I checked the AllMath site recommended to see if the site would convert ifp field event (as in track & field) results to metric. Nope. Inputting 6'6 1/2" (for a high jump result) doesn't work. You have to mentally add 72" plus 6 plus 0.5 to get a total number of inches, and the result takes about 5 seconds to appear. I also read the long discussion re ease of using units in construction. There is some truth here! Saying "5-6" is really easier than saying xxx centimeters, but not easier than saying xx.x (eg, "162-5"). That's what I mentally say to myself when I am building something around the house, or measuring lumber that I myself need to cut. One of the problems with SI is that sometimes the names are really longer and therefore more difficult to say. There are exceptions, such as kilos rather than pounds (about the same) and liters rather than gallons (again, about the same). My brother-in-law lives in Halifax, NS, Canada, and says "mils" for milliliters, but I don't think most metric-literate people in the US would recognize this. "Mil" is usually thought of as xxx mils think plastic sheeting found in hardware stores, the mil being 1/1000 of an inch. HARRY WYETH
