Why the heck does America still use outdated measurement and date units?

[drrich2]

But to suggest we all think like Americans is rather narrow minded.

Yes, and I'm not. The date is one of those things where how it's used in a nation isn't a major issue, just a minor annoyance for the small minority of the populace traveling abroad and similar matters. My point was the American way makes sense in the context of how Americans tend to think about and use dates in daily life.

If people of another nation decide a different format is a better match for their mindset on the matter, that's great. I've no interest in pushing our way on anyone else.

 

[timber]

Nobody (well, most I guess) is interested in pushing anything. I'm not for all that is worth.

I just find it interesting and above all fun to learn how stuff is in different countries.

 

[Herdfan]

So now let's discuss how some countries drive on the wrong side of the road. 🤣
🤣🤣

 

[polyphenol]

So now let's discuss how some countries drive on the wrong side of the road. 🤣
🤣🤣

I've driven every which way round (LHD car in LHD country, LHD car in RHD country, RHD car in LHD country and RHD car in RHD country).

None of it was exactly difficult but there worst single thing was changing gear with the other arm. Simply a matter of getting used to it. But I'd rather drive an automatic. In fact, I'd rather drive an automatic regardless which side!

Oh! And I wish the UK had changed back in the 1950s. Simply for consistency with most of Europe hence no need for two versions of cars.

 

[Herdfan]

None of it was exactly difficult but there worst single thing was changing gear with the other arm. Simply a matter of getting used to it. But I'd rather drive an automatic. In fact, I'd rather drive an automatic regardless which side!

Yes. But because the pattern is the same. I would have expected it to be the opposite, but it wasn't.

I can understand how things developed differently in countries across the ocean from each other, but by the time cars came around, we could easily travel between Europe and the USA or Asia. So how a single standard didn't emerge is puzzling to me.

 

[timber]

I've driven every which way round (LHD car in LHD country, LHD car in RHD country, RHD car in LHD country and RHD car in RHD country).

None of it was exactly difficult but there worst single thing was changing gear with the other arm. Simply a matter of getting used to it. But I'd rather drive an automatic. In fact, I'd rather drive an automatic regardless which side!

Oh! And I wish the UK had changed back in the 1950s. Simply for consistency with most of Europe hence no need for two versions of cars.

The worst thing is probably having a car that doesn't match the road/country. I once tried a LHD car on a LHD place and it felt natural despite expecting something worse.
We get a lot of UK visitors and I don't really envy them. They seem to have almost no viewing angle. Over taking becomes impossible (or really daring/irresponsible).
I would still prefer RHD as I'm right handed and would be probably find weird to shift with my left hand. But nowadays even Europe is moving to automatics and electrics so even that will solve itself.

 

[polyphenol]

The worst thing is probably having a car that doesn't match the road/country.

I had an LHD car in the UK for quite some time. It really wasn't bad at all.

The choice of circumstances to overtake was not so much a problem but different. There were times I could see to overtake but an RHD car couldn't - and vice versa.

And gear shifting is pretty easy with my left-hand - it doesn't need fine control. If I have to take a hand off the steering wheel to change gear, better the left than the right.

 

[AlastorKatriona]

LMAO. Imagine thinking something as important as temperature should be measured on a scale as small as Celsius.

Even in Fahrenheit, 1 degree difference is a LOT. But at least we can use whole numbers to express most differences or specific important thresholds. I can't fathom having to use decimals in Celsius to explain literally ANYTHING. What a failure of a measurement scale.

Same thing applies to the metric system. 1 meter is simply too large and 1 centimeter is too small. And when challenged, the answer is always "use fractions or decimals". What a terrible answer. In a GOOD system of a measurement, the whole numbers should reflect common sizes. 1 ft is the most common whole size in the world, and for a significant portion of the world, it has to be described as 30.48 centimeters or 0.3048 meters! LMAO! The tool should match reality. The U.S. system of measurements may be less clean looking, but they accurately reflect reality.

 

[timber]

I had an LHD car in the UK for quite some time. It really wasn't bad at all.

