7mo ago

Everyday, as an American

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You could always use the metric system, that was always allowed. Most food (I've seen) has both imperial and metric measurements. Most digital measuring devices and lots of analog ones will have options for both. Speedometers generally have both.
Really, the only one stopping you from using the metric system in your daily life is you. Unless of course you're saying you want other people to use it. Which is a distinctly different proposition.
- I'd argue the two greatest barriers for the average, non-STEM individual adopting metric in America is the speed limits being in mph and the temperature being in °F. Both are convertible easily enough, but when you constantly have to do so to engage with critical infrastructure or safety (cooking temps, etc.) It provides a barrier against adoption for anyone without the drive to make a concerted effort to use metric.
  
  Between the two, I think temperature is the harder one. But strangely, it also brings weight and volume back into it: Cookbooks.
  So many recipes are finely tuned balances of measurements that just look plain alien when converted to metric.
  
  In the UK we're mostly using metric with the odd exception (we still love a pint of beer), one of which is that speeds are measured in MPH. It's not really a big deal, there aren't many customers between miles and kilometres and anything less than a km is still usually measured in metres.
  
  thanks to shrinkflation, all pints are now schooners. Tomorrow, middies.
- I think we were the first with metric money? We still pay for things in centidollars.
  
  Why do Americans call the decimal system "metric"?
  
  They're different things. The metric system uses decimal. All metric units are decimals, but not all decimals are metric measurements.
  You're right that money is decimal, not metric.
  
  Because that's it's name
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metric_system
  But if you wanna get all specific about it we can call it SI
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_System_of_Units
  It's certainly not the Decimal system
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimal
  
  There's no such thing as metric money. What are you talking about?
  
  Sorry, I thought you were making a general comment. I didn't realize you we're criticizing the "metric money" statement.
  But, reading over that person's comment again they also say "centidollars", which also doesn't exist, so I believe they were trying to make the point that the US was the first to make a currency that seems to adhere to the same principles as the metric system since their currently since 1 centidollars = 1 cent = 1 dollar/100.
  (I'm pretty sure it was a joke though. We don't use kilodollars, etc)
  
  Non-metric or non-decimal money is referring to systems where the multiple tiers of money, like our cents and dollars, are seperated by amounts other than 10 or 100, like the old British system of 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a pound https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C2%A3sd
  
  My Megadollar says otherwise.

322 comments