Ethan
Wed, 29 Sep 2004 13:38:30 -0700
Hugh Birkenhead wrote: > Personally, I hate imperial units and try my honest best to avoid them > wherever possible. The main reason I think people resist the change to > metric is because they perceive it as "big brother Europe" imposing its > rules on us poor besieged Brits. > > Hugh B
One of my pet peeves is when anybody (government or otherwise) tries to impose foreign measurements on us. The system used here in the US is called Avoirdupoids. It is similar to the British imperial system, but is standardized. Ounces, pounds (16 oz), tons (2000 lbs); fluid ounces, pints (16 fl oz), quarts (2 pints), gallons (4 quarts); inches, feet (12 in), yards (3 ft), miles (5280 ft). No rule exceptions that I'm aware of. Our system works, and everybody is familiar with it. It's based on human measurements, not arbitrary ones, and has its roots in the ancient Greek and Roman systems. The Metric system grew out of the French revolution, and was part of an effort to destroy all past standards, regardless of whether or not there was a reason for the old standard. It is based on arbitrary standards, which is fine for scientific purposes. I use it myself in electronics and other things. Yet for everyday use, I'm much more comfortable using our American system. Not to mention all the standards which are based on our system, and which are not easy to change, nor would such change be prudent. In Canada they suffered such things as crashed or diverted airplanes due to fuel conversion mistakes! > Weren't there some news reports last year about > shopkeepers in the UK being fined for selling vegetables > by the pound instead of kilogram? > > --Ph. D. That's the other thing! Metric = government intrusion! Value your freedom? Use American measurements! :-) -- Âðððð - Ethan ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/mx3olB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shavian/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/