The choice of circumstances to overtake was not so much a problem but different. There were times I could see to overtake but an RHD car couldn't - and vice versa.

And gear shifting is pretty easy with my left-hand - it doesn't need fine control. If I have to take a hand off the steering wheel to change gear, better the left than the right.

I am quite used to holding the wheel with just my left hand (I would plead guilty to some one handed driving even when not shifting) and from your description would probably quickly be quite used to shift with my left hand . Just some practice required.

 

[Apple fanboy]

So now let's discuss how some countries drive on the wrong side of the road. 🤣
🤣🤣

LMAO. Imagine thinking something as important as temperature should be measured on a scale as small as Celsius.

Even in Fahrenheit, 1 degree difference is a LOT. But at least we can use whole numbers to express most differences or specific important thresholds. I can't fathom having to use decimals in Celsius to explain literally ANYTHING. What a failure of a measurement scale.

Same thing applies to the metric system. 1 meter is simply too large and 1 centimeter is too small. And when challenged, the answer is always "use fractions or decimals". What a terrible answer. In a GOOD system of a measurement, the whole numbers should reflect common sizes. 1 ft is the most common whole size in the world, and for a significant portion of the world, it has to be described as 30.48 centimeters or 0.3048 meters! LMAO! The tool should match reality. The U.S. system of measurements may be less clean looking, but they accurately reflect reality.

Nobody uses measurements that way.

Currently 15 degrees in my lounge. Later it might be 15.5. I know 15.5 is bigger than 15. What’s the problem with that? As long as you understand decimals it’s easy.
I used to know Fahrenheit but it just feels like the 70’s when I hear it. Just something from a bygone era.

As for ft to CM, it’s always expressed as 30 cm to a ft not 30.48.
If you use mm it would just be 305mm. No one users CM like you wrote.

 

[timber]

LMAO. Imagine thinking something as important as temperature should be measured on a scale as small as Celsius.

Even in Fahrenheit, 1 degree difference is a LOT. But at least we can use whole numbers to express most differences or specific important thresholds. I can't fathom having to use decimals in Celsius to explain literally ANYTHING. What a failure of a measurement scale.

Same thing applies to the metric system. 1 meter is simply too large and 1 centimeter is too small. And when challenged, the answer is always "use fractions or decimals". What a terrible answer. In a GOOD system of a measurement, the whole numbers should reflect common sizes. 1 ft is the most common whole size in the world, and for a significant portion of the world, it has to be described as 30.48 centimeters or 0.3048 meters! LMAO! The tool should match reality. The U.S. system of measurements may be less clean looking, but they accurately reflect reality.

That exemple is as ridiculous as if I said look 50 cm is 1 foot and 7 11⁄16 inches (Google gave this and i found it particularly amusing) and then say who would describe anything as 1 and 7 and 11/16? What a bogus system!

Nobody uses measurements that way.

Currently 15 degrees in my lounge. Later it might be 15.5. I know 15.5 is bigger than 15. What’s the problem with that? As long as you understand decimals it’s easy.
I used to know Fahrenheit but it just feels like the 70’s when I hear it. Just something from a bygone era.

As for ft to CM, it’s always expressed as 30 cm to a ft not 30.48.
If you use mm it would just be 305mm. No one users CM like you wrote.

That's a bit chilly. How is it outside?

 

[AlastorKatriona]

Nobody uses measurements that way.

Currently 15 degrees in my lounge. Later it might be 15.5. I know 15.5 is bigger than 15. What’s the problem with that? As long as you understand decimals it’s easy.
I used to know Fahrenheit but it just feels like the 70’s when I hear it. Just something from a bygone era.

As for ft to CM, it’s always expressed as 30 cm to a ft not 30.48.
If you use mm it would just be 305mm. No one users CM like you wrote.

1. I think I explained what's the problem with that. Decimals shouldn't be necessary for expressing common thresholds. That's a failure of the measurement system.
2. So the answer to this issue is just: be inaccurate, rather than deal with decimal?! Wow.

