A mini rant about the metric system--from Canada

You know, the metric system makes you faster.

Actually I'm a lover/hater of the metric system. Coming from a physics background its great. But as being a mechanical engineer its frustrating at times. But truth be known, metric system is better for one solid reason. It is based on one and only one single finite universal unit - 10. And in that makes it more precise. Yes, it maybe more confusing for the uninitiated, but in the end it is better. The Hubble example was a great analogy - metric along the way would have probably never required it to have spectacles.

And yes I have Whitworth tools

 

I finished college just before the metric system was taught. I was familiar with metric from my high school science days. I have 2 sons that are bilingual.....metric and imperial. I made sure of that. It's amazing the number of teenage kids that do not know what an inch is. In my shop, we only speak Imperial. I even taught my boys Roman Numerals. My oldest son completed a grade 4 math test in Roman Numerals, talk about screwing up a teacher. We all have lots of fun in the shop and that is what really counts.

 

All HAMBers are desperately clinging to some year other than 2007. The metric system is a good sorting mechanism...if something is metric, there's no need to waste any further time on it.
Use the measurements of your era...I actually waste time by seeking out Crescent wrenches with NO metric designations on the handle at flea markets. I proudly do not own a metric Crescent!
We won the cold war...whyinhell use them Commie measurements??
Oh, yes, if you own a banger, it is OK to own the requisite metrics to deal with your Zenith. But NO more!

 

I was a bit intimidated at first when I was doing fabrication drawings for a large crane manufacturer and was informed that a new project was going to be built in Korea so the drawings would have to be done in metric. It didn't take any time at all for me to get comfortable with millimeters, etc.

Anything built here, of course, was dimensioned in feet and inches. There were exceptions however. Because it was being fabbed in Morgan City, LA I drew 27 drawings for the boom on this machine in good old U.S. increments (photo). Except for that yellow tip section. It was a piece that the customer already had and wanted added to our boom. The tip had been built in Belgium and the prints were all in metric. Converting from one to the other was a headache but it turned out fine. I released the drawings and everything fit together as it should.

 

It is funny how the U.S. went half way with it in public education and then figured out it was too hard for folks to convert.

I'm heading to the store now to pick up a 2 liter of soda and a gallon of milk.

When my buddies wife had a baby, at one point the doctor said she was dialated to 4 centimeters. When the baby was born, he was 17" long and 6 pounds.

Guess I'll take my 5.0 now and go buy a gallon or two of gas. Maybe I can pick up a 2 liter of soda there or maybe just some 12 ounce cans.

I graduated from high school in 1984 and can distinctlly remember teachers saying you better learn this, by 1990 no one will be using the current system.

 

Uhh............no.

 

I know in standard it's 1/8th, a 1/16 and 1/32, but anyone know:

1. a hair
2. a cunt hair
3. a red cunt hair

in metric?

 

Could be worse. In a few years we could be spending a few billion Euros of our money on it...

 

As a math and science kind of guy, I studied in both units (back when dinosaurs ruled the earth) and have fluency in both methods. I can even do straightforward conversion problems in my head. Problem is that the units in the metric system have no correlation to real life. An inch is a couple of fingers. A foot is about as long as..... shockingly..... a foot. Metric measures have no intuitiveness (I wonder if that's a word?). Finally, I taught myself to think in thousandths of an inch, convert to/from fractions, etc. Traditional units for me, thank you.

 

Fuck it. 36 7/8 is good enough for who it's for.

 

Although being based on 10 most likely comes from our decimal counting system, which seems to be based on how many fingers we have.

A more sensible numbering system would be octal....then all those US type fractions start to look pretty good....

 

Then you must not be that old.

 

I like Big T's take on the situation.

I keep one of those Metric crescent wrenches in my tool box must to mess with the kids. If were working on something with metric fasteners I tell them to get the metric crescent wrench.....and make sure its the metric one, the other one wont fit. You'd be supprised how many dont question it.
Of course after thats over with I tell them to get a 15mm and never use a crescent wrench on anything except square headed stuff. Of course they have never seen a square headed nut or bolt.... Another dumb look

 

A chinese cunt hair?

