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n—according to this 1893 decision!
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nOnnthis date in 1893, the word came down to the American people from thenSuperintendent of Weights and Measures: the international meter andnkilogram will be the fundamental standards of length and weightn(mass) in the United States.
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nAndn119 years later, Americans are still dragging their feet on thisnone!!!
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Luckily,nthe metric system isn’t very hard to learn. After all, that’s why it wasncreated—based on tens, the conversion math (such as centimeters tonmeters) is super simple! Another good thing: a lot of Americansnalready know the metric system, because they work in science ornmedicine, or they work with people in another country, perhaps inninternational trade, or they work in another field in which thenmetric system is used.
Luckily,nthe metric system isn’t very hard to learn. After all, that’s why it wasncreated—based on tens, the conversion math (such as centimeters tonmeters) is super simple! Another good thing: a lot of Americansnalready know the metric system, because they work in science ornmedicine, or they work with people in another country, perhaps inninternational trade, or they work in another field in which thenmetric system is used.n
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nStill,nwhy is the U.S. one of only a few countries in the world that has notnadopted the metric system? (Some other holdouts are Liberia andnMyanmar, also known as Burma.)
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nWhyndoes the U.S. cling to a system in which computations based on 12ninches, 8 liquid ounces, and 16 weight ounces are much more difficultnand confusing?
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nSincenit was decided in 1893 that America would make the switch, and sincena 1988 U.S. law dictates that trade and commerce uses the metricnsystem…why don’t we Americans get with the system?
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nMeasurenAway!
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Herenis a simple primer on the metric system.
Herenis a simple primer on the metric system. n
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nIntried to find some great websites to gain experience with the metricnsystem, but most seem to concentrate on conversions between thensystem currently used in the U.S. (which is called the imperialnsystem) and the metric system. Who cares about conversions? It’s likentrying to learn to speak or understand Spanish by constantlyntranslating from English. I think maybe we should just start noticingnwhat five and ten centimeters look like, whether a temperature of 40ndegrees Celsius means a cold or a hot day (answer: a really hotnday!), how tiring a 5 K (kilometer) race is, and how lightweight a 1.4 kilogram laptop is (answer: reallynlightweight!). n
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nI’mnhoping that Think Metric will be useful to anyone trying to learn thenmetric system. It is one of the few that doesn’t emphasizenconversion, conversion, conversion!
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nAlsonon this date:
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Philanthropist Elihu Yale’s birthday
Philanthropist Elihu Yale’s birthday n
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nWriter, leader, and educator Booker T. Washington’s birthday
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nIMPORTANTnNOTE:
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nPlannahead for International Pillow Fight Day on Saturday, April 7!
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nThere are plans for a huge pillow fight near me. Maybe there will be one near you, too!nCheck it out here.