[USMA:29705] interesting question

[MightyChimp]

I'm  curious to know something about the "understanding" of units world-wide.  Does anyone here have either knowledge, experience or feeling as to whether more people in metric countries understand and have a working knowledge or feel for FFU or more people in FFU-land have the same towards metric?   In other words, would an American be more likely to understand metric, or a foreigner more likely to understand FFU.    I've encountered immigrants to the US who give me funny looks if I use metric units and become resistant if I ask them to respond to me in metric.  Many claim to have forgotten metric and understand only FFU.  Some being in the US only a few years.  Yet, when they speak with others of their kind they have no problem conversing in their native language.  How could one not forget one's native language, yet forget SI.  Can anyone here relate to this?