I'm not attacking you personally my friend, I'm just highlighting how people have come to accept and justify the nonsense that are these inadequate measurement scales.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

LMAO. Imagine thinking something as important as temperature should be measured on a scale as small as Celsius.

Even in Fahrenheit, 1 degree difference is a LOT. But at least we can use whole numbers to express most differences or specific important thresholds. I can't fathom having to use decimals in Celsius to explain literally ANYTHING. What a failure of a measurement scale.

Same thing applies to the metric system. 1 meter is simply too large and 1 centimeter is too small. And when challenged, the answer is always "use fractions or decimals". What a terrible answer. In a GOOD system of a measurement, the whole numbers should reflect common sizes. 1 ft is the most common whole size in the world, and for a significant portion of the world, it has to be described as 30.48 centimeters or 0.3048 meters! LMAO! The tool should match reality. The U.S. system of measurements may be less clean looking, but they accurately reflect reality.

Having freezing at 0 degrees seems pretty logical to me. Perfect scientific reference point as well

Same as the measurements. The meter is old, the exact measurement is stored. And for people like you who don’t like decimal point you can use the metric system to easily and logically change the scale. By using Kilo, centi, mili, nano etc versions.

 

[timber]

You don't need decimals. You can use them, because it is quite easy to use them or you can use the smaller units with the larger ones if you prefer.
You can say something weights 1,5 kg or one kilo and a half or one kilo and 500 grams. And it's immediate they are all the same.

 

[Apple fanboy]

1. I think I explained what's the problem with that. Decimals shouldn't be necessary for expressing common thresholds. That's a failure of the measurement system.
2. So the answer to this issue is just: be inaccurate, rather than deal with decimal?! Wow.

I'm not attacking you personally my friend, I'm just highlighting how people have come to accept and justify the nonsense that are these inadequate measurement scales.

Neither is more inadequate than the other. They are just different. The one you know is the one that makes sense to you.
I’ve used both in my time. I much prefer MM and 10ths of MM’s from my engineering days than fractions of an inch or thousands of an inch.

These days I use whatever is appropriate. Height is ft and inches. Weight (mine!) is stone and pounds.
Driving is miles/mph
Running is km.
Measuring stuff is metric.
I don’t really do cooking where I measure stuff. If I did I’d use the numbers on the jug that matched the recipe I guess.

It’s not that much of a big deal.

 

[polyphenol]

1. I think I explained what's the problem with that. Decimals shouldn't be necessary for expressing common thresholds. That's a failure of the measurement system.

What do you do regarding lengths shorter than an inch? (Metric conveniently drops to millimetres. Which is a length which is small enough that it tends to be mostly technical things, science, etc., that require smaller units.)

Either fractions or thousandths, I suspect. Which appears to be a bit of a failure of the measurement system.

And I suspect that one foot is not the most common whole size in the world.

Personally, 22 centimetres is a very common unit for me. That is my hand span (or very close). 8⅝ inches is a real pain!

(It is also a real pain entering fractions when typing.)

 

[Herdfan]

LMAO. Imagine thinking something as important as temperature should be measured on a scale as small as Celsius.

Even in Fahrenheit, 1 degree difference is a LOT. But at least we can use whole numbers to express most differences or specific important thresholds. I can't fathom having to use decimals in Celsius to explain literally ANYTHING. What a failure of a measurement scale.

Same thing applies to the metric system. 1 meter is simply too large and 1 centimeter is too small. And when challenged, the answer is always "use fractions or decimals". What a terrible answer. In a GOOD system of a measurement, the whole numbers should reflect common sizes. 1 ft is the most common whole size in the world, and for a significant portion of the world, it has to be described as 30.48 centimeters or 0.3048 meters! LMAO! The tool should match reality. The U.S. system of measurements may be less clean looking, but they accurately reflect reality.

Well technically there is a decimeter which equals 10cm or approximately 4".

Not sure even metric countries go this far in the weeds.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Well technically there is a decimeter which equals 10cm or approximately 4".

