Why the metric system matters - Matt Anticole

[@RenegadeSamurai]

Funfact, on the wikipedia article of the metric-system was once written that "all civilised countries in the world have adopted the metric system." Sadly this was removed :D

[@GamingKing-jo9py]

That meant the us is not civilized

[@turdsalami]

@@GamingKing-jo9py yes.. that's the point.

[@Milesco]

@@turdsalami : I'm so glad that GamingKing explained that for us! I never would've figured it out otherwise.

[@tiedeman39]

@@turdsalami Except for the fact that the US already adopted the metric system in the 1970s

[@daveroll6463]

Jaffa Cakes finally someone who spoke up

[@MrReset94]

> Be American > Decide you want freedom from the British Empire > Gain freedom and kick out the Imperialists > Keep using the Imperial System to measure stuff...

[@jacobguillerey4476]

That summs up the whole revolution actually... They just didn't want to pay taxes.

[@fot6771]

@@jacobguillerey4476 >be a colonial american >don't want to pay taxes >revolt >pay more tax for defence against previously allied native tribes

[@obligatoryusername7239]

@@jacobguillerey4476 It was more than that. Forcible housing of British soldiers, a lack of Parliamentary representation, and over reaction by Britain to events like the Boston Tea Party led to calls for independence.

[@jacobguillerey4476]

@@obligatoryusername7239 True... But I'm just annoyed that it's most often represented as "the right thing to do" when in medias. That's all ^^

[@Biomechanoid29ah]

the empire strikes back!

[@poruatokin]

A lot of simplistic comments on here about inches and feet vs millimeters and meters but the metric system ties up a lot more than that. Energy, power, electricity, pressure, force, volume, mass, flow - all are tied together in a logical sense. Simple example - for everyday use, 1gram of water (at 4degC) has a volume of 1cubic centimeter so 1 cubic meter of water has a volume of 1,000 liters, has a mass of 1,000 kg and exerts a pressure of 0.1kg (100 grams) per square centimeter. Easy to calculate and easy to visualize. Compare that with - How many US gallons of water are in a cubic yard, what is the mass in pounds and how much pressure does it exert in pounds per square inch? Or another one - Convert metric tons to grams - 1.3 tons x 1,000 x 1,000 = 1,300,000 grams. Now quickly tell me how many ounces are in 1.3 US tons? The point is, anyone can use metric values without looking up tables, making conversions or calculating anything. Can you do that with the imperial system? Anybody? From your head, not by looking it up..... Thought so.

[@KarishmaChanglani]

Preach!

[@madensmith7014]

One of the reasons why lots of American kids are complaining about math.

[@beth8775]

@@madensmith7014 Honestly, when you grow up with the weirdness, you're just used to it. Most Americans will find it surprising how easily you can do those conversions because the convolutedness is just a fact of life for us. The big reason kids hate math so much now is the ridiculous way it's being taught. 10×10=100 no matter what measurement system you use, but my kids can't do double digit equations without drawing boxes because they aren't *allowed* to do it any other way at school. They aren't made to memorize basic math tables so they just know them.

[@chaeyoungsbestie414]

I guess? But also, most people aren’t trying to figure out how many ounces are in 1.3 tons. In fact, that information is completely irrelevant. Kids in the US learn the metric system in science classes and we use the metric system when doing anything stem related. We use our system when navigating everyday things, like driving a certain amount of miles, how many cups of flour this recipe needs, what’s the temperature outside, etc etc. Nobody is thinking “okay so I got a gallon of water but I need 657 ounces so how many more gallons of water do I need??” That’s just not something anybody would ever deal with.... and if they did, the Internet is there for them to utilize and they could get their answer in a couple of seconds.

[@michaeldavis2531]

@poruatokin What you just said is extremely arbitrary. No one how cares how much energy is required to increase the temperature of water which weighs one gram, That is useful in chemistry, but we aren't going to use that in every day life seriously and frankly, no one cares. "How many ounces are in 1.3 tons" Who cares, SERIOUSLY!? Who cares. Ounces and Tons have completely different relations to each other. You wanna measure the weight of something small use ounces, the weight of a car, use tons

[@unknownyoutuber2007]

I am an American. I work for a Danish company who set up their very first factory here a few years ago. Being Danish, they use the Metric system. As such, despite being on American soil, I handle and work with Metric all day long. Honestly, it is extremely easy and convenient. You get far, far more precise measurements. It honestly really is superior.

[@LautaroTessi]

Not just precise. Easier. Not to mention the simplicity of working with different magnitudes in metric.

[@sharonjuniorchess]

Halving and then halving again and so on is much easier to do. That's why the other systems evolved. They are all powers of two not 10.

[@LautaroTessi]

@@sharonjuniorchess well no. Sure for doubling or halving it will be useful, but that's it. I've studied numeric calculus (that's how computers make calculations) and powers-of-two system is way more difficult than decimal.

[@sharonjuniorchess]

@@LautaroTessi actually there is a good argument for teaching arithmetic to young children using base 2 as they can handle larger numbers much more easily and it has very long and sound history of being used to measure and count things. I teach this approach to young children (primary level) and it improves their number sense.

[@a.y.102]

@@LautaroTessi SI units also provide benefit when you work with multiple dimensions. For example with mass, length, time, energy, and power: Good luck on trying to calculate power in horse power, with length of one thing is in feet, length of another thing in mile, mass in pounds. On the other hand, in SI units: 1 N = 1 kg * 1 m * (1 s)^(-2) 1 J = 1 N * 1 m 1 W = 1 J / (1 s)

[@jasonoreilly6204]

What about that other favourite American unit the "Football Field"

[@sobanya_228]

But they don't even play football.

[@ruebo2817]

Sobanya best comment ever! They play American Football, football is a game with a normally round ball and not with something where you think wether the machine producing the "ball" is still ok

[@jaymoseley6216]

Its funny because that's the reason yards are so intuitive to most of us is because of football practice. How many sports are that repetitive and distance centered where everyone that's ever played knows exactly what 10 yards is for the rest of their life lol.

[@sskofu]

and also empire state building

[@RR-ir6ss]

So true! Hahahahaha

[@kurtjens]

I'm doing what one writer below suggested: Since the USA won't switch as a country, I decided to switch my household. Scales are in kilograms, temperature gauges in celsius, tape measures are millimeters, centimeters and meters. My beer comes in .47 liter cans. My bike computers read in kilometers. I'm slowly beginning to think metric.

[@agoogleaccount9608]

Kurt Jensen lol .47 litres Our cans are usually 250, 355 or 440 ml

[@qwormuli77]

He can convert his household, but he can't convert the grocery store nor the breweries.

[@pedroluizb]

@*A Google Account In Brazil we have normally 273 ml, 350 ml aaand 473 ml cans of beer. Weird. Where u from?

[@qwormuli77]

In Nordic countries it is 330ml, 0.5l and 1.5l, with a sprinkle of other sizes for thing's like energy drinks. The common sizes change quite a bit from area to area, but at least the units stay the same.

[@ImmaterialDream]

I guess we should trust you cus you are an engineer. :o

[@henrychan720]

If I’m going to the US, I might just as well just invent my own system. 1 henry mile is how far I can run in 5 henry minutes, and 1 henry gallon is how much water I drink after running 5 henry miles. I mean the imperial system is basically invented in the same way right?

[@omarfazli]

But 'henry' is already a unit ( for electromagnetic inductance)😄

[@ramiabdellahmokrane9442]

Genius but " Henry" is already taken

[@mohamedameri360]

Henry is already taken, try Henry_69420 instead?

[@danielchale6596]

@@mohamedameri360 or XxHenryxX

[@henrybricks2953]

using my *OUR* name?

[@modernknighterrant]

Fun fact... The US actually almost switched in 1793. Thomas Jefferson wanted to standardize measures because at the time we were using a bit of a hodgepodge between English and Dutch systems depending on state. Having heard of the Metric system, Jefferson inquired into it and France sent a man named Joseph Dombey with some Metric prototypes to help demonstrate the value of the new system. Dombey's ship was blown off course by a storm, and it ended up in the Caribbean where it was hijacked by British privateers. Dombey died in captivity on the island of Montserrat and the prototypes were auctioned off, never making it to Jefferson. So that's why the U.S. doesn't use metric in a nutshell: Fuckin' pirates.

[@johnharrison7585]

Jefferson was also wrong about the French.

[@calixthefishkeeper1121]

wow had to use the f word there but did u really have to ROLF

[@wardasz]

Fun fact - US does use metric. The US goverment define imperial units using metric (f. eg. the deffinition of inch is "distance equal to 25,4mm")

[@Goursome]

No, that's not a valid reason

[@Helperbot-2000]

@@Goursome a valid reason for what?

[@joehampson2527]

2:24 "At first, people used new units _alongside_ old ones" An irritating practice that continues to this day in England.

[@frisianmouve]

My first time to England: You lost a stone? Why would i care for you losing a stone? Do you collect stones?

[@sycops1]

I believe things like speed limit signs will never be changed from MPH. I remember reading about a study that said the cost just to change the speed limit signs would bankrupt the country, or something like that.

[@brandonwiebe2647]

Sycops lol! You’re talking about the US. They can’t go bankrupt they own the global banks. And btw Canada converted in the 70s and we don’t have any mph signs. It takes time to convert but it must be done at some point

[@phillycheesetake]

The measurements in the UK which are still defined on the imperial system are ones which don't matter. You only encounter the imperial system when you're travelling, or drinking.

[@sycops1]

Brandon Wiebe My comment was directly referencing England. Never said the U.S.....

[@alejandrobasaldua5930]

Metric System: designed to have properties that make it easy to use and widely applicable, including units based on the natural world. It is a coherent system, and It has a property called rationalisation that eliminates certain constants of proportionality in equations of physics. Imperial System: I can use my thumb as a measuring instrument.

[@podroznikzpustkowi4805]

Imperial System: So yeah, there is that thing called football field.

[@jugemujugemugokonosurikire4735]

"So how long is a football field" "Oh about (XX XX XX) yards" "How long is 1 yard?" "Oh about (X X X) feet" "How long is 1 foot?" "Oh 12 inches" "How long is 1 inch?" "About your thumb length" *"So basically you want me to measure the football field using my thumb about a few thousand times?"*

[@Helperbot-2000]

@@jugemujugemugokonosurikire4735 *Y E S*

[@kuro19382]

Not if your thumb is by any chance slightly different from the official size used to measure how long an inch is. You wanna use your thumb to calculate how big something is in metric ? just measure the size of your thumb with a ruler, if it's let's say roughly 2cm wide you can do the measuring based on that. You have an idea of how much a meter is ? measure your leg, depending on your height it will be about it. You will still have the same variations from the imperial system but if you don't care about precision it is still all good. In conclusion, imperial system has a few downsides and is not intuitive at all, especially if we are talking about converting from one unit to another, while the metric system can be used in the same way if needed and is way easier to convert to another unit (i'm saying conversion as in mile to feet, kilometer to meter, not from one system to another).

