6 ms·
Only 3 countries in the entire world have not adopted SI units.
by auxym 10y ago
Only 3 countries in the entire world have not adopted SI units.
- techdragon 10y agoActually Liberia and Myanmar have been converting to Metric, so the USA is likely the last place where people are not being taught Metric. Unless it's improