
Try to figure out if German and French people wanted the same, what a confusion!
I drove in UK for about 2000km and one of the things I understand is that the mile is too big! 1.6 km, too much: when you have to exit from the motorway you see 3/4 mile, 1/4 mile etc.. Here instead you have : 1 km, 500m, 250m .
Only the yard is acceptable.. It is a little meter.. 0.91 meter.
Inches are too big too, 2.5 cm .
Try to figure out if German and French people wanted the same, what a confusion!
I drove in UK for about 2000km and one of the things I understand is that the mile is too big! 1.6 km, too much: when you have to exit from the motorway you see 3/4 mile, 1/4 mile etc.. Here instead you have : 1 km, 500m, 250m .
Only the yard is acceptable.. It is a little meter.. 0.91 meter.
Inches are too big too, 2.5 cm .
By the way the reason the British resist the Metric system is because it is being imposed on them. Pure and simple. It's got nothing to do with needing to feel special, they just don't like being forced into something. I would have thought the people who live in some European countries might remember that
07-28-2008, 04:03 AM
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It does get a bit confusing at time when in the market you can hear "Two pounds for a pound".
07-28-2008, 07:11 AM
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Originally Posted by i<3e60' post='633835' date='Jul 28 2008, 02:53 AM
6cm as opposed to 2 and 6/16 inch
a 10 mill wrench opposed to a a fraction of w/e wrench
using two systems instead of one really complicates things too, there was a nasa project to mars long time ago, and the probe never made it, why? because one team used centimeters while the other used inches, 15 billion wasted like that.
by "accurate" i meant easier to understand a simple measurement, inches are big and cumbersome while centimeters and small and nimble
a 10 mill wrench opposed to a a fraction of w/e wrench
using two systems instead of one really complicates things too, there was a nasa project to mars long time ago, and the probe never made it, why? because one team used centimeters while the other used inches, 15 billion wasted like that.
by "accurate" i meant easier to understand a simple measurement, inches are big and cumbersome while centimeters and small and nimble
And to be accurate 268 mm = 10.5591(9) inches. So if you were to work with small measurements on a daily basis which one do you think it's easier to live with??
268mm is more accurate than a period 9 inch.
07-28-2008, 07:21 AM
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I grew up in the US right in the middle of its dabbling in the metric system. We got the stuff in schools. Little building blocks - centimeter, decimeter, etc... They tried to teach us, but it never stuck. Society just didn't change over.
07-28-2008, 09:09 AM
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Originally Posted by flyingpuck' post='634026' date='Jul 28 2008, 01:57 AM
I'm just an inch from being bored with this thread!!
07-28-2008, 09:47 AM
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Originally Posted by BetterMakeWay' post='634186' date='Jul 28 2008, 08:11 AM
Exactly !
And to be accurate 268 mm = 10.5591(9) inches. So if you were to work with small measurements on a daily basis which one do you think it's easier to live with??
268mm is more accurate than a period 9 inch.
And to be accurate 268 mm = 10.5591(9) inches. So if you were to work with small measurements on a daily basis which one do you think it's easier to live with??
268mm is more accurate than a period 9 inch.