Marinagh wrote:At least you weren't launching a $347.6M mission to Mars http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Surveyor_'98_program
MShipley88 wrote: I know that the last guy in England who refused to use metrics almost got put in jail for it....at least that's what the US media said.Mark
MShipley88 wrote:(Consider the fact that hard liquor and wine often come in metric sizes but BEER is always in ounces. )
VermilionFire wrote:Marinagh wrote:At least you weren't launching a $347.6M mission to Mars http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Surveyor_'98_programI was thinking of the same incident and I'm sure there have been others. Has anyone estimated how much money and time is lost to international businesses and governments because we in the States won't switch? The metric system is actually easy to get used to but who knows.... 'sigh' is a good name for this thread.
Badmike wrote:BTW, anyone remember the failed experiment in the states of having the speed limit signs list both MPH and KPH?Mike B.
Kingofpain89 wrote:Badmike wrote:BTW, anyone remember the failed experiment in the states of having the speed limit signs list both MPH and KPH?Mike B.I dont think I am old enough to remember that (no offense Mike. ). But I do remember when they started putting digital speedometers in Ford cars. My mom had a Thunderbird back in '80 or '81 that had a button that switched from MPH to KPH. I thought she was going to have a stroke when she looked down to see how fast she was driving and the speedometer showed 95. She hadnt realized that I had hit the button and changed it to KPH. I was only 8 or 9 so it was extremely entertaining at the time.
Badmike wrote:I'm proud to say the only piece of the metric system I deal with now is yards in a pro football game.
MShipley88 wrote: I believe that the rest of the world asked American track athletes to think of distances in meters so that there can be less confusion about exactly how far behind American runners their athletes are trailing. Mark
red_bus wrote:MShipley88 wrote: I believe that the rest of the world asked American track athletes to think of distances in meters so that there can be less confusion about exactly how far behind American runners their athletes are trailing. Mark Well, if US athletes are going to take their steroids in fluid ounces and here in Europe we are only doping in cubic centimetres - you guys are going to just fly ahead.
Badmike wrote:I remember starting Junior High School in 1975 (7th grade) and being told by a snotty ass superior bitch of a math teacher that we HAD to learn the metric system by the end of the semester because by the 1980s (a far away time then) they would be teaching it in 1st grade instead of the standard system and by the end of the century the US like the entire world would be using the Metric system. I'm proud to say the only piece of the metric system I deal with now is yards in a pro football game. I hope that teacher retired knowing everything she taught us that semester was worthless, much like her entire career. BTW, anyone remember the failed experiment in the states of having the speed limit signs list both MPH and KPH?Mike B.
VermilionFire wrote:I really showed her how wrong she was when, as an adult, I visited beautiful Spain for a month and had a really difficult time trying to communicate with the locals.