I'm going through all my old stuff and organizing it. One of the things I found was a Rand McNally street map of Boston from the mid-1970's.
On the back is the following, copied as written*. Break out the handkerchiefs and the tissue: THE METRIC MEASURE Within the next ten years, the United States will convert to the metric system of measurement. Feet, inches, miles and gallons will be out; meters, centimeters, kilometers and liters will be in. You may already use 35 mm film, take milligrammed pills, or ride on metrically measured tires. Length: Basic unit is the meter, about 1.1 yards. Other common length units are the millimeter (.04 inch), the centimeter (.4 inch), and the kilometer (.62 mile). If your office is 23 miles from home, you'll be driving about 37.0 kilometers to get to work. At 50 miles an hour (or 80.4 kilometers) the same driving time will apply. Your speedometer won't show miles from 0-120, it may show kilometers 0-190. Weight: The gram (about the weight of a paper clip) is the basic unit. Other units are the kilogram (about 2.2 pounds) and the metric ton (about 2,205 pounds). Instead of keeping your tires at 28 pounds per square inch, you would keep them at 193 kilopascals (one pound per square inch equals 6.895 kilopascals). Liquid Measure: The basic unit is a liter. There'll be no more pints, quarts or gallons. Instead of 5 gallons, you'll buy 19 liters; instead of 10 gallons, 38 liters; and if you fill your standard 20-gallon tank, you'll get 76 liters. Instead of 4 quarts of motor oil, you'd get 3.8 liters, since one quart equals .946 liters. *yes, there are some errors in numeration (naked decimal points) and usage (gram as basic unit). The content and not the nits are what is important here. What could have been. Carleton