[@tiagodarkpeasant]

@@cowboylee9457 how many yards are in 500 inches ?

[@mikedrz]

I hate it when the Discovery or Science channel tells you something in miles, or uses football fields, or the size of Texas as measurements. No wonder people aren't getting any smarter. Apparently everything is the size of Texas or football feilds. There are no other options, haha.

[@GhostInTheShell29]

We measure large volumes with Olympic size swimming pools for some reason as well.

[@suntanironman]

There is nothing wrong with making comparisons to better help visualize extremely large numbers.

[@jimfrans2547]

then why use texas or american football field? i believe most people living on this planet doesn't know and doesn't care on how big texas or american football field are! most of us believe in universal metric system! please accept that, americans!

[@suntanironman]

Jim Frans I'm just guessing here, but since the Discovery Channel and Science Channel are both America-based networks, the shows in question that mikedrz was talking about were probably made in America. So they are likely doing measurements and comparisons to cater specifically to their American audience. Texas and football fields are easy comparisons for Americans to visualize. Many American know how long a regulation NFL football field is without the need to look it up (120 yards including the endzones). It is a good, easy thing to use as a comparison. And before anybody says anything: I live in Japan and I'm well aware that content from the Discovery Channel and Science Channel are shown outside of America. Discovery content is fairly popular in Japan. Often the audio is just dubbed into Japanese and the units are all changed into metric. If it isn't dubbed into Japanese, it will be subtitled into Japanese (and will use metric in the subtitles). And sometimes the visuals are changed as well with comparisons that are easier to understand for a Japanese audience. (Maybe use Hokkaido instead of Texas or what have you.)

[@sapturnus]

In Brazil a Texas-sized farm is a medium one. We measure things in Argentinas.

[@crisant.]

Girl: I only date 6 feet guys Me with only 2 feet: cries in metric system

[@rambosclone8410]

lmao

[@sannidhyabalkote9536]

@Rohan like you

[@ItumelengS]

,🤣🤣🤣

[@potatoperson4645]

POGGERS

[@celeridad6972]

@King Noice!

[@Wojtackic]

I'm happy Americans at least use seconds. Imagine saying "I'm gonna be there in 50 times the time an American football flies into a goal from the other side of the field"

[@shaftdiggity]

A day is 86.4 kiloseconds. No thanks, metric system.

[@Tomartyr]

Americans are so happy you still use Imperial time measurements..

[@ruebo2817]

Luke Wunderlin ? You also dont say the gas station 316.800.000 thou away, or do you? You should just regard the units you use everyday, and that arent kiloseconds or thou.

[@Tomartyr]

@Nidhogg There is actually a metric time with decaseconds, kiloseconds etc.

[@gauravbharatha9110]

Luke Wunderlin u can use megaseconds then it would be 8.64 megaseconds per day

[@nidohime6233]

The problem with imperial system can be simplified by this question: Your foot or my foot?

[@tranmanhuc6235]

And do you collect stones?

[@sbarz106]

His foot.

[@Rogerioapsandrade]

Your gallon or my gallon? Your inch or my inch?

[@icarusunited]

And how many pounds as well?

[@NoobyBoy81]

Nido Hime but is it ur right foot or left foot

[@agnia85]

Thank you, that's why it's so annoying when major science channels or documentaries use pounds or miles...

[@tvremote9394]

ikr it's infuriating. whenever i see a documentary that only uses imperial units i have to use my phone to convert them to metric units so i can understand.

[@siaw0000]

+Allison Koester I think you are getting the wrong point here. Seeing people use imperial units in a science paper or documentary is frustrating largely because the metric system is what people SHOULD use for all science and hardcore math related materials, not just because they are hard to convert for some.

[@siaw0000]

+Allison Koester In other words, just because you have memorized how to roughly convert units (big praises to you by the way. I tried but some units are still way too different) doesn't mean that it isn't wrong and moreover, unprofessional, to use imperial units under these contexts. I do get that the director of a documentary or something like that intended for an American audience might decide to use imperial units because it makes it easier to understand for the audience though.

[@ZealousX7]

+Xiran Wang That's like saying english should be spoken when talking about science because that's what everyone uses. As an American, we can't just switch over to the metric system, although you're correct in the matter that all science and math related measurements should be metric, it's not that easy. Especially when no one in America uses the Metric System.

[@siaw0000]

+Kaneki I'm very sorry to inform you that I can't just fuck off because I'm one of your very fellow Americans living in the States. I knew someone would be stupid enough to assume that I live in China just because of my name and be so racist about it, so I didn't state that to give you a slap in the face. Besides, the metric system is the international system of units, even in the states where we don't use it, it is the official measurement for any science related material, so there's nothing wrong with the word "should". Anyone who goes to SCHOOL would understand that. But obviously you don't because you are an uneducated, racist bitch. Oh by the way, I muted you, so there's no need to reply. HAVE A NICE DAY.

[@jakobbauz]

So the French helped the Americans to get rid of the British, yet the Americans kept the British method of measuring things? What a weird way to celebrate your independence...

[@thenoob3aerfos850]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAH

[@NesrocksGamingVideos]

"Whateva, I do what I want!"

[@jakobbauz]

@@NesrocksGamingVideos Yes, obviously. But that doesn't change that it's weird, does it. ;-)

[@sushrutmishra]

they also kept the guns~

[@USSResolute]

If you watched the video, you would have noted that, at the time of American Independence, the French had not spread the Metric system, so it makes perfect sense actually.

[@TV-xc5ut]

Studying architecture in US. And first year of college had been a disaster. 1foot equals 12 inches? okay, But why do 1 yard equals to 3 feet? 1 mile = 1760 yards? wtf wtf wtf????????????

[@jwhine]

It’s not that complicated. I foot is 12 inches. I yard is 3 feet. I mike is 1760 yards. No one knows why but we Americans grew up with it and have these things memorized.

[@Baesili]

It's still overcomplicated and not at all logical. Metric uses powers of 10, and ye olde seems to just flip a coin 89414786 times to decide what random number to pick. Is it better to memorize every single value in a system, or just the principles that it works by and convert on the go, without having to google if you forgot?

[@dhorto27]

Konrod the imperial system uses base 12, which supposedly is superior to base 10 according to math lovers out there.

[@Baesili]

Barry Spaggot i gotta agree it probably is mathematically superior in that sense, but try teaching 12-es to a kid, or memorizing them. How you gonna imagine it? Ain't got twelve fingers, ain't even got simpler symbols to write it down. It's all about the ease of use, just like arabic vs roman numeration.

[@pawion]

Actually it doesn't use the base 12 :/ ok 1 foot is 12 inches But why 3 feet for a yard ? Or 1760 yards for a mile ?

[@framan8646]

When you use „meters“ instead of „bullet velocity of an AR-15 in football fields per fareinheit“ Americans: **confused screaming**

[@ianmontgomery7213]

they are metres not meters - you record things using meters.

[@myes344]

Dont forget Scoville

[@zachwrenn]

@@ianmontgomery7213 I've been writing it wrong for 16 years

[@davidyadav2503]

@@ianmontgomery7213 both are correct

[@tstcikhthyss]

@@davidyadav2503 No, they're not. The unit is officially defined as "metre" by the BIPM. Similarly for the "litre". And for "deca-".

[@kaype123]

American: "One gallon of milk" Also American: "Two-liter soda bottles"

[@puncheex2]

Yeah. Who says conversion isn't happening?

[@kuniosaiki]

*Litre

[@ThisIsMyRealName]

@@kuniosaiki - the American spelling is liter the British spelling is litre

[@kuniosaiki]

This Is My Real Name I know but liter looks like litter spelt wrong, very odd. Practically everyone except Americans spell it as litre, just another thing for them to be special at. (I think my Pseudo passive-aggressiveness was lost on people lmao)

[@ThisIsMyRealName]

@@kuniosaiki - you should read about Noah Webster and how he changed the spelling of words and why. Just an interesting part of American history. It explains why certain words are spelled so differently. English and "American" English changed because of him.

[@iwantedagoodnamebuticouldn7388]

Rest of the world: The metric system is ... America: Bigger than a refrigerator but smaller than a really big refrigerator

[@NovaRanger007]

LOL, I visualized this in my mind and it's hilarious..

[@corywilliamson6238]

Phineas and Ferb. Lol

[@averagefalloutNVfan]

Liberia and myammar:

[@LePedant]

We know the metric system, we are taught it in science, since it makes the math easier. Check any food product, the nutrition facts on the back is in Metric.

[@pionieresvizzero2224]

America and UK...

[@MrYes-kw6kp]

“In metric, one milliliter of water occupies one cubic centimeter, weighs one gram, and requires one calorie of energy to heat up by one degree centigrade-which is 1 percent of the difference between its freezing point and its boiling point. An amount of hydrogen weighing the same amount has exactly one mole of atoms in it. Whereas in the American system, the answer to ‘How much energy does it take to boil a room-temperature gallon of water?’ is ‘Go fuck yourself,’ because you can’t directly relate any of those quantities.” Wild Thing by Josh Bazell.

[@Meirstein]

The full answer actually is, "Go fuck yourself, I know to throw the spaghetti in the pot when it starts boiling." Seriously, unless you're a scientist who needs to heat one cubic centimeter of water one degree centigrade, the argument is moot. Imperial measurements are much more useful in everyday life.

[@armi999]

By 'Imperial measurements are more useful in everyday life' I think you mean that's what you are used to. You can make the same argument about Metric if that's what you are familiar with. Metric has the advantage that behind the superficial weights and measurements you can calculate some amazing things because of the way the system has been built.

