Can the US please just get with the program and switch to the metric system already? I know people have a mental breakdown at the thought of converting to kilometers and kilograms and Celsius, but for a nation that is notoriously awful at math, you think we’d embrace the simplicity. Or maybe switching to a system based on 10 won’t make a difference after all.
Let’s just a pick a date and go for it. All at once. No dual signage and weather reports. Just pick a date and BAM, metric system. Just like Sweden did when switching to driving on the right. Immersion is the best way to get a grasp on something new. I lived overseas for six years and in each new country I went to, yes for a few weeks I was converting rupees or roubles or pesos or won to dollars in my head to understand how much I was paying for something, but literally a few weeks is all it took before I began to understand the value of items in the local currency. The same with the weather report and distances and weights and shoe sizes, etc. In the abstract, it seems scary because our minds are still functioning in Fahrenheit and pounds and yards and all these other bizarre, measurements that are each based on meaningless, independent values. But with immersion, it would really be fine very quickly.
It’s never going to happen. I get that the biggest impediment is probably cost. Think of all the road signs and printed materials that use the imperial system and the enormous expense of switching everything over. But I can still dream.
What else are people writing in the A to Z Blog Challenge? Check out today’s featured blog, sponsored by the letter K: Kids Travel Books. How cute is this blog idea? Each entry has a downloadable sheet for kids to write about their travels. Love it!
I am one of those people who struggle with kilometers. We got the oil changed in our car and somehow the digital speedometer got changed to kilometers instead of mph. I looked down and I was driving 98. It totally freaked me out! But you’re right, it didn’t take me long to do the math and figure out how fast I was going. In fact, that took less time than trying to figure out how to change it back 🙂
LikeLike
And if the signs were in kilometers, it wouldn’t have been a problem at all. I think it’s a little easier for me because I grew up on the Canadian border and went into Canada all the time. I was used to switching which part of the speedometer I had to pay attention to.
LikeLike
Canada went metric years ago, and while I have no problem with the Celcius temp and kilometers, I measure myself in feet and inches and weigh myself in pounds. I aslo buy food by the pound. lol I’m a hybrid.
LikeLike
Ha! I know England has some mixed measurements too – like miles and stones. Guess it’s all about what you are used to.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I barely understand miles.
LikeLike
Yup, because it makes no sense. I never knew a mile was 5,280 feet until I moved to Denver. 5,280? What sense is that! Kilometers are so much easier.
LikeLike
*Giving a standing ovation* Yes! This needs to happen, but you’re probably right about the cost. I grew up working in my dad’s pharmacy, where everything is done on the metric system. So much easier!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes please! I’ve recently returned to the US after having lived in Germany for a long time, and the metric system just makes more sense. I still persist in writing dates the European way: day, then month, then year–smallest unit to largest.
@RhondaGilmour from
Late Blooming Rose
LikeLike
I did that for the longest time too when I came back to live in the States. It just makes more sense! I still cross my 7s too and when I count on my fingers, I start with the thumb.
LikeLike
I wish they would every time I travel there…
LikeLiked by 1 person
hahaha! Well I live in a country where we use kilos. Kilograms and kilometres so I struggle with your system. Glad to be here from the A to Z Challenge.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Even people who were born and raised here struggle with our system. It’s unnecessarily complicated.
LikeLike
[…] a few days. We got dumped on by several feet of snow and it was about 25 degrees (or should I say -4 degrees) the whole time. A necessary reminder of why I could never live there full time but I was so happy […]
LikeLike