In Europe, millimetres is the norm for rainfall, even though snow is measured in centimeters. BTW, one millimetre of rain on a surface of one square metre yields one litre of water. (Useful if you live in the drier areas of the country and you have a water tank to collect rain from your roof).
_____ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of STANLEY DOORE Sent: 16 May 2007 16:23 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:38707] Re: Is U.S. metrication still considered "extreme?" Many of the weather web sites have a toggle which allows you to view weather data in either English or SI. Try www.weatherbug.com and see. Note that rainfall in SI is shown in millimeters rather than centimeters. Stan Doore ----- Original Message ----- From: Mike Millet <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: U.S. Metric <mailto:[email protected]> Association Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 11:05 AM Subject: [USMA:38706] Re: Is U.S. metrication still considered "extreme?" Every doctor scale I've been weighed on uses both SI and USC. Also, the scale my vet uses to weigh our German Shephard is digital and can do both. On the weather issue, I agree that it'd take a coordinated change, but I highly doubt you'd see a resistence to it as much as you might think. I think they would have to start doing forecasts in both units and then slowly phase out Farenheit. Most banks and other digital signs display both metric and USC temps when you drive by them and when I learned them it was very helpful in school learning them in pairs (0C,32F,20C,70F etc) But it would take a concerted effort. Mike On 5/16/07, Bill Hooper <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote: On 2007 May 16 , at 10:15 AM, STANLEY DOORE wrote: It would take the medical industry to require weighting and recording people's mass in the SI. This also would require a complete change in scales to show and record in SI units. Very expensive but doable. My doctor already has a scale that weighs in kilograms, but he doesn't. It is a digital scale that can weigh in either pounds or kilograms at the touch of a switch. His nurse weighs me in pounds (which I carefully don't look at) and when she is done, I throw the switch and get my mass in kilograms (and I tell the nurse what it is). So, for some doctors at least, recording masses in SI would not "require a complete change in scales" as Stanley suggests (above). It would just take the touch of a switch. I suspect many other doctors have similar scales. Here's where the federal government could have a significant impact. They should require by law that all scales (and other measuring instruments) should be able to measure in SI, in addition to Ye Olde English mix of units. Doctors (and others) could continue using them to measure in old units but when the time came that the national will is to go metric, it would not require any massive purchase of new instruments; it would just take the touch of a switch. Bill Hooper 73 kg body mass* Fernandina Beach, Florida, USA * plus or minus a kilogram or so. -- "The boy is dangerous, they all sense it why can't you?"