[@jamescaldwell6205]

I'm sorry, but in everyday life, would you say the amount in joules or calories and measure out the fire to exactly boil water? there is no real life application of that (unless you're some extreme scientist). everything else in the metric system is fucking genius compared to the idiotic imperial

[@aymericst-louis-gabriel8314]

James Caldwell the metric system is better simply because it scales the same way our numbering system does: in base ten. (Not even considering the coherence of the system that is supper useful when you cook)

[@ProfessorTenebrae]

+Meirstein That's cute. For a start - centigrade isn't actually a metric SI unit. Kelvin is. You may convert between them. However, the main point is, at no point have imperial units ever been more useful in everyday life. So you wanna bake. Sure 2 cups of flour seem easier but in reality baking has to be far more precise than, a specific size cup of flour. So I have to have a bunch of randomly sized cups in my kitchen to make american recipes. Why not just use weight? Use grams? I don't have a measuring jug for water? That's fine. 100ml of water is 100g of water . Simple. I can measure water with a scale. Trying to convert american cups in a recipe to weight? Tough. Can't be done half the time. 1 cup of rice will not weigh the same as 1 cup of water. Or flour. 1 cup of bread flour won't even be the same as 1 cup of self-raising flour. Why the ambiguity? Why not just, 250 grams of this flour. Easy. And this makes substitutions simple. Don't have self-raising flour? Measure 240 grams of plain flour, and add 10 grams of baking powder. Or so on. Never in my entire life have I looked at a recipe that has used imperial units and gone, oh, this will be easier. Oh, scooping a perfect level cup of sugar is so much easier than just pouring it into a bowl till the number tells me to stop.

[@Nanorisk]

1 foot = 12 inches, 1 mile = 1760 yards, yeah, that's intuitive AF.

[@jasonnoronha4426]

multiplying in 10s 100s and 1000s is sooo much more easier... shift decimals right or left... add zeroes... and then theres 1760yards, 12 inches :|

[@Furthea2]

I agree that it's only "intuitive" to those who grew up with it. At least the inches/feet/yards part. Once we reach a mile I've forgotten how many feet there are. I won't disagree with metric being superior, however as I don't use it in day to day life I often forget the names for the different units and will commonly read something in put in meters as "oh, roughly # feet." Luckily we have the internet and readily available conversion sources.

[@Cbbdragon]

+Furthea2 still the advantages of universal measurements are too great to put down in words. I would fully support the US switching to the metric system. This is coming from a US citizen.

[@EthanThomson]

3 ft to the yard so 5,280 ft

[@fgregerfeaxcwfeffece]

As you can clearly see all of those are numbers and most include a "1".

[@mariebcfhs9491]

Measuring in Metric system: 1.600 meters Measuring in Imperial system: 1 Star Destroyer Length

[@mariosebastiani3214]

Now you'll tell me that a superiority starfighter has a wingspan of X meters...

[@HansenSWE]

@@mariosebastiani3214 Only when it has aggroed. Otherwise its wingspan would be X + (----- - X)

[@B3Smooth]

I understand the second one perfectly though

[@dianamarcekova9615]

Is the 2nd one a Star Wars reference?

[@frankbergin5620]

So you think that 1.6 meters would be the size of a star destroyer? Genius

[@AAlrayes13]

Imperial system isn't as annoying as writing the month before the day in dates Edit : I am not talking about y/m/d I am talking about m/d/y

[@notyouraveragecomment1328]

Word!

[@alba2162]

Day month year rains supreme

[@kokichiouma4777]

@@thetoadoftheturf7516 I agree

[@AAlrayes13]

@@thetoadoftheturf7516 Actually I would say the second one. The first one may sound normal in english but it sounds really weird in my language. It's the same as writing the address, we write : building, street, city... not : street, building, city...

[@AnonymousCaveman]

@@thetoadoftheturf7516 no you say 27th of January which is why the day is first

[@TheMaskedArab]

4:34 Seems like the animator took Brexit too literally

[@shadowwolfcat13]

Your comment made me laugh so hard! Thank you for the good laugh =D

[@YamiSuzume]

xD Oh... great

[@dandvoracek8692]

I didn't even notice lol :D:D Brilliant!

[@matricepeinard7879]

You made me laugh…. here i give you consideration

[@KikomochiMendoza]

Nobody noticed in EU haha, (though they did not have to take out ireland)

[@МаркоСтанкић]

American schools already use 9mm

[@sirreginaldfishingtonxvii6149]

Oof

[@kilerman6969]

noice

[@rubengivoni6823]

Daaamn

[@indevious9659]

I don’t get it

[@bigsmoky4729]

@@indevious9659 9mm is a type of bullet.

[@georgekavvadias3524]

Imperial 1foot = 12inches 1yard = 3feet = 36inches 1mile = 1760yards = 5280 feet 1pound = 16ounces 1stone = 14 pounds = 224 ounces Water boils at 32°F boils at 212°F Metric 1cm = 10mm 1m = 100cm = 1000mm 1km = 1000m 1kg = 1000g 1t = 1000kg Water boils at 0°C boils at 100°C SIMPLE

[@chryslerrodrigooberst-tcha9731]

*freezes

[@georgekavvadias3524]

@@chryslerrodrigooberst-tcha9731 Yes, thank you.

[@Мөнхдөл]

how many yards is a football field?

[@Neno281]

@@Мөнхдөл 105 times 68 meter

[@Acromion11]

Freedom is not divisive by 10

[@a_yan6581]

This comment section is basically people roasting the U.S like no tomorrow

[@everythingisawesome2903]

😆

[@TheFerretofEarth]

Pretty much yeah

[@JoyImpending]

*cries in actually living in america*

[@takeit1229]

As an American, there's no excuse for our stubbornness and it's leading to the US falling behind in math and the sciences globally.

[@tanyathon7616]

@ This isn't about global leadership, this is about science lmao

[@jumpingjackso9297]

Who needs the metric system when you have donuts per eagle

[@endermax195]

Or football fields per gunshot

[@jhenwiener9725]

Or pizzas per yee-haw

[@david-dn8hr]

@@endermax195 I'm sure thats schools per gun shots

[@coolguyx14]

burgers*

[@Helperbot-2000]

Nukes per world war

[@zoebyrne9450]

It's so easy! I'm American, and I think we should definitely change to the metric system! 10, 10,10 !

[@naomi9413]

Agreed, but i wont if i get called rotten crumpets, and spoiled maple syrup! I'm still glad my school converted to metric.

[@Jrr592]

Tea and crumpets, anyone? No

[@destinyd9287]

I’ll stick to my boi English,he’s getting lonely.

[@darutucaruti9980]

Just use it and see the confused faces of your equals

[@WwZa7]

The fact that this needs a TED talk is sad

[@marunomi]

This is not a TED talk.

[@thebooboo3269]

I wouldn’t call it sad

[@josephlau13d77]

The title should be "Why the Imperial System doesn't matter''

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

It's rife with inaccuracies though. The metric system is extremely arbitrary through most of it's units and the unit that was most in need of reform, time, never got fixed. We could have had 10 or 20 hour days with 100 minutes per hour and 100 seconds per minute. We could have had the even months have 30 days and the odd ones, except November with 31 days and put the leap year day at the end of November. But, that never happened. The rest of the measures are incredibly arbitrary, why 10 000 000 meters to the North Pole? They could have made it any number they liked, 30 000 000 would have given us a meter that's actually convenient, instead of the poor man's yard equivalent. Similarly, Celsius is really bad, it's only valid at sea level under specific conditions. It places the start and end points in weird places where they may not really apply to the location that you're at. Meanwhile, the KG was based off of a physical artifact that had a variable mass. It's not much in terms of variation, but enough to be a problem. The Imperial measures aren't perfect, but once you learn the conversion from the lengths of your personal body to the official ones, it's very easy to estimate things without a measuring device at all. And because temperature is roughly based upon body temperature, it's far more natural to estimate Fahrenheit temperatures than Celsius ones. People get brainwashed into thinking that metric is logical, but from an objective stand point, it isn't. It's incredibly arbitrary and makes mental math really hard. Probably the best example is all the people claiming that metric measures are better, but they don't even understand how to work with Imperial measures. Sure, there's a bit of investment, but there are so many factors that working with it without a calculator in the real world is a treat.

[@WwZa7]

@@SmallSpoonBrigade So you don't use seconds in murrica?

[@octaviolopez7475]

"ill be there in a bit" "ok but how close are you" "about the lenght of the screech of an eagle divided by the amount of times i've fired a semi-automatic shotgun in the last 17 seconds"

[@abdullahibnadam5816]

This measurement has to be calculated in the ideal condition of a school

[@ShustnovikGaming]

As an Australian, this is actually how we see Americans.

[@darkiee69]

That's about three freedom eagles and a Budweiser

[@Niinsa62]

I was told once that the Finnish word for a mile, whatever that word was, translates as "a dog's bark". Meaning that a mile is the distance a dog barking could be heard. Here in Sweden we have "a stone throw", or "ett stenkast", which is a much shorter distance. Not an official measurement, but everyone will understand what you mean.

[@Dwg256]

595

[@YKDDS91]

Oh the struggle when I had to learn the English unit when I came to U.S. especially when they added fucking FRACTIONS TO LENGTHS. I mean fucking 1 and 1/16 inch plus 2 and 1/4 inches? This is two-step addition. Why can't it be simpler by just using cm/mm?

[@moileboi2947]

+Khalil Santana I eventually figured out that a quart (1/4 gallon) is about equal to a liter, making a gallon a little less than 4 liters. If you were to convert a gallon to liters, it'd be 3.785, making this conversion suitable for everyday life.

[@harevaden]

+Jeffy Samuel US can have an idealism just like North Korea and you'd still be proud of that because you're used to worshipping the president. That's beyond retarded.

[@harevaden]

Jeffy Samuel idk if you're being sarcastic or just stupid lol. i wish it's the first one

[@ogre4375]

if you learn the imperial system first like I did you would know that there is a reason for every part of the measuring system. I personally find fraction really easy and simple. I can see where others would struggle coming off of the back of mm and cm but trust me, it makes sense if you learned it before the metric system, personally I think it's easier but that's just me

[@moileboi2947]

Zombie Jesus Lord of Grass I was only ever taught that a foot was around the length as a foot, which I'll admit, is decently intuitive. But, I was never told the reasoning behind any of the other ones. One of my math teachers mentioned an inch being the length of part of a King's foot or something, but that's about it. The number 16, as nice of a number as it is, does not fair well with decimals. I'm assuming the creators of the smidget (I'm going to call it that, because it doesn't have an official name) made it 1/16 of an inch because it made fractions pretty easy, but in a world where we prefer decimals over fractions, it's no longer as intuitive. Personally, I find metric to be much, much more intuitive and logical. Base 10 just works, and it's so easy to create big and small unit words from a base unit. For example, let's say we come up with a new unit to measure, let's say, happiness (not going to happen, but let's say it does), we'll call it a feliz. If I want to represent bigger amounts of feliz, I can represent it with kilofelizes, dekafelizes, megafelizes, or even terrafelizes. If I want to be more precise about my feliz measuring, then I can use decifelizes, millifelizes, or even nanofelizes. It's very intuitive.

[@Skullair313]

"I am 6 feet tall" Me: ok, how tall are 6 subway sandwiches stacked over each other?

[@user-oo4xu4by3w]

Yeah because 147 centimeters is so much more accurate. Hold on let me line the width of my thumbnail up 147 times...

[@pickledgarf]

Lebron Traveled this man gets it

[@ferminsulit1549]

1 meter is equals to 3.25 feet

[@maximummax69]

Lebron Traveled 6ft is not 147cm?

[@nuguland_]

Lebron Traveled first of all, you’re wrong it’s not 147 cm..

[@OptLab]

1L of water = 1kG, Melts à 0°C and evaporates at 100°C. I don't know what the americans are waiting for, it makes everything easier

[@amansaxena5898]

Right, 1L = 1Kg equivalence for water and other stuff having similar density is such a blessing 😊

[@kelvinmck2001]

Melts at 0°C?

[@makkara_jeesus8100]

@@kelvinmck2001 ice

[@zecher2427]

@@kelvinmck2001 ice melts at 0°C

[@DTux5249]

It's honestly more because it'd be such a hassle at the US's current size and state Every official document, prescription, streetsign, construction companies gear, etc. Would need to change. It'd be easier to destroy everything and start over

[@visualthings]

"some regard the metric system as a symbol of global conformity". This is maybe the advantage of a system, rather than using individually defined units like the height of your great-grandma, or the length of your uncle's arm

[@Helleuw123]

but which great grandma? on your fathers father side fathers mother side, mothers mother side, or mothers father side?

[@Eugenetra7]

@@Helleuw123 And even if we define that person, her height would still not be stable during her life.

[@kemcolian2001]

what about the almighty smoot?

[@abstractn027]

Oh my gosh, yesterday I was about to miss the bus and had to sprint the last 150 arms to the stop to get in time.

[@daridon2483]

​@@abstractn027Next time, try to get to the bus stop 3 thumb-suns earlier

[@HMASbogan]

Metric System > Imperial System

[@rusinannuuskija2751]

@Sir AZ i see what you did there

[@Bocsaphoto]

When I'm measuring things that need to have a precise result, I use metric, but when I guesstimate how much something weighs or how tall it is, without needing an exact result, I use imperial

[@Bocsaphoto]

@Kîng shot yes. Anything wrong with that word?

[@-brianflix-6292]

Jayden Bell This comment has no point.

[@-brianflix-6292]

Kîng shot Guesstimate is a word that is used commonly where I live.

[@clarencelacht]

Pls USA: - start using the metric system - start using Celsius - start using the 24h clock - start using the date notation dd/mm/yyyy - start using 240volt

[@eragon78]

we have 24hr clocks. We call it "military time" here since its most common in the military. but 12 hour clocks arent uncommon throughout the world either. A lot of places have both.

[@thatguy7802]

Agreed except the international standard date format is yyyy-mm-dd following ISO 8601 from the international organization for standardization

[@SimplyMartin]

Hawaii is trying to pass a bill that would make metric official. Hopefully they'd succeed.

[@eragon78]

@@SimplyMartin I wouldnt be surprised if it did given hawaii does a lot of international trade. So being more accustomed to metric would help a lot.

[@NuggetOG]

@@thatguy7802 but it still makes sense. why is it mm-dd-yyyy. why do you start at month. it just is retarted

[@i.m.strandedinsonoma7170]

If you want to understand the advantages of the metric system, answer these questions. 1) I have a car with an engine that is 2,600 cubic centimeters. _How many _*_liters_*_ is that?_ Simple - move the decimal point three places to the left to get the *larger* unit of measure and you have 2.6 liters. 2) I have a car with an engine that is 350 cubic inches. _How many _*_quarts_*_ is that?_ Since question 1 took all of 5 seconds to answer, that's the exact amount of time you have to provide an answer for question 2. Unless you already know the answer, you cannot determine it that quickly. _Strike One!_ To move between cubic inches and quarts you must _know_ a measurement they both share. In this case, gallons. One gallon is 231 cubic inches or four quarts. This is _incredibly_ stupid because _232_ is divisible _evenly_ by four but 231 is not. _Strike Two!_ 231/4=57.75 cubic inches in a quart. 350/57.75=6.06 quarts. Unless you can do that math in your head, there is no way quick way to move between smaller and larger units in the English system of measure. _Strike Three!_ So why bother with the old, outdated, inefficient, and imprecise system?

[@aaronbarkley81]

Conversion from cubic inches to liters is 60.4. 302 cubic inches divided by 60.4 = 5.0 liters. Simple yes but If you didn't know it you would have to do a quick calculation.

[@KanishQQuotes]

Twerk generation might find this difficult

[@i.m.strandedinsonoma7170]

The question was to convert cubic inches to *quarts,* using a method that is as simple as cubic centimeters to liters. There isn't one. So why are we still using the English system of measure?

[@mbanana23456]

Just multiply or divide it by 12...... base ten isn't inherently better than base 12

[@mbanana23456]

Just multiply or divide it by 12...... base ten isn't inherently better than base 12

[@spacepeonies]

10 millimetres in a centimetre 10 centimetres in a decimetre 10 decimetres in a meter, etc, etc. The metric system makes sense. But the imperial system? 5280 feet in a mile??? 12 inches in a foot??? Huh???

[@Smoerni]

​@no name You dont make any sense.

[@TheMjollnir67]

@no name A measurement system has to be efficient and quick... What is faster, "converting" 38654 yards into miles, or 38654 meters into kilometers?

[@monkeydui7241]

It makes sense when you’re taught it

[@monkeydui7241]

Is 5,280 too big of a number for you to comprehend?

[@sujoms]

@@TheMjollnir67 38654 meters into kilometers , me as a European: Immediately: 38.654 (00) km..... wow magic. :D ( I can even physically imagine the distance, based on my experience).... it would take 38.654 km/h for me to make this way in an hour. I can immediately calculate even how long it will take me to get to a location that is 38.654 kms away from me by walking.... But with the 38654 yards into miles ... I had to look it up on google, and I was laughing hard on seeing how hard it is to convert... 1 yard = 0.000568181818 miles HAHAHAHAHA lol :D .... 1 miles is 1760 yards (facepalm)

[@Bollazza]

Does it need to be explained? Metric System is matematic, not something like "1 mile is some random number of feet wich is some random number of inches.

[@Delgen1951]

A mile is not random at all it is it is 2.2KM. AS all US Measures are Metric based but keeps the Old names.

[@teacub5986]

Delgen1951 no they use numbers like 16 and 32 and we use numbers like 100 or 1000 it’s way easier to do math with

[@Ledroo]

@@Delgen1951 Bruh please, a mile is 1609 meters, not 1,2 km.

[@Justin-pj8or]

Delgen1951 A foot is 12 inches while a meter is 100 cm, its way easier this way to do maths

[@reedr7142]

But that would require logical thinking--you're talking about Americans here (this from an American citizen :/)

[@astralhorse]

Wether they like it or not, US also use the metric system. You go to the dentist and they use the metric system, they don't measure in milliinches. They use millimeters. Doctors don't weight your tumors in milli pounds, the nurses will inject milliliters and not ounces. Everything in technology or science in US uses metric system. It's the ordinary people that still want to live under the Empire system.

[@calonpns2175]

yeah, but they sends orbiter in inches and pounds.

[@beth8775]

We understand that science universally uses the metric system. That's fine and dandy. But even if we start now (which will definitely not happen because of intense xenophobia), it will be decades before the majority of the populace can fluently think in metric units. I'm still going to see 100 km and think, "How many miles is that?"

[@ayushchawdhary537]

@@calonpns2175 Now that's what i call a reply

[@thehiddenninja3428]

@@calonpns2175 And crashes it.

[@sergioreinert]

Don't forget that drug dealers uses metric system.

[@NiteSeek]

i like how more science youtube chanels from america have started giving both imperial and metric measurements. so much easier to have a piont of reference.

[@jimfrans2547]

but most of them are still using size of texas and american's football field as comparisons...i don't understand what's so great about texas?

[@beth8775]

@@jimfrans2547 Texas is horrible, honestly, but as an American I had to study our national geography in school. I know the proportion of Texas compared to the rest of the country. If you grew up in Europe, I imagine saying something was the size of Germany vs. the size of England would make similar sense.

[@nouche]

It’s nice of them to at least acknowledge they have international viewers.

[@schwi7021]

Ye yeller bellies best take that back about good ole Texas

[@vorlock7149]

purpleblake science channels should use only the metric system, so every non metric viewer is forced to learn it, if you show them the old system they won't change.

[@ratanasorn8080]

Every time an American says something like “It’s 95 degrees out”, I almost have a heart attack as someone who uses celcius primarily.

[@jesusalbertodelorenzosanta9711]

If someone told that to me I'd assume he's talking about an angle

[@jessicao-o165]

@@jesusalbertodelorenzosanta9711 like that one joke when Americans say if your cold go to a corner it’s always 90 degrees and when I was younger I’m thinking ??? I also hate how I’m British and we use metric system yet people still say I’m five foot 5 or whatever, I only understand cm and meters. Just say you’re 160 or something, it’s more accurate and we use cm ok our rulers anyway so you should know how to visualise it but you don’t.

[@AlphaOmegon]

95 is armaggedon outside

[@LowYummy]

Hey guys sorry for the scare but that’s around in the 20s for you, like 25? I’m not good at Celsius but I know most of your temperatures stop at the 30s and than after that it’s unlivable

[@LowYummy]

@@jessicao-o165 well yeah but we need to be different so no, we won’t change.

[@Umirua]

(try to) Make America metric again

[@iluan_]

America has never been great ;)

[@Umirua]

iluan Hernandez That's not what I said, but it depends on how you define "great"

[@justchilling4816]

America has never been metric

[@Umirua]

Just Chilling Notice how "try to" was in parenthesis

[@kracyapple]

+The_Pyromancer but "again" though?

[@Marco-bq4hj]

important to mention that each metric measurements are linked to eachother: 1 liter of water (pure water) is 1kg, 1 liter is 1 cubic decimeter, joules is 1 Newton for 1 meter, Celsius (or Kelvin, just different starting point) scale is based on 1 joule for increase themperature of 1/100 1 liter of water.... Pressure, 1atm is 10m of water (approx due to impurity)

[@okaro6595]

No, it takes 4.184 joules to increase a GRAM of water by one degree.

[@MrAerodynamite]

i think you meean 1 "calorie" increase water at 14°C to 15 at constant atmosphere et 1 calorie = 4.18 joules

[@cedricl.marquard6273]

That, in my opinion, is the only valid reason for the metric system to be used over the imperial. The other argument often brought forth, that the metric is better defined is just wrong. Since the imperial is defined by metric units, and thus also by constants of nature

[@cedricl.marquard6273]

I don't think calorie is a metric unit though

[@Smithers888]

Imperial measures are also sometimes linked, e.g. 1 fl.oz. of water weighs 1 oz... or at least it does here. That's another big advantage (that was touched on in the video) - 1 liter is 1 liter whether you're in Cambridge, England; Cambridge, MA; or Cambridge, New Zealand. 1 pint is 20 fl.oz. in England, but only 16 fl.oz. in the USA (although the fl.oz. is slightly larger there, so they lose the 1 oz. water weighs 1 oz. because they use the same dry ounce that we do). All this also reminds me of my favourite trick question. "Which is heavier, one ounce of steel or one ounce of gold?" It's the gold, because precious metals are typically weighed in troy ounces, which are slightly larger than averdupois ounces (= American customary ounces).

[@meowyyyy4727]

I finished Mechanical Engineering, so I just had to memorize both or their respective conversions. However, the metric system is the better one for me.

[@antoinecharlesdegaulle580]

same

[@MrAerodynamite]

i think you don't need to finish your engineering study to find metric system more convinient and usufull.. You just need a brain and have to use it everyday...

[@adam872]

Metric is just so much more logical than imperial or other units. I've never understood why people hang onto the other ways.

[@goofygrandlouis6296]

Brain deficit.

[@8stormy5]

Because, for almost all applications a person can expect to routinely encounter, insisting upon units only in Base 10 is arbitrary and counterproductive to how humans actually use things.

[@adam872]

@@8stormy5 well on that basis all measurements are arbitrary to a degree. I'm curious as to the applications you refer to as well.

[@aaronthenorm5400]

Because it was developed by scientists!

[@iqbalindaryono8984]

​@aussiefaradayWhat kind of psycopath keep track of numbers using their fingers? /s I can't really think of a scenario where I personally would need to use my fingers over a piece of paper, phone, or any other number tracking device.

[@lunaangeleclipse9745]

This was a goo videa and the history was fascinating, but he doens't atcually discuss the direct benefits of metric, such as being in powers of ten, having consistent interactivity between measures, such as between weight and volume.

[@TheStigma]

Exactly. While being an universal standard is probably the main practical benefit - it is the structure and relation between units that makes metric actually superior (as opposed to if imperial was the universal standard). It simplified a whole load of calculations and conversions. You can argue that it does this at the cost of "intuitive measurements" like feet and inches (a thumb-lenght essentially) but I think these are terribly outdated and not actually very intuitive anymore. You just don't very far in the modern world if you actually tried to measure anything like that since obviously peoples bodysizes vary significantly. Maybe they had room for plus/minus 25% error margin back in the old days when accurate measurements weren't widely available anyway, but that's just not the case anymore. I just hope that at a species we eventually make our way towards standardizing language too. It would be a huge undertaking, but just imagine the longterm benefits of worldwide communication. There's a good argument to be made that we can never expect to be unified as a planet as long as we don't share a common language.

[@martytaylor1478]

TheStigma Not so sure about standard language as it constantly evolves i.e pop culture has always been a main influence on language also there’s a creativeness about calling something “beautiful” a hundred times without saying “beautiful” a hundred times, which derives from cultural diversity so it’s not something I believe that can be standardised However I do understand where you’re coming from and I do believe that English is the closest thing we have towards that goal so maybe the key is education on correlating ones own language to English as I tend to find with most other languages once you get the hellos and thank you’s out the way most modern words become transliterations

[@TheStigma]

You don't need to kill all other languages to have an universal one - and I don't think that would be practically possible anyway. What you need is an universally agreed upon secondary language - and a heavy emphasis on making that language on-par with the native one, not some distant second where half the country does not really know it well. Eventually over the course of a century or so you might even want to make the native language the secondary one in a very gradual fashion. I'd love it is English was the standard because I happen to know it well already, but that's just my bias speaking. You could just as well argue for Chinese by looking at the amount of speakers. A modern constructed language might be the best long-term solution even though it would require the most up-front work. In the end I don't think it matters that much what language is chosen. We just need to commit to it and get it done - and within a few generations our children will be reaping the benefits. Learning a new language is something everyone is capable of doing with just a little effort.

[@sheevpalpatine7223]

@@TheStigma Except this isn't a language and the metric system is practically universal except for in the US.

[@ConcreteAngelx3]

We should start teaching American children the metric system in school. Even if we don't go completely metric, it's important to know it!

[@LevaniaMeyano]

We do.

[@ConcreteAngelx3]

Levithan Be Gaming Not in NY or CA ... I went through the NY public school system and have worked in the CA public school system

[@LevaniaMeyano]

Well, down here in NC, we do. We may not use it anything but science classes, we still learn and use them.

[@ConcreteAngelx3]

Levithan Be Gaming oh cool

[@KarstenOkk]

Here in Holland we were taught the Imperial measurement conversions and even the formula for converting Celsius to Fahrenheit and vice versa. I agree that this needs to come from both sides.

[@RiceBBinka]

These jokes are so predictable, I’m seeing them from 1.61km away

[@AnaRxistBoD]

'r you sure about that? Why not from 1.48km away? Or 2.1km? Or 1,52km? Or 6,17km? Or 1.81km? Btw, appreciate your joke😂

[@rj7250a]

@@AnaRxistBoD because 1.61km= 1 mile. Durrrr

[@joaomelogago110]

@@rj7250a he could have been talking about nautical miles, or talmudic miles, or London mile, or (statute) mile, or geographic mile or alte Landmeile or any of the tens of different miles that exist and have existed over time

[@rj7250a]

@@joaomelogago110 the guy was saying " 1.61km" which is 1 Us mile. And this is the most used mile.

[@Hamza-vm9oj]

@@rj7250a you call it the US mile when it was decided in Parliament in the UK to make the mile that length

[@AkshayKumarX]

Such a beautifully made video, the art, the animation, the narration, the lesson. And to realize that there are thousands of videos like this on this channel alone, the more people are able to discover these gems, the better. Thank you to everyone who has worked on this channel, i appreciate it whole heartedly.

[@szasza3273]

The metric system is so much more than just centimeters, meters and kilometers. there are many more measurements based on it and the multiples of 10: for example water frozes at 0 degrees celsius and boils on 100 degrees celsius - at 1 bar (pressure) - and is 1 kg (mass), which is a volume of 10 square centimeters (length) There are 22 units like these.

[@jackofallgamesTV]

How is volume a square anything. The density of water at optimal liquid density is 1g/ml. Btw 1ml = 1 CUBIC centimeter, not 10 square centimeters. Linear meters are lines, therefore meters, square meters are square, there are centares (a square dekameter is an are) cubic meter are in cubes, therefore are kiloliters. I'm am American, but I am "unit-systematically bilingual". Even construction workers in the US use non standard tape measures to more accurately read 1/64 inch units. If they weren't in construction, they'd use millimeters to measure who is away in mini golf (in one instance the 2 balls were tied to the nearest mm at over 80 cm distance away. I came up with a coin flip rule on the spot in that case.)

[@rushikesht3327]

Paused the video at 0:01 and reading comments Cause there’s no denial that metric is better.

[@mariosebastiani3214]

didn't even start the video...

[@OneRichMofo]

There is 0:02 on the youtubr ad left for me

[@thanos7459]

do you really say youre 175 cm or 5'9

[@lekebabfrancais9018]

@@thanos7459 They could say 1'75. In Australia it's not too uncommon to hear height in feet, because that's how we hear it spoken as a lot in mainstream media. If you go to most places in Europe they will tell their height in cm as you stated. Both are as arbitrary as each other. I could ask you, "do you really say you're 5'9 instead of 175cm?"

[@laking09_57]

@@thanos7459 height and mph are like the only imperial units most other countries use

[@ahmetsezginn]

I still don't get the point of Imperial system

[@Lulink013]

there is none.

[@hyrekandragon2665]

It's cultural mainly. Imperial was developed.in the UK, and it is still used there along with metric to some extent, as a measurement that used divisions of the fingers and the hand as some of the basic units. This was done so you don't need a ruler and could measure by hand.

[@Fearofthemonster]

except that each hand has different size.

[@hyrekandragon2665]

+Fearofthemonster Everyone knows that, but you can estimate using only your hand. On average about half of your thumb should be inch, sometimes more sometimes less. This works for when you don't need measurement s to be exact. So basically for normal everyday life. Metric ia great for when the measurements do need to be exact like in science and building. America actually does use both metric and imperial btw, we just use imperial for everyday life.

[@Fatortu]

But I do the same with the metric system. I know my thumb is 2.5cm wide, my forearm is about 50cm, my step is about 1m etc

[@nemesisjp4386]

Everyone: maintain a distance of 1 meter from each other People who doesn't use metric system: maintain a distance of 1 crocodile from each other

[@joeyk107]

Shouldn't it be 2 meters?

[@josepho3366]

Are these people not normal people?

[@jerrardbeasley4247]

Are we talking a baby croc or a full grown croc? Do Alligators count?

[@forwarduntodawn.]

@@jerrardbeasley4247 Uh.. bigger than a regular croc but smaller than a really big alligator.

[@metaltyre4894]

Works for the 'florida man'

[@hanque4684]

4:47 if all countries use the metric system

[@-brianflix-6292]

Sadly, no. That's not how it works. Using the Metric System doesn't result in immediate peace and equality.

[@itti5100]

A Little Bit Of Gacha Memezž Yup, thanks for explaining the joke

[@archacies1511]

@@-brianflix-6292 see you in r/woooosh

[@drea2280]

A Little Bit Of Gacha Memezž *cough* *cough* hyperbole *cough*

[@straystars801]

@@-brianflix-6292 *nothing* results in peace and equality on this hellhole, to be honest XD

[@trynottodie5352]

How is something based around 12 (and more) easier to use then something based around 10?

[@Grimlock1979]

12 would have been better than 10 kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2fbe5mGbJJ7ecU

[@hantao2115]

If we used base 12 and somebody said base 10 would be better you would say, "pssh base 10 why woukd we use that?"

[@kittymelon3399]

But we have ten fingers. You'd think base ten would be the easiest to learn and count in.

[@Grimlock1979]

If only we had evolved to have 12 fingers. Our lives would be a little bit easier.

[@jackhanson1852]

The imperial system is full of what are called highly composite numbers which makes division of these units really easy (lots of neat fractions, no awkward decimal numbers) and it is quite easy to make an Imperial rule from a blank using a compass and some simple division. The Imperial system is definitely obsolete, but it deserves its place in history as a great tool of our ancestors.

[@JasmineJu]

I don't know if Americans realize this, but you're already using SI units and prefixes. For example: Ampere, Volt, Gigabyte, Second, Mole, Watt, Joule, etc... Pretty much all derived units are universally in SI.

