elegantlion Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Ds is annoyed with the US system of measurement. He much prefers the metric system. He's curious as to how many people would rather switch to metric completely. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I don't care either way. I internalized metric when I lived abroad. However, I would revolt if they switched to recipes with weights instead of cups. I have no idea what 200 g of flour looks like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeslieAnneLevine Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I don't care either way. I internalized metric when I lived abroad. However, I would revolt if they switched to recipes with weights instead of cups. I have no idea what 200 g of flour looks like! :iagree: It's annoying to have to get the scale out all the time. I much prefer cups. I also voted that I don't care either way. I could do metric, but I don't mind the U.S. system either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punks in Ontario Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I'm not sure I should vote since I'm Canadian, but I did anyway. Metric just makes soooo much more sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftymama Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Yes, yes, yes!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHomeScientist Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I don't care either way. I internalized metric when I lived abroad. However, I would revolt if they switched to recipes with weights instead of cups. I have no idea what 200 g of flour looks like! There's no reason recipes couldn't give metric volumetric measurements (in mL). I'm surprised they don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I like the US system. The metric system has no interesting tales behind it. No spirit. It's sterile. It's not really that hard to use metric at work or when traveling, and the US system at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I voted no, but I worked in engineering for 10 years and the US system is what I am used to. I did have metric in school, but prefer US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I have reference points in both systems for various measurements, so it isn't a big deal to use one or the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I voted no because I'm too used to US system. My kids are all for it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I like the US system. The metric system has no interesting tales behind it. No spirit. It's sterile. Au contraire. Do you know where the metre came from? Take one imaginary line and then divide it into ten million pieces! Or how about this: A surveying team under the direction of two men, Pierre-Francois-Andre Mechain and Jean- Baptiste-Joseph Delambre, spent 6 years in measuring the “arc” that the earth made in a line between Dunkirk in France on the English Channel and Barcelona in Spain. The surveyors underwent much harassment and even were jailed, at times, while making their measurements, because some of the citizens and area officials resented their presence and felt they were up to no good. It was later found that Delambre and Mechain had not properly accounted for the earth's flattening in correcting for oblateness. http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/origin.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Researcher Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Metric gets my vote! It is much easier to cook with metric measurements. In fact, the end product when baking is much more consistent when measuring ingredients by weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) If I could add blinking lights and arrows I would. I use metric at work all day, and after learning it, it make SO MUCH MORE sense than empirical math. YES! Edited March 15, 2012 by Tap, tap, tap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Nooo see weighing for baking is actually quite nice. Imagine, you have one bowl and you weigh most of the ingredients all in the one bowl as you go along (just zero it out each time)! I tried it and it's great!! As long as your scale does not shut off before you're done, it really is pretty easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elinnea Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I vote for metric as well. When I moved to Germany it took a bit of getting used to but I really prefer it now and it makes more sense. Like a pp mentioned, it makes for much more consistent results in baking and I find it alot easier to weigh everything in one bowl on my scale than to get out a bunch of cups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Love the metric system! DD is in human medicine - everything is metric...people give her their weight in lbs., she converts to kg. Medicine is all in cc's, ml, g. etc. The other three boys are all headed for science careers and will need to thoroughly comfortable with the metric system. The youngest is so devoted that he actually spends more time thinking in metric than U.S. The whole metric system just makes sense! :001_smile: Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I would switch in a heartbeat! The metric system makes so much more sense. I'm surprised we haven't already changed over. What the heck are we waiting for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Yes, please switch to metric. Especially since many of my recipes are messed up anyway, by manufacturers switching their portion size. Just yesterday found an old recipe that called for 16 oz of enchilada sauce, and store only had 10 oz cans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 I would switch in a heartbeat! The metric system makes so much more sense. I'm surprised we haven't already changed over. What the heck are we waiting for? I tried to talk ds into making it a life goal to have the US change. He's not quite ready for the challenge. The only real hindrance we saw was changing miles to kilometers, they'd be printing a lot of new road signs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureMoms Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I voted yes. For everyday stuff I don't care that much, but I'm an engineer. I do think that ALL of the engineering world needs to switch to Metric, NOW. There are so many accidents waiting to happen out there because of the oddities of the current system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessReplanted Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Yes! I thought that having to understand both was terrible, but having to teach both is so much worse! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 YES! I grew up with metric and then had to switch. It isn't fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Au contraire. Do you know where the metre came from? Take one imaginary line and then divide it into ten million pieces! Or how about this: A surveying team under the direction of two men, Pierre-Francois-Andre Mechain and Jean- Baptiste-Joseph Delambre, spent 6 years in measuring the “arc†that the earth made in a line between Dunkirk in France on the English Channel and Barcelona in Spain. The surveyors underwent much harassment and even were jailed, at times, while making their measurements, because some of the citizens and area officials resented their presence and felt they were up to no good. It was later found that Delambre and Mechain had not properly accounted for the earth's flattening in correcting for oblateness. http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/origin.html Apparently some people would rather have a system using a measure based on the distance from the tip of a king's nose to the end of his thumb. (This is the basis for the yard.) I vote metric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLBMom Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I voted yes. As a nurse that is all we use and I have a good grasp on it. I also think its much more precise. Since pretty much all of medicine had switched I don't understand why everything else doesn't too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Other. My answer is a combination of don't care and a lean toward U.S. because I don't remember much about metric (just enough to get by). I'm sure I'll pick up more when my dc are learning about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Apparently some people would rather have a system using a measure based on the distance from the tip of a king's nose to the end of his thumb. (This is the basis for the yard.) I vote metric. Having my own personal foot (two actually :D) that are exactly 12 inches long does make feet a difficult measure to give up. And nose to the end of my thumb is also a perfect yard. Maybe I should be a King? :tongue_smilie: Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I voted no, but I worked in engineering for 10 years and the US system is what I am used to. I did have metric in school, but prefer US. Well, I worked in engineering in my pre-kids life, and I voted yes. We had to draft everything with both US and metric measurements. What a waste of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2jjka Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 For weight/length/distance measurement, yes... but I do want to keep temperature measurements in degrees Farenheit, not Celsius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi @ Mt Hope Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I do. not. like change. But I voted that we should change to metric. I'm sure I wouldn't enjoy it at first, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HejKatt Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Grew up with metric, so it's "Aye, full speed ahead!" here. An unrelated piece of trivia - this question came up on a Swagbucks daily poll, with the options and just over 50% went with the option "I'm from the US and I say no to switching". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NASDAQ Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I grew up with metric and learned Imperial in regular life. Metric is better for measuring things that are hopelessly abstract -- very large or very small, say. The distance to the moon. The size of a cell. For concrete measurements, Imperial is much better. Inches, feet, cups, and pounds came into being because they are naturally, useful units. Take height. People who are four feet something are quite short. Five feet is in the middle range; six feet is tall. OTOH, everyone is a metre-something. A batch of bread is a pound of flour. An inch is "small." Which is easier to remember -- one and an half cups, or 375 mL? My babies were 4 lbs 11 oz, 7 lbs 6 oz, and 7 lbs even (small, medium, medium). They were all something over 1500 grams. I think. IME, most people in Canada think at least partly in Imperial. Everyone I know thinks of height and weight in imperial, unless they, say, work in a hospital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NASDAQ Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Apparently some people would rather have a system using a measure based on the distance from the tip of a king's nose to the end of his thumb. (This is the basis for the yard.) Well, yes, that is indeed a much better unit. A yard is about an arms length. Very useful for, say, estimating fabric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I don't care either way. I internalized metric when I lived abroad. However, I would revolt if they switched to recipes with weights instead of cups. I have no idea what 200 g of flour looks like! The metric system has measuring cups for cooking. I have a nifty chart that converts grams into cups. It is different for each ingredient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Nope. The U.S. system works for me. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 switch switch switch switch Really I could care less, but this whole business of knowing two systems is ANNOYING! And lets face it, it is a lot easier to calculate with metric. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nono Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I tried to talk ds into making it a life goal to have the US change. He's not quite ready for the challenge. The only real hindrance we saw was changing miles to kilometers, they'd be printing a lot of new road signs. I'll sponsor him! Yes, here in NJ, we'd have to renumber the Garden State Parkway exits, and everyone would have to relearn what their answer to "What exit?" is, but it'd be worth it. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Au contraire. Do you know where the metre came from? Take one imaginary line and then divide it into ten million pieces! Or how about this: A surveying team under the direction of two men, Pierre-Francois-Andre Mechain and Jean- Baptiste-Joseph Delambre, spent 6 years in measuring the “arc†that the earth made in a line between Dunkirk in France on the English Channel and Barcelona in Spain. The surveyors underwent much harassment and even were jailed, at times, while making their measurements, because some of the citizens and area officials resented their presence and felt they were up to no good. It was later found that Delambre and Mechain had not properly accounted for the earth's flattening in correcting for oblateness. http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/origin.html An imaginary line is not interesting (to me at least,) nor is the invisible arc between two towns I've never visited. OTOH, the politics and marketing of making up a system of measurement and convincing the whole world to buy into it might be interesting, but not enough to switch. Slightly off topic, but how come they didn't create a metric calendar while they were at it? I'd think the 7's and 12's would really irritate the base 10 purists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 Thank you, all. This led to a very interesting follow up discussion with ds this morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisbeth Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I like the US system. The metric system has no interesting tales behind it. No spirit. It's sterile. It's not really that hard to use metric at work or when traveling, and the US system at home. This is how I feel but couldn't put it in words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 No! No! No! Hate the metric system! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) I think the metric system is easier to learn and use, and it is more exact. Four decades ago, when I was in elementary school, we learned the metric system because the U.S. was going to switch to it very soon. When DD was in 2nd grade, her class began to learn it because the U.S. was going to switch to it very soon. Of course, my kids learned it in HS, but only in case any of them wanted to pursue a science career. I've given up hope that the US will switch. If my kids could vote here, they would add 4 more votes for the metric system. Edited March 15, 2012 by RoughCollie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HejKatt Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Slightly off topic, but how come they didn't create a metric calendar while they were at it? I'd think the 7's and 12's would really irritate the base 10 purists. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Republican_Calendar Excerpt: "There were twelve months, each divided into three ten-day weeks called décades. .. Each day in the Republican Calendar was divided into ten hours, each hour into 100 decimal minutes, and each decimal minute into 100 decimal seconds. " My head hurts thinking about switching to the above. Perhaps I can understand the reaction (against metric) of those who grew up with the US system. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I don't really care, but I do wish they'd pick one. Having to teach both is annoying. Pick a system and stick with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Ugh, YES! I hate the US system after learning metric. Metric just makes so much more sense! Living in Europe we had to adjust to it fairly quickly as I buy most of our food off post and it's all metric in weight. It took me forever to figure how what 200g of cheese from the deli looked like, but once I figured out the weights, it was so easy. Cooking in metric is easy too. And yes, they do make metric measuring cups. Europeans don't weigh everything on a scale. They have a set of cups, just like we do, but with different amounts. I love that everything is based on 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertmum Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 All right. I'm not American -but I voted anyway, mainly because: (see below) I grew up with metric. DH did not. When we are on the road he keeps asking me "how many miles to...?" I always reply "About x kilometers". No wonder we are always getting lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live2Ride Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Nooo see weighing for baking is actually quite nice. Imagine, you have one bowl and you weigh most of the ingredients all in the one bowl as you go along (just zero it out each time)! I tried it and it's great!! Yep thats what I do. Its so much easier. We would rather switch here. My kids have proclaimed that the U.S. system makes zero sense. They like the metric system much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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