Not sure even metric countries go this far in the weeds.

No we don’t. We just use the numbers easy enough.

 

[polyphenol]

Well technically there is a decimeter which equals 10cm or approximately 4".

Not sure even metric countries go this far in the weeds.

I suspect the only place I've ever used decimetre is in volume measurement - a cubic decimetre. More usually called a litre! (At one point, we were pushed not to use the litre as a measurement in scientific things.)

But at least it is simple. Rather than 1728 cubic inches to the cubic foot, 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard, and 43560 cubic feet in an acre-foot. Does any real person remember these factors?

 

[Ericplan]

When using SI-units it’s essential to understand the difference between lower case m and capital M. MBq is not the same as mBq. And the correct abbreviation for millimeter is mm.

 

[polyphenol]

When using SI-units it’s essential to understand the difference between lower case m and capital M. MBq is not the same as mBq. And the correct abbreviation for millimeter is mm.

And possibly the worst prefix issue is micro- which requires a Greek letter μ. Much easier these days but was a nightmare for many years when typed or typeset. But is so often confused with milli- and typed as mc or uc.

 

[eyoungren]

So now let's discuss how some countries drive on the wrong side of the road. 🤣
🤣🤣

I would earnestly like to know why Phoenix, AZ, and other surrounding cities, have within the past 20 years taken a keen interest in traffic circle intersections. It confuses the heck out of American drivers and some of the less patient ones take shortcuts.

There is a dual lane traffic circle in Tolleson at 99th Ave and Lower Buckeye that causes traffic backup in all four directions because people can't figure out how to enter. There is a traffic circle in my own community that people have trouble negotiating. And someone, somehow flattened a sign in the center of the circle! How do you flatten a sign in the center?!!!!

I have seen drivers drive in the OPPOSITE direction of traffic flow because they did not want to take the circle around to make a 90º left turn. It's crazy! I suspect the idea is to avoid traffic lights and stop signs with a traditional intersection but Americans have real problems with these things.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I would earnestly like to know why Phoenix, AZ, and other surrounding cities, have within the past 20 years taken a keen interest in traffic circle intersections. It confuses the heck out of American drivers and some of the less patient ones take shortcuts.

There is a dual lane traffic circle in Tolleson at 107th Ave and Lower Buckeye that causes traffic backup in all four directions because people can't figure out how to enter. There is a traffic circle in my own community that people have trouble negotiating. And someone, somehow flattened a sign in the center of the circle! How do you flatten a sign in the center?!!!!

I have seen drivers drive in the OPPOSITE direction of traffic flow because they did not want to take the circle around to make a 90º left turn. It's crazy! I suspect the idea is to avoid traffic lights and stop signs with a traditional intersection but Americans have real problems with these things.

By traffic circle do you mean roundabout?

 

[eyoungren]

By traffic circle do you mean roundabout?

Yes, sorry. I used the 'American' words for it.

 

[polyphenol]

I would earnestly like to know why Phoenix, AZ, and other surrounding cities, have within the past 20 years taken a keen interest in traffic circle intersections. It confuses the heck out of American drivers and some of the less patient ones take shortcuts.

There is a dual lane traffic circle in Tolleson at 99th Ave and Lower Buckeye that causes traffic backup in all four directions because people can't figure out how to enter. There is a traffic circle in my own community that people have trouble negotiating. And someone, somehow flattened a sign in the center of the circle! How do you flatten a sign in the center?!!!!

I have seen drivers drive in the OPPOSITE direction of traffic flow because they did not want to take the circle around to make a 90º left turn. It's crazy! I suspect the idea is to avoid traffic lights and stop signs with a traditional intersection but Americans have real problems with these things.

View attachment 2335791

We've had them for quite a while here:

Here in Letchworth Garden City, we are the proud owners of 'Britain's First Roundabout'. A sign commemorating this fact is planted within the roundabout itself. The date is given as 1905.

Pete Tomlin, Letchworth Garden City England