Re: Metric Time (was Re: Why not 13 months? (Was La Systeme Metrique))

Kai Henningsen (kai@khms.westfalen.de)
14 Oct 1995 20:43:00 +0200

hatunen@netcom.com (DaveHatunen) wrote on 10.10.95 in <hatunenDG950E.L3L@netcom.com>:

> You're a day late and a dollar short (must have to do with being
> Canadian or something). As far as the rest of the world is concerned,
> trade-wise, the US is already on the metric system. Almost all
> manufactures these days use metric.

That certainly explains why all the measures I've seen on US products
bought over here have been metric ... NOT!

In fact, I can't remember a single metric unit used except sometimes as an
afterthought ("oh yes, these n inches are n*2.54 mm"). (Umm, except for
products produced outside the US, even if under a US name. Like, you know,
Coca Cola.)

The "interesting" result of the US state of affairs is that TV sizes are
measured in cm, while computer monitor screens are measured in inches ...
ridiculous.

> As for what units Americans use in their personal lives, what's it to
> you?

It hampers my communication with them. It is a problem when reading books
by US authors (which I do very often).

In short, it has ramifications for *my* personal life.

> I am happy to see, though, that you Canadians recognize our dominance in
> the world by telling us we're holding the rest of it up. Good to know
> we still count for something.

You count for something like 5% of the total population, if I got the
right numbers. I've no numbers for things like GNP, but I expect the
figure's a lot higher. Even more so with nuclear arsenal or space flight
capability. Other aspects probably somewhere in between.

That's certainly enough to hold the rest of it up. Not forever, though.

Kai

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