Metric vs Imperial poll

[Mikey]

Yipster,
You didn't tell us that what you wrote was an exact copy and paste from a NASA site

Mikey

[Gerard DeRoy]

Than how do you know it was from a nasa site?

[Mikey]

Originally Posted by http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/08jan_metricmoon.htm?list54216

January 8, 2007: If you think in pounds and miles instead of kilograms and kilometers, you're in the minority. Only the United States, Liberia, and Burma still primarily use English units -- the rest of the world is metric. And now the Moon will be metric too.

Follow this link http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2....htm?list54216

I found it interesting that a NASA site actually contained those words

[Mikey]

I emailed NASA asking them if technical drawings of e.g. space shuttle parts were in feet and inches or decimal feet, adding something like "for parts designed in the US of course, the rest of the world, except the US, Burma and Liberia is already metric"

NASA's contact page says "Kindly allow 10 to 15 business days for processing" but I guess they didn't like the content because they never answered

[safewalrus]

Yeah but were they 'metric' days

[stonebreaker]

The metric system can only be divided into halves and fifths because it's base 10. The English system, as a base 12 system, can be divided into halves, thirds, quarters, and sixths without having to deal with decimals - makes it lots easier to do math in my head when I'm building something, probably because I'm a visual thinker instead of an analytical thinker.

[raminb]

I think 70% of Rules & Standards in the world are in Metric.

[openboater]

METRIC ??

lets see, you still divide by 60 to meters per second from meters per minute.

January still has 31 days, not 10.

a year still has 12 months not 10

Do you guy's get time and a half pay for overtime over 8 hours worked or 10 hours . Oh thats right, metric countries never work more than 10 hours.

a meter is what ?? the wave length of what ?? Oh, that's readily understood by a ditch digger. If I want a ditch 3 feet deep, I just look down and at least I have an idea what 2 feet deep looks like.

Sorry guy's just couldn't help it, but Metric is for the mathimatically challenged.

While were talking about it, why do metric countries put the day first and the month second when they write dates ??

and why does February get the extra day every 4 years, whats wrong with the 32nd of July ?

[lazeyjack]

cant believe there is even a debate
ever tried building a boat is feet and fractions of a inch!!
one measure, mm and to those who question this , I beg to say you can not be a tradesman, a turner, a machinist

[lazeyjack]

there are 10 billion people in this world, 9.6 billion use metrics, so whose out of step? still 9.3 ban guns, so whose uncivilzed? um er can we guess?

[Pericles]

6.3 billion people at the last count, I venture to add and be glad we are not using ells, versts or Roman numerals. http://www.convert-me.com/en/

Using metric and avoirdupois interchangeably is similar to being fluent in 2 or more languages. Some can do it and other use their fingers and toes

http://phrontistery.info/unit.html for extra ammunition. Personally I would like to see the UK adopt the Old English Mark, worth 13/4 (13 shillings and fourpence). In any case why did the USA adopt the Thaler and cents? That's metric isn't it? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaler

Also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar

Regards,

Pericles

[Paulo]

Hi guys,

I vote for option 2: metric with knotts and nautical miles!

Try this for size:
I buy a boat that is 29 feet long, has a beam of 3.15 metres, a displacemente of 2650kg and the engine has 250hp!!
I buy my wood in metric sizes, but the screws are all imperial!
The length of a pipe is 2m but its size is 1"!!

How about that for crazy mixing!?!?

ps.: I write my date as days/months/years, because it seems more logic to do so. The same goes to writting the name of the street first and then the number of my house!

At the end of the day, we all like boats!!!

[Roly]

I vote for u Paulo. That I can understand.

[lazeyjack]

i wonder, how many of you are hands on tradesmen?
you take a tape measure, the designer says the girder is 13500mm
easy you just read it off, or does he say 43 foot one ferkin inch and a half and a 32 tooth
come on

[Pericles]

When I first tried my hand at carpentry, standing by my father as he worked and locating and handing him the correct tool from the confusion on the bench. I learned how to cut and join wood within 1/2" accuracy. Hey, I was five, ok?

I got better at it, but who would have thought that inaccuracy (within limits) would have be a highly regarded trait when building stitch and glue boats?

Some odds.

Pericles