 

Other than the fact that I don't know anyone with a size 14 shoe which is actually 12 inches . We think these sizes have real life correlation but in reality they don't. Pick 10 people an have them measure a couple of fingers. I bet you would be lucky if one was an actual inch. I know what you are trying to say but I think it's really just a perception not reality. I grew up with the metric system but still use imperial quite a bit like most of Canada. If you ask most people how tall they are or how much they weigh and you will get an imperial response most of the time. But ask how far something is or the tempurature and it will always be Km and Celsius. It's kind of a weird double system.

 

I worked for Sylvania as an engineer back in the 1960s and "an RCH" was indeed a unit of measure....

 

I Wisconsin we don't use KM's or Miles to measure distance.

How far is it from Wausau to Green Bay?

About a 12 pack.

BB

 

I don't have any problem converting back and forth between inch/metric. They're all just numbers anyway, and like AnimalAin, I put almost everything in terms of thousandths of an inch, but I have a hell of a time with those metric angles.

 

I build traditional hotrods here on the west coast of Canada. That means that I do not, ever use any metric nuts or bolts on my cars.
The 1/2 , 9/16 and 5/8 inch etc system works just fine.

 

Ummm, you mean a liter of beer?....
OTOH "a pint's a pound the world around" so a kilo of beer would be, uh, 2.2 pints.
Oh hell, grab that six-pack and let's boogie...

 

Yes metric blows sometimes, but we need to know it. My 1990 Mustang has a bunch of both. Makes it interesnting to work on. I refer to those as the change over years.

I speak 2 numerical languages. SAE and Metric.

If anyone ever tells you it's more accurate they are full of crap. It is neither more nor less accurate. It is just a different measuring system. a 3/4" bolt head requires a 3/4" socket/wrench/etc.. 3/4" = 3/4" that's accurate if you use the correct tool. 10mm = 10mm that's accurate if you use the right tool.

 

inches are more accurate for me, since I don't have any metric micrometers, and the batteries in my calculator died

 

I do like metric sockets though. They are perfect to drive on rounded off standard bolts when they are stuck!

 

Yo, Brian! Grab this here tape measure, and while I head for the equator...you get to head for the North Pole! Then we'll get Mr. Squirrel to fire up his "dividing engine" and come up with a ten millionth of our span.
At least w/him doing the math...it'll pan out +/- an eighth...
OH? you get the equator?

 

What pissed me off when we changed over in the 70s was....I was still running engines then that took premium fuel. Premium was about 10 cents more per gallon...........They bring in this litre shit and guess what?. Premium is 10 cents more per litre.......A litre is about 1/4 of a gallon....so guess who is making 4x profit on their premium?

I have gotten used to metric over the last 30 years...temp is no problem, as is liquids in litres.........Only thing that I cant relate to is this so many litres/100 km.................Give me miles/gal or I don't know what they are talking about.

 

1. a hair - a little less everyday
2. a cunt hair -exponentially more expensive everyday
3. a red cunt hair - depends on the time of the month, and restraining order

Personally, systems of measurements have been at contention since man measured himself on a Mammoth bone. So the way I figure it, learn them all, embrace them all, and deal with whatever comes your across your path. Remember there was atime when size depended on manufacturer, talk about a nightmare.

By the way, anybody hear about the special tamper resistant sizing Harley is messing with? Special tools recquired. Possible model for other manufacturers to follow.

 

Hey Brian.. wanna REALLY mess with your kid's mind? School him in standard measurements and get the poor lad to measure a 2 by 4 with a standard tape measure!
Or a 2 by 6
Or a 1 by anything....
The explain why a 2 by 4 isn't.

 

WTF! there is no "metric system" its the "Mcmetric" system! quit fucking with me ronald is always right! or was that mayor Mccheese?

 

we have tracking gauges at work and i cant use them because they are metric and i only work in degrees and minits when we had the old bear gauges i used to do ten to fifteen alignment a day now i dont do any what a result!!!

 

Hey I only said it was more accurate. Octal only makes more sense when related to sound. Ten actually has a deeper mathematical
relevance. And then there certain schools of thought that equate triplets to the most relevant numbering.

Personally I like the standard system. Inevitably it was born illogical (old royal units), and just is what is. I like that.