I would say that Americans are much less enthused about compound units (and maybe vulgar fractions) than the British. But I wonder if adopting some of the principles is holding us back from just metricating. Just some examples:
*Surveyors happily survey in decimal feet without inches (0.01' = 0.12", close to an eighth). Non-metric machinists happily machine in decimal inches, with neither feet, not common fractions. (So what do a surveyor, a machinist, and a carpenter do when they work together). *The Customary side of my dual tape measure is all inches, all the way to 192" (multiples of 12" are in red #s instead of black) *I have noticed a bunch of consumer products that avoid compound units for the Customary. The legal FPLA and UPLR way of doing this is to use the "larger unit and a decimal fraction; however, they do it as all fluid ounces, contrary to requirements when over 1 pt. Some examples: -mouthwash: 1.5 L / 50.7 fl oz (s/b 1.58 qt or 1qt 1 pt 4.7 fl oz, "all ounces" is only allowed as supplemental -lotions: one is 18 fl oz / 532 mL, another is 580 mL / 19.6 fl oz (s/b 1 pt 2 fl oz and 1 pt 3.6 fl oz -shampoo: 1.18 L / 40 fl oz (s/b 1.25 qt or 1 qt 8 fl oz) Technically, when used with pt or qt, the "fl" in "fl oz" is redundant and can be omitted. *Deli, meat department and produce scales are all decimal pounds. The clerks don't know what an ounce is. There are exceptions, height is feet and inches, baby weights are pounds and ounces. But if we really liked compound units, we'd adopt stones for adult weights. ________________________________ From: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> To: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]> Sent: Sun, August 29, 2010 1:15:51 PM Subject: [USMA:48433] Breaking the Imperial mindset I know I've mentioned this once or twice before, but in thinking on this issue of the Imperial mindset and how it can impede metrication, I'm more convinced than ever that one of keys to successful conversion is breaking that mindset in all possible ways. In particular, it seems like the way to break the Imperial mindset of compound units (6 ft 3 in) and vulgar fractions (3 1/2 in) is to sweep both away in one fell swoop by replacing them with whole numbers. The other is use a unit (or submultiple) that is different enough from the old Imperial units to help prevent cognitive conflating of the two (the new and the old). How you say? Well, when it comes to measuring lengths, millimeters are the little miracle workers to get this job done. I have a strong hunch that is why industries that converted to millimeters in Australia did so well and so quickly: no fractions of any kind to mess with and a unit and actual numbers that were being used for familiar distances that were very different from the old feet and inches. Those industries using centimeters had no such advantages, which could explain why they're still in a muddle. So, while it's true that a society very comfortable with decimal fractions and submultiple prefixes in metric can do just fine using centimeters for certain ranges of length measurement that are arguably more natural or sensible, it seems like it's more important to break the Imperial mindset in a country seeking to convert than any other consideration. Anyhow, a few bits of observation after a relaxing Sunday morning shower ... hope that's not TMI. ;-) Cheers, y'all! Ezra
