Title: Re: [USMA:33766] Re: Metric road signs in US & other uses of metric in the USA
Dear Gavin,
It's interesting that the USA was the prime mover in establishing the Universal Postal Union, see:
http://www.upu.int/about_us/en/history.html
and that this organisation specifies the mass of parcels in kilograms with thicknesses and lengths in millimetres.
>From this it is clear that a parcel dumbed down to inches and ounces by your post office employee has to be smartened up to metric units when it leaves the borders of the USA.
I suspect that to make the 'dumbing down' to inch/ounces and 'smartening up' to metric means that the U.S. Post Office has chosen values that make for easy conversions. This is only surmise on my part as I don't know the current postage rates for letters or for parcels.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin ASM (NSAA), LCAMS (USMA)*
PO Box 305, Belmont, Geelong, Australia
Phone 61 3 5241 2008
Pat Naughtin is the editor of the free online monthly newsletter, 'Metrication matters'.
You can subscribe by going to http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter
* Pat is the editor of the 'Numbers and measurement' chapter of the Australian Government Publishing Service 'Style manual – for writers, editors and printers', he is an Accredited Speaking Member (ASM) with the National Speakers Association of Australia, and a Lifetime Certified Advanced Metrication Specialist (LCAMS) with the United States Metric Association. For more information go to: http://metricationmatters.com
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on 2005-07-30 12.26, Gavin Young - Renewable Electricity Solutions at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Three days I brought 4 packages to the local US Post Office for them to be
> shipped. On the packages I had written "Go Metric!" When I handed them to
> the postal clerk (the US Post office does not use metric at all when dealing
> with US customers - their scales and website are in inches, pounds, ounces,
> and 10ths or 100ths of pounds only) she said she hates metric and wishes the
> USA will never convert to metric. She said that when she was in school (she
> appears to be no older than 30) she was taught the US units and that metric
> is confusing to her. I told her that I believe that the USA will be metric
> within 30 years. I explained some of the metric system to her and why it is
> simple to me. I told her that metric is easier to me and that I find it hard
> to keep track of drams, ounces, pints, cups, tablespoons, and other US
> Customary liquid measures. She says that it is easy for her since she does
> lots of cooking.
>
> A clerk at the Deli section of a local grocery store also says she hates
> metric. When I buy food at that Deli counter (those items that they sell by
> the pound only) I ask for 1.10 pounds (if I say 1.1 pounds they almost
> always think 1.01 pounds for some odd reason) since it equals about 0.5 kg.
> When the clerks ask when I didn't simply ask for 1 pound I tell them I
> prefer to use metric and 1.10 pounds is the closest I can get to 0.5 kg when
> I buy from their store. However one day a clerk at the same counter knew the
> conversions between pounds and kg and she said it was because she used to
> spend a lot of time in Europe.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Philip S Hall" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
> Sent: Thursday, 28 July, 2005 01:14
> Subject: [USMA:33746] Re: Metric road signs in US
>
>
>> Re: [USMA:33743] Re: Metric road signs in USPat wrote:
>> "I recall one sales assistant in a Borders book store who, when I asked
> her
>> to direct me to metric books, responded by saying, 'I wish the government
>> would just get on with the metric business and get it over and done
> with'."
>>
>>
>> I suspect that this mild sense of frustration may represent the view of a
>> lot of people in the USA. Americans do have the advantage that there
> aren't
>> any factors like the EU to muddy the waters and polarise the issue.
>>
>> Phil Hall
>>
>
>
