[WikiEN-l] Re: Consistency

[Ray Saintonge]

John C. Penta wrote:

>From: Jimmy Wales 
>
>>Not until my generation is dead and buried, at least.  Back when I was
>>in grade school in the 70s, they tried to teach us the metric system
>>(which is clearly inferior and incomprehensible, by the way!) but it
>>didn't take.  Being an educated person, I can do the conversions, but
>>I have no intuitive grasp of Celcius temperatures, nor do most
>>Americans.
>>
>
>   Same with mine, in the early 90s. It's more common, however, to see metric/SI required even in junior high science courses. Was at my school, anyhow. But no, it doesn't go anywhere for day-to-day tasks. I dunno what it'll take, besides force, to get Americans to abandon imperial units.
>
>>Seriously, though, at the present time there is no significant
>>movement afooot to change our measurement system, nor does anyone seem
>>to particularly care.
>>
The real drive for this in the United States comes fro certain 
industries who wish to export to Europe which by the end of 2009 will 
ban all imports that are not packaged solely in metric units.  In many 
states contracts for highway and bridge construction must be specified 
in metric uniots.  The use of metric was authorized in the U. S. in 
1866, but it has been slow to do very much that would be visible to the 
general public.

Ec