[@h3nder]

Jasmine Ju Gigabyte tho is not 1000 mb.

[@colechristie6903]

I think second was adopted by both systems. Also not sure about Gigabyte

[@BertGrink]

Jasmine Ju Even more ironic is it that every single unit in the US Customary system is defined in terms of metric units.

[@anjopag31]

How is it ironic that all units in the US *Customary* system are defined in terms of metric units? You're all skipping to conclusions; everyone, regardless of whether they're American, uses the metric system in professional applications. In fact, we were taught it in elementary - it's just that the US can't afford to switch entirely.

[@ofcourse4189]

Watt is a unit of power

[@Bevalderon]

Last time I was in Myanmar I only came across the metric system on use. It's true that they do not have an official measurement system but the default on use day to day is certainly metric

[@pingpong3311]

Yep. Myanmar and Liberia are converting to metric. Just isn't adopted as their official system yet.

[@rollespil1000]

The vikings measured distance in "Hølpråtts". It's the distance you can carry an English peasant woman against her will, while the locals are shooting arrows at you.

[@riccobastien3787]

Tore Bolhoej : :-) In american / imperial units it's equivalent to 1 and 7/16 th of a football field .

[@Nitro2416]

Where you got that info from? And please tell me it's not imaginary, because it's sounds just too funny for being false.

[@rollespil1000]

Nitro2416 It's 100% historically accurate. They measured speed using the same basic element: The number of Hølpråtts a viking could cover in an hour, when hauling his drunk friend around in a wheelbarrow... looking for a better tavern.

[@riccobastien3787]

Tore: The precursor of the imperial system !! Only better ... :-)

[@KarstenOkk]

This is absolute baloney obviously.

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

I wish we use the metric system here in the us

[@AL_O0]

Try converting the units of measure and using for your own purposes the metric system! And maybe more people will follow you and you will create a revolution and in a few decades the us will use the metric system (Highly improbable)

[@SrssSteve]

We do.

[@Luredreier]

Well, the metric system is just another memeplex, so like other memes and memeplexes you can vote by acting just like everyone else. Of course that's exclusively your own vote, so you might want to campaign for the merits of that vote too to.

[@roseg9103]

A lot of people (me and most of the people I know) use the metric system and celsius anyways. It's used in scientific endeavors as well. I've traveled a bit all over the US, and even people who don't use it in everyday life have an alright grasp on the concept. So we aren't completely hopeless, but most can't wait for it to be made official.

[@SrssSteve]

+rose g: And what exactly is going to get better if the US switched over completely to the metric system?

[@Johntub3]

Yet another admission to the _"except the US"_ case

[@ffaiq]

doesnt change the fact that its stupid

[@bradenross4182]

w0zi if u so smart then how can't understand us customary.

[@tepesvoda464]

METRIC SYSTEM: Weight, lenght and volume: 1 meter= 1/40.000.000 part of the Earth's meridian 1 meter = 100 centimeters= 1000 milimeters 1000 meters= 1 kilometer 1 cubic meter of water = 1000 kilograms (i.e. 1 metric ton) 1 liter = 1/1000 of a cubic meter of water= 1 kilogram Temperature: based on the most common element= Water and it's behaviour! 0 degrees centigrade = the temperature when the ice melts (water changes it's status from solid to liquid) 100 degrees centigrade = the temperature when water boils at sea level (turns from liquid to vapor) Simple, intuitive, verifiable, self explanatory. It doesn't get any simpler than that folks.

[@renem.5852]

That only applies to the original meter. Meter was redefined to be the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum in 1/299.792.458 of a second. This way it's universal measurable.

[@tepesvoda464]

@@renem.5852 True. But how many people will be able to compute that and understand it? It is so much easier when you work with a decimal system.

[@drabberfrog]

The metric units are all good except for Celsius because there are only three degrees between freezing weather and a hot summer day.

[@tepesvoda464]

@@drabberfrog You are mistaken, you probably never used it. In the Celsius scale water freezes at -1 degrees, and a hot summer day may start at 30 degrees, by no means at 3.

[@mmmmmmok5292]

meters? NO! FEET! centimeters? NO! INCHES! kilograms? NO! POUNDS! Celsius? NO! FARHENHEIT! Seconds? NO! um....what about we make something that is 3.47 seconds long? and then for minutes we make that thing x12. And for the hours its the thing x37

[@PavelKnyshov]

Clearly you don't understand imperial system! "Tiktokula" can't be 3.47 seconds, it's too decimal and too simple! 3 and 5/13 seconds is truly imperial value.

[@awawpogi3036]

@@PavelKnyshov so the word "tik tok" originated from "tiktokula". It all makes sense now.

[@hugo57k91]

Litteraly lol. But what about days and months and years?

[@alejandroojeda1572]

Jajajajajaa don't make them do it

[@tranmanhuc6235]

Time and tide don't switch for man.

[@Afrocanuk]

Volume: 3.785 Litres = 1 U.S. gallon. 4.546 Litres = 1 imperial gallon. 1.2 imperial gallons = 1 U.S. gallon. Wire thickness: 10 AWG (American wire gauge) = 2.59mm (millimetres) 10 SWG (Standard wire gauge) = 3.25mm Two different standards for gallons, two different standards for gauges. Not only is this messed up, its just another couple reasons why METRIC MAKES MORE SENSE!

[@pingpong3311]

1.2 US gals in 1 imperial.

[@shmittysmok3910]

WHY is this even a discussion

[@xolotltolox7626]

American stubborness

[@alanjacker1374]

@@xolotltolox7626 simple as that

[@sailorquestion3229]

Cause freedom per square shootings is a great system too.

[@ProfessorGroyper]

@@xolotltolox7626 You mean American superiority.

[@coffinguy2566]

?????? At least we have teeth 😃

[@astralheart5807]

I live in America and see how annoying it is to use two different measurement systems, I'm always having to convert for so many things. I honestly cannot wait until it's switched over completely

[@deadeyed2454]

I wont switch. It was built off the imperial system which makes switching geologically impossible or at least way too much to even be worth the effort and money.

[@aurexify]

@@deadeyed2454 Other countries used their clusterfuck of measurements but had no problem switching. Last country to switch to metric was Ireland, and it had no problem switching. America attempted to switch in 1975 and if they did, it would be like other countries with no large problems.

[@scootergrant8683]

Welcome to Britain. We still haven't. As much as people like to say we have.

[@samdaniels2]

@@scootergrant8683 Ugh, don't remind me.

[@Hans-gb4mv]

Technically speaking, the US did convert. USC units are now based on their metric counterparts, the definition of an inch is officially 25.4 millimeter. And the metric system is used in so many places in the US already, some units have also already made it into consumer goods, especially the liter if I'm not mistaken. But the moment you step into the scientific world in the US, it is metric all the way. And also some industries are making the switch because converting between units is so much easier.

[@jm5390]

I wish we had gone metric years ago. Yes, it's inconvenient for about 25-30 years, but once a generation or so has passed, then it's widely accepted.

[@akramegbariya140]

He's American, they talk like they are alone in the universe!

[@bcubed72]

Metric is already widely accepted in the US.

[@MrBoondaba]

Considering we're the only country that's actually been to another stellar object, it's interesting you'd say "in the universe."

[@akramegbariya140]

And you are the only country that used nuclear weapons!

[@MrBoondaba]

If we hadn't bit the bullet and used those horrible things, hundreds of thousands of lives would have been lost. So... you're welcome.

[@XiaosChannel]

we're looking at you... u.s. Edit: To those who say "you can just convert", don't you see the irony? that's EXACTLY the problem in this video! And it's made by people who know lot more math than most of you!

[@bradskurt5334]

We've officially adopted the metric system, both measurements are taught in schools across the country, we just prefer one over another during some situations, or use both to avoid confusion, just fyi

[@XiaosChannel]

+Brad T no it's ridiculous just like your pennies, please stop it's a huge problem for all of us outside

[@bradskurt5334]

Xiao'sChannel​ Yeah you complaing about it isn't going to help, but I agree that pennies are a problem, but I don't know how that's hurting you .

[@XiaosChannel]

+Brad T they both stayed because people's attachment to them rather than practicality, and longer they stay, more suffering

[@uiiiiop3003]

Didn't you get photoshop trolled?

[@mihalylajun3257]

American here, started cooking with metric and it has been freaking great! Just bust out the scale and start adding stuff by weights. Measuring cups/spoons be damned!

[@LautaroTessi]

Well, the cups and spoons, if you use the standards of cooking, is what most cooks/chefs use. But, coming to bakery, you have to use exact measurements to reach success. There it pays off to use a balance or a regulated cup.

[@jesss1561]

Teaspoon 5ml, Spoon 15ml UK cup 250ml ÜS cup 236.588237 ml

[@EnCey2]

@@jesss1561 you mean US cup 1.3 eagle eggs

[@-Subtle-]

The beauty of cups, spoons, etc is the innovation. Nothing is exact. Exact is boring in cooking.

[@killerdove123]

When you wrote “started cooking with metric” I somehow thought you were talking about a mobile lab.

[@michaelllames1440]

Ted-Ed: * tells the importance of the Metric System Americans: "I'm gonna pretend I didn't see that"

[@josepho3366]

*Americans, Liberians, and Myammese.

[@Wanking_wanker]

Everyone: “omg America is the only country not using metric” Liberia and Myanmar: **looks the other way**

[@santiagomerchan9605]

@@joelongo450 the name was changed to Myanmar

[@TheOggy1111]

@@joelongo450 then what are you even correcting him/her for?

[@TheOggy1111]

@@joelongo450 The official name is Myanmar, so I fail to see how Burma is the more "proper" version? Is it like with the Japanese who have a different name for their own country?

[@zoravar.k7904]

@@TheOggy1111 almost every country has a different name for their country in their native tongue, with exception of English speaking countries.

[@TheOggy1111]

@@zoravar.k7904 Yeah, I know that. I wasn't sure about Myanmar, that's all.

[@kishorsonawane5990]

Why do i think that this video was made just for trolling the USA

[@Epilogue_04]

If not, 99% of the comments are doing it very well 😂

[@shrekisbae21]

Cus it was

[@svn7298]

USA does not need to be trolled. It takes good care of that it self.

[@thexthabh6588]

@@svn7298 yeah especially with all the protests going on there and also being the country with most covid deaths.

[@Aerinx]

Probably because you are a US citizen and take offense from being told something you don't like to know? There isn't any trolling in the video.

[@jarrettmosco9624]

I'm in US and I really think we should switch to metric

[@dorawang5451]

Me too. Make science, math, easier for student to learn

[@uncletrick1]

Me too. It seems like the metric system would be much easier.

[@lordnelson455]

Strange. I'm Australian and I think we should switch to imperial measurements.

[@uncletrick1]

We're talking about units of measurement. It's got nothing to do with national identity.

[@uncletrick1]

I disagree and I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN TOO. (And a vet. Where we used kilometers and millimeters and other metric measuring.)

[@reedr7142]

As an American, this is one of the greatest comments sections I've ever read on a KZbin video. I'm cracking up! You people are awesome!

[@wiktoriawolny]

indeed, everyone is pretty much kindly (or not so much) bullying you

[@vincecomuna]

Truth be told, you are a North American. (: The rest of the America knows how to use metric system 😂😂

[@reedr7142]

@@vincecomuna I was using it as the demonym for the USA. I would imagine people from other parts of the two continents would use their respective demonyms (e.g. Honduran, Chilean, Bahamian, etc.). And Canadians are North American, but they use the metric system :) I wish our schools either dropped the Imperial system, or at least taught the metric system. But America like do go rogue on a lot of things the world is mostly doing collectively :/

[@vincecomuna]

@@reedr7142 Not really, we call ourselves americans as well. The point here is that if you compare the strenght of the voice of ppl who claim to be americans but belong to tiny countries spread across central and south america vs USA, it will always look like you guys are the ones who have to right to claim to be americans. And that's what you see on the media. But we are just as americans as you are. We live on this continent as well, after all.

[@tepuntopunto]

I love that every american that's not a scientist, doctor or physicist (who know better) is defending why Imperial system kind of works for them, why the weird numbers, where they came from, why is justified etc. But no one justifies metric, because you don't need to, its just 10s!… everything is a 10 of a base unit… thats it, how simple, neat and useful haha.

[@naomi9413]

ok this offended me and made me laugh really hard good job

[@Milesco]

Not so fast, tepunto. The U.S. Customary system actually *_is_* better at some things. I won't bother to repeat what I and others have repeatedly said elsewhere, but it's true. If the Customary system has to be defended, it's because it is constantly being attacked. And I see the metric system being defended all the time -- including your very own comment!

[@NPC-1776]

Says they justify counting by tens but uses the standard time format. *60 seconds in a minute* "it would be easier to count up to 100"

[@hollyriver22171]

@@NPC-1776 I'm not a scientist but I would say that time is a much more difficult measurement to work with seeing as it's tied with the revolution of the sun. Distance and weight are within our control.

[@link199100]

@@Milesco wrong

[@mslightbulb]

Americans: “yes, Im 5.6 in height” The rest of the world: “visible confusion while trying to find somewhere to convert that”.

[@nsa_2876]

Here in Canada, Everyone I know measures height in feet and inches and weight in pounds. Construction materials and various household goods are also measured in Imperial.

[@svleda9145]

RightWingRising _ but it’s Canada

[@karnosetyotomo5863]

Another american: can you tell me your height in feet and inches?

[@svleda9145]

Karno Setyotomo your feet or my feet

[@clemradio]

@@nsa_2876 true, even in QC... But apart someone's height, everything is in the normal system. Thanks god our roads are not in miles, would be so confusing...

[@loveisanopendoor5745]

US : Boiling Point of Water : 212 degrees Freezing Point of Water : 32 degrees Metric : Boiling Point of Water : 100 degrees Freezing Point of Water : 0 degrees US : MM / DD / YYYY Metric : DD / MM / YYYY US : 12 inches equal a foot 3 feet to a yard 1760 yards to a mile 16 ounces to a pound Metric : 1000 millimetres to a metre 1000 metres to a kilometre 1000 grams to a kilogram 1000 kilograms to a tonne It's way fucking easy to convert between metric measurements. The 'standard' system is so unnecessary and too complex, like holy shit! 212, 32, 12, 3, 1760, 16?! What about.... 100, 0, 1000, 1000, 1000, 1000 It's why barely any mathematicians come out from the U.S. BUT the U.S is still great in their own way, even if it didn't require maths :3

[@ZealousX7]

That's why no good mathmeticians come from the US? Here's a number for you. #1 country in the world. Deal with it.

[@rajeshgupta1055]

No. 1 country in what? In crime? In rapes? In wars?

[@oithornley7466]

U didn't even mention guns, homophobic, shitty politics, dumb Christians and many, many more

[@smooooth_]

+ZealousX7 You see it's comments like this that I don't like. Its exactly why people think we're all jerking off to our own country and nationalistic freaks. I love my country, but we are FAR from the #1 country in the world and if you actually think that, you're extremely naive about the world.

[@wakey87]

+ZealousX7 Jesus Christ you Americans are brain washed. If nothing else that kind of attitude will only encourage you to rest on your laurels.

[@Inkyminkyzizwoz]

Actually, the UK isn't fully metric. We started changing over in the 1960s (so it wasn't because of the EU!), but never fully completed the process, so we actually use a mixture of both. Packaging and unit pricing are all metric, but road signs are still in Imperial, and most people still tend to think in Imperial units, especially older generations

[@huaiwei]

That is a situation I would imagine happening to the US since its first decades of independence, but strangely, the Americans remain more British than the British themselves as far as units of measure are concerned. 😉

[@Smithers888]

Came here to say this. Road speed and distance still use miles; humans are measured in feet and inches or stone and pounds. Products are all sold in metric with, I believe, only 2 legal exceptions: milk delivered by the milkman and draft drinks at a bar may be sold in pints. (You will also see milk and beer in the supermarket that calls itself a pint, but officially is 568ml [which is the same thing].) Also gotta love the fact way, even with how important we are to the video's thesis, the British Isles are completely missing from the globe images at 1:44 and 4:40!

[@silverdamascus2023]

"There's two kinds of countries in the world, those who use the metric system, and those who went to the moon." NASA uses the metric system.

[@bingyifg]

of course they do the one time they didnt they crashed an orbiter

[@TimpossibleOne]

The astronauts left footprints on the moon not meter prints

[@bingyifg]

@@TimpossibleOne fair enough 😂😂

[@Bigus_Dickus_6996]

@@TimpossibleOne the greatest comeback since jesus

[@thebooboo3269]

Bing Yi Lee I think there was a bother company using the other units and nasa used metric and they got confused and stuff

[@Mis7erSeven]

What is going on with the American system? 1 kilometer = 1.000 meter = 100.000 centimeter (easy) 1 mile = 1.760 yard = 5.280 foot = 63.360 inch (wtf)

[@link199100]

Ikr

[@Zulfa1065]

Ikr

[@KouNagai]

link199100. Ikr

[@entombedlamb5356]

I am an American, and I can rightly say, you put your decimal point in the wrong place...

[@sskofu]

@@entombedlamb5356 it's not wrong. some countries use "," and some use "."

[@sonido9414]

They say it’s “more intuitive” because they are used to it. I wonder if they would say so if they were grown up with both systems.

[@MusicalMethuselah]

I grew up with both systems. It's not difficult to keep both of them in your head. If I'm just estimating, doing things that don't need a lot of precision, or talking about things that humans experience, I use imperial. If I'm doing something that needs precision or doing scientific or mathematical calculations, I use metric. "It's 75 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny, nice." "I need 525g of flour for this bread." Very easy. Obviously not everyone's cup of tea, but this generation of Americans absolutely know both systems.

[@simeonpolet1307]

@@MusicalMethuselah ahah farhenheit. The unit that makes no sense...

[@MusicalMethuselah]

​@@simeonpolet1307 *haha, *Fahrenheit. And sure it makes sense. Really freakin' cold = 0 degrees F. Really freakin' hot = 100 degrees F. Then let the difference between boiling and freezing water be 180 degrees, which is a nice number to divide into. Adjust that 180-degree scale to fit the really freakin' cold/hot human limits (we're much better below freezing than above boiling), and you get 32deg - 212deg F for freezing and boiling water. "Making sense" is pretty subjective. We're moving the way of the metric eventually, don't get me wrong, but don't just push aside units because you don't see the sense they make. It's very easy to see sense in other systems: divisibility by more than just 2 and 5, human experiences to build scales off of, more precision with finer units, etc. Metric makes sense too! 100 degrees in between freezing and boiling water starting at 0, absolutely, it's simple and easy to remember. Honestly, I'd be hard-pressed to find a unit in the world (besides ones that are made up to be confusing) that doesn't have a good amount of sense baked into it. Look for the similarities, not the differences between us. To me, millimeters, inches, meters, miles, degrees Fahrenheit, grams, and pounds are favored units for different applications. Live and let live, man.

[@simeonpolet1307]

@@MusicalMethuselah the fact is that Fahrenheit is just one of many unit that was create at that time. Everyone wanted his unit to be used so lot of people invented one. Fahrenheit is just one of the weirdest . Why choose a random value of a random winter in a random place? Why the temperature of the blood of a horse ? It just made no sense back then and still doesn't today. If we accept Fahrenheit we can accept any other unit. And the thing about unit is, it's simpler to use the same so we understand each other, that's something that makes sense to me, not randomness. Americans will still live if they use IS system and we'll finally understand them 😉

[@MusicalMethuselah]

@@simeonpolet1307 I think these are good points. Again, though, "making sense" is about filling a role in this particular context, one where humans experiencing the world is a key factor in measurement. We don't know for sure about the blood of a horse or the ambient temperature of Poland during a winter really were the choices for 0 and 100, it's more likely to be a 1:1 salt-water mixture freezing and ~96 being human body temperature. But the choices for 0 and 100 (whatever they may have been) do serve a solid human purpose: observing and interpreting the world around us with easy ways of seeing hot and cold. The fact that some units died out and some continue to be popular gives us some insight as to how people "make sense" of the world through the lens of particular units, and for Fahrenheit, the proof is in the longevity. I think Celcius will be adopted eventually, but it is sad to think that people can look at units and see only "why the heck did they use that???" and not "what valid reasons prompted people to adopt one unit over the other?" Just because a person is different doesn't make them bad. Same with units. I'd like to bring up two points made earlier: I think that modern Americans do understand metric and Imperial (at least the ones doing international work that we care about!), and I think that America will go metric in time. It doesn't stop me from preferring inches to centimeters and degrees F to degrees C. However, I also prefer millimeters to fractions of an inch and grams to ounces! Honestly, the question of preferred units reaches so far into history and purpose and gut "feel" and usefulness and precision that it's hard to discuss in a KZbin comment. I don't want to make you think that Imperial is the best unit ever, but don't count it out just for being different!

[@CzechMirco]

I remember that in another comment section one American defended the Imperial system as "being intuitive" with this oh so touching personal story: When his baby girl was about 5 or so, her normal step became just about 1 ft long. He explained to her the basic theory of measurements and she spent many hours and day "measuring" all sorts of lengths by counting her steps while walking. And from that experience he argued that the Imperial system is natural and intuitive, etc. What he didn't realize is that when we grow, our body memory of lour limb movements is based not on the actual length of the movement but on the angle by which the limb had to move. So she would have discovered that the steps she "rememberes" taking when she was 5 are actually different when she performs them at 15. So this demonstrates pretty nicely the inherent pitfalls of using a system based on such nonsense as human dimensions.

[@arfn1973]

10= Perfection 12÷10=1,2 12÷100=0,12 12÷1.000=0,012 12÷10.000=0,0012 12÷100.000=0,00012 Ohh is so easy just to remember! Why US?

[@dillar9166]

stubborn

[@gameplaydrive]

I don't know where you are from but you put Commas in the place of Decimals and Decimals in the place of Commas.

[@123eva2]

@@gameplaydrive that's how it is in Europe

[@gameplaydrive]

@@123eva2 didn't know that. It can send one more satellite to taste some outer space dust if got confused.

[@123eva2]

@@gameplaydrive hahaha for sure!have a nice day!

[@jasonsmith-lv5my]

Before all this America needs to change its date system MM-DD-YYYY ..wtf ?

[@JazzyNym]

Ok will y'all fuck off with that? At least we're consistent. There are tons of countries that write the date differently, and some countries that regularly use multiple different ones which can cause confusion. Stop acting like the US is the only one with a different system.

[@yosyp5905]

+JazzyNym But it's the "most important/powerful nation in the world'.

[@yosyp5905]

+JazzyNym But it's the "most important/powerful nation in the world'.

[@JazzyNym]

Yosyp Barring whether that statement is true or not, what does that matter?

[@WeiYinChan]

I know, they just love making life impossible for everyone

[@theiris1002]

I rememder when I was younger I learned the metric system is school as the system scientists use and I wondered why they didn't use the normal system now I am older and I see how easy metric is and wonder why we dont use the normal system (I'm American btw if that wasent obvious)

[@kjones9744]

Sounds exactly like me. I am a scientist now and wish the entire United States would change to it not just the scientific community.

[@wagnercampos9080]

The worst when americans say some measure we from another countries have no idea how much is. PS: I'm from Brazil.

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

Other than being a consistent standard, the metric system's greatest power (in my opinion) comes from how easy it is to convert a measurement from, say, centimeters to kilometers and vice versa: Just move the decimal right or left. In the old system this is not the case. Inches divided into 16ths, feet divided into 12 inches, a yard divided into 3 feet and a mile divided into 5280 feet. Converting from one unit of measurement to another is not so straightforward. The sad part is that there was a strong push in the 1970s to convert the US to the metric system but it was deemed optional rather than mandatory.

[@damackabet.4611]

Metric Is already taught in school, its just only taught for certain things, as metric is used by usa in engineering and science for most part as to avoid conversion problems with allies. Imperial won't be removed it will just be incorporated into metric system for usa, and have both taught for most part at least for numerous years to come. I mean go to a store we already have weird ways of measuring things some in liters and some in gallons and other measurements.

[@sarcasmo57]

"We'll convert when Myanmar converts."

[@bowilliam3865]

Or Liberia

[@ShudiadWaiyantun]

Eh! Don't follow us.. We can't even convert to good government....

[@PeterGeras]

Who would've guessed that we'd actually see a Myanmarian here.

[@AhmedEssam-fb1bj]

says Donald Trump :D

[@PaulEppleston]

Myanmar is on schedule to convert to metric from their home-grown system.

[@quelorepario]

The first time I learned about the US measuring distances by feet, I was wondering if they would also be using elbows. Sounded so freaking primitive, like they haven't learned anything since Ancient Egypt.

[@lancerd4934]

I had the same reaction when I found out they still use 1 cent coins. I was at an airport McDonalds and the cashier asked for $4.76 and I gave her $4.75 and we both just stared at each other blankly for like two minutes until I worked out she was waiting for the extra cent.

[@bcubed72]

Well, it's known governments are greedy and corrupt. If your total was $4.76 today (because of sales tax), and they got rid of pennies, do you think the gov't would VOLUNTEER to "round down" to $4.75, like they should? Of course not! Getting rid of pennies would increase sales tax, because of the games gov'ts love to play.

[@lancerd4934]

bcubed72 That's another thing - advertised prices should include all taxes like they do everywhere else in the world.

[@gailcbull]

+bcubed72 In Canada, if the price is .01 or .02, the cashier rounds down. If the price is .03, .04, or .05, the cashier rounds up. And if you pay with debit or credit, you pay to the exact penny. Since most people pay with debit or credit these days, it rarely affects the purchase price at all. So unless you're one of those people who still insists on paying with cash for every purchase, it makes very little difference.

[@SrssSteve]

+lancer D, +bcubed72: Actually, the advertised prices around the world should NOT include taxes. That way the people can see how much tax their government is taking from them when it is added on separately. The European countries have an income tax (like we do in the US), a ~20% VAT and some countries have an annual wealth tax (France, above €790,000: 0.55% up to 1.8%). People should know how much is being taken from them. Instead, the government has gotten you used to being taxed at far too high a rate AND you are not questioning them. You are basically arguing for making it easier to collect hidden taxes from you.

[@majorphysics3669]

The only reason the imperial system is more intuative for amaricans is because that's what they grew up on. I'm canadian, so I have no problem visualizing kilometers, but I was raised in a carpentry family, so all I can relate to are inches and feet for eyeballed measurements. Im also stuck on pounds because that's what the scales here are most commonly in. If you take your inches to a metric country, they'll ask for it to be in mm and cm, because that's what they've been taught to visualize. The only reason the metric system doesn't stick in the states is because everything would have to be converted. all signs, tape measures, spedometers, etc etc. And then people would have to learn how to visualize the new units. Thats the only reason. (oh yea, metric is much better for math as well, because base 10)

[@erickalejandropullastaboad9718]

Yeah, I lost a few marks in an exam because I thought the imperial units were base 10

[@joermnyc]

I’m not at all confused by the metric system, but I was in Toronto and saw a pricing sign at a gas station... and it looked completely alien to me. (Honestly it was easier to figure out when I was visiting Bulgaria!)

[@helenemaja0912]

it was also converted in other countries. I don't see why thats an excuse. just replace signs when they are broken anyway with the new measurements over time

[@TonkarzOfSolSystem]

Even American units of measurement are now defined in terms of metric units. In some countries (like Australia) metrification was achieved by outright banning the sale of measuring devices that used imperial units (though after a while the ban was repealed).

[@AbdulGoodLooks]

4:46 Society if US used the metric system

[@vdagr8795]

React to this comment with lol to receive the untimate gae

[@CRITICALHITRU]

#rekt

[@sskofu]

@@vdagr8795 loooool

[@therealdevilonearth]

Why using Imperial? Do you know how an inch is defined? Standards for the exact length of an inch have varied in the past, but since the adoption of the international yard during the 1950s and 1960s it has been based on the metric system and defined as exactly 2.54 cm. USA - WHY????????

[@tstcikhthyss]

Actually 25.4 mm. And anybody who uses the metric system properly knows not to use centimetres. Or centi-, deci-, deca-, and hecto- anything for that matter.

[@joshiii03]

2.54 Centmeter and 25.4 mm are the Same

[@tstcikhthyss]

@@joshiii03 Yes, but the inch is defined in millimetres. And millimetres are better.

[@kuniosaiki]

tstcikhthys Regardless it is irrelevant wich one is better (that’s your own personal opinion), there’s no point in correcting someone if they were not technically wrong.

[@tstcikhthyss]

@@kuniosaiki Well inches are defined as 25.4 mm, not as 2.54 cm, so they're not technically right. And using millimetres is better not based on opinion but fact; it shaves off about 99 years in any country's metrication process. I wouldn't correct someone unless there's a good reason.

[@clansman89]

US needs to convert to metric units and British need to start driving on the right side of the road.

[@khaledhuds1420]

Amen to that

[@khaledhuds1420]

Amen to that

[@rvdyahan2238]

you know there are colonies right?

[@khaledhuds1420]

Rvdy Ahan​ the rest will follow

[@rvdyahan2238]

Khaled Hudhud thats not the point

[@tuppyglossop222]

I’m amazed that the main feature of the metric system was not mentioned: there is only one of each unit. One unit of length, the metre. One unit of mass, the kg. None of this 12 inches in a foot, three feet in a yard 1760 yards in a mile. 16 ounces in a pound, 14 pounds in a stone etc etc… And no fractions. Have you ever seen a machine tool with the graduations in fractions of an inch?

[@subie1019]

Because 1.8m sounds better than 5’11

[@AndhakaEfiel]

On drivers licenses, height is usually measured in cm. In your example, it would read 180 cm. Still easier than 5'11", I think.

[@dru4670]

Yes it does

[@aadyaa_saran]

It's not about 'sounds', it's about standardisation. Please educate yourself.

[@Mantorok]

@@AndhakaEfiel It's probably only America that has height on drivers licenses.

[@maxst9561]

@@Mantorok Not really

[@MouseGoat]

America. converting to the metric system, inch by centimeter

[@robertking3130]

We changed, in Australia. first to decimal currency in 1966. Then came the change from avoirdupois (Lbs and Oz) and fluid measure from Imperial gallons to litres and finally the linear measurement from yards to metres and area measures from acres to hectares. This was done over a period of, I think, no more than fifteen years and it went smoothly. The biggest confusion, to me, was the change from fahrenheit to celsius temperature measurement. You become "bi-lingual' in the way you think and speak; you can translate the two systems in your mind. To chnge the whole country seems daunting,but it isn't and within a short time it becomes natural

[@kk234th]

You know what they say about the metric system. Give them 2.54cm, and they'll take 1.6km.

[@AlphaGeekgirl]

+Robert King I remember learning imperial in first term in 4th class, and then the next term, Australia went metric, so I had to relearn weights & measures all over, so I get the 'bi-lingual' bit. I swap in and out every day almost effortlessly from one to another. I think I subconsciously use imperial if I am talking to people older than me, or Americans, and metric for everyone else.

[@hannahcheung9636]

Debi Taylor wow so cool

[@gh0stsk867]

Nekogami-Crystal more like inch by 2.2 centimeters :D

[@nataliemunoz8600]

Metric system is PERFECTION.

[@Eugenetra7]

Well, it's not, as far as nothing is perfect. Studying the problem of fluctuation in real world reference units stored in different places suprises a lot. But still much better than sticks and stones (or some feet/dicks etc).

[@johnharrison7585]

Why perfection? Ever heard of Kelvin?

[@jimm3205]

I’m an American and have no problem proclaiming I love the metric system.