An exchange with an anti-metric American, followed by my answer.
It began thus. He asked why I oppose Imperial and this was my first answer.
Han
Bill,
Thank you for your question. The main reason: it has invaded and corrupted
metric countries. If it had stayed out, I would have no reason to be so
bitterly opposed to it; it would not concern me; I would be able to use
metric in peace.
Up to this day, Britain and the USA have been trying to impose the English
language and Imperial/US units on the entire world. They have succeeded with
the language, with the measuring units they succeeded in some areas. I swore
that I would do whatever I could to stop Imperial and US customary
encroachments, while accepting the position of the English language.
Personally, and you will surely disagree, I regard Imperial as a leftover
from the Middle Ages. And I do not want countries to revert to such a state.
I am fluent in Imperial and US units, but my mother system is metric. In
fact, this familiarity with Anglo-Saxon units has vaccinated me against them
and made me appreciate metric even more.
Here are some examples of Imperial and US customary impostions,
encroachments in Europe and experieces with it:
1. My brother had an British Mini car in the seventies, early eighties. The
manual was in Dutch, but the measuring units were Imperial with metric in
brackets. What was that good for? Did this manufacturer really think that
mainland Europeans would swoon with Imperial, once they were exposed to it?
2. In the fifties some British car manufacturer attempted to export cars to
France with Imperial instruments on the dashboard. The French rejected these
cars.
3. There was a time when we used the metric system in aircraft navigation. I
saw pre-WWII airplanes with metric instrumentation in an aircraft museum
near Schiphol airport. Fuel in litres, temperatures in degrees Celsius,
speeds in km/h and altitudes in metres. Now we have to fly in feet and
nautical miles in our own airspace, just to please the USA and the UK.
4. Marketeers from the computer and electronics industry have succeeded in
making mainland Europeans parrot things they know nothing about, like '3.5
inch disks', '19 inch screens'. In fact, the real standard for disks is 90
mm, but to suit the Americans it was called 3.5 inch and sold that way all
over the world.
5. My father was at commercial school before the war. There he was subjected
to the torture of making up invoices in ton.cwt.qr.lb/L.s.d. He hated
Imperial because of that all his life.
6. I was at school, sixth form, in 1973/74. My teacher of English once used
Imperial to express a distance in our own country (10 miles between two
Dutch towns). I talked her out of this. This was possible because she was
(and is) my friend; she was and is a kind, lovely lady. She never again used
Imperial in such cases. In English lessons (EFL and ESL) Imperial and US
units should only be used in proper British and Americans contexts. Eiffel
Tower 984 ft high? 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Madrid? 25 inches of snow
in the Alps? No way! Never!
7. I had a holiday job in the early eighties. There I translated technical
manuals from English to Dutch. Wherever possible I deleted Imperial units in
the translations. Then I got instructions from an American manufacturer of
drills to translate. They were all in in hard US units. The people who
worked there preferred metric, no mistake, but if necessary they could use
inches. I thought of metricating the stuff, but I had to realize that it was
very measurement sensitive and any conversion to metric would yield nasty
broken values. Only because of this, I translated the instructions to Dutch,
while **retaining the inch measurements**. I swore revenge for this, to
fight back even harder, and now you see my posts on the internet.
8. Two years ago, I was in the Eurolines coach from London to Amsterdam.
We were approaching the Dutch city of Breda, but were still in Belgium. We
passed a sign saying, 'Breda 40'. Some British in the coach thought that
this meant 'Breda 40 miles'!!! It was, is, and will remain 'Breda 40 km'.
9. When I am in the UK or Ireland, that is every summer, I do not object to
using Imperial at all. Then I call a truce.
10. On the other hand, if someone from the UK or the USA wants information
from me involving measurements and this person and I are in my own or in any
other metric country I will not use Imperial or US units.
In the end, I expect all presence of Imperial in metric countries to wither
away. It could come in here because of the British Empire in the past and
later because of the American Age.
In the mean time, to help speed the day when this comes about, I will resist
Imperial and US units as fiercely as the BWMA and the UKIP fight metric.
Yours,
Han Maenen
The Netherlands
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Roland" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2001 11:12 PM
Subject: Re: Imperial versus metric
> Han:
Thank you for your candid and detailed response to my question. I must
inform you sir, that as hard as you will fight to rid the Earth of Imperial
Units, I will match you in the fight to push Metric from the face of the
Earth. The fact of the matter is this: metric forces are in disorganized
retreat all over America, and finally in Canada as well. In Britain, they
have met stiff resistance that threatens to end the metrication process
there. Although (the American in me speaks here) I would prefer that the
entire Earth use Imperial, I realize this is unlikely, and I have no
objection to keeping metric where it already exists, but I am not in favor
of it being used in areas where imperial is the traditional unit. Metric,
contrary to great myth, is not the "vastly superior" system it claims to be.
The B2 "Stealth" Bomber, the entire Boeing Fleet, and even the Space
Shuttles are all done in Imperial. How can this be, given that its nothing
but a "Middle Ages" system? The fact is, that America is technologically
number 1, and if you don't believe that, just consult our nuclear arsenal,
which, is oddly enough, imperially measured as well. Good day to you.
Bill Roland
"There's no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn't
mind who gets the credit." President Ronald Reagan
Bill,
This is my last message to you.
Your units are on a life supporting system. Have you never heard about the
Mendenhall Order of 1893? Have you never heard of the 1959 agreement between
English speaking nations? Your units are all defined in terms of the metric
standards. An inch is defined as 25.4 mm exactly. The yard and the pound are
defined in the same way. This involvement of metric standards is the only
reason why your 'superior' units can be used for high tech applications.
Your units are nothing but a second hand metric system. You evidently do not
know that the USA is a signatory of the Metric Convention (1875) and
as a result she is a member of the International Bureau of Weights and
Measures! The least thing the USA could do is stop bothering other nations
with her second hand metric units.
Just go to http://www.nist.com
and visit their Weights and Measures section.
I know that metric forces in the USA are not in disorganized retreat at all
and they are not in Canada and Britain either.
In many areas, hidden from the public, US industry uses metric indeed.
The rest of the world will never trade in metric for second hand metric.
Having adopted English as the world language is more than enough.
Goodbye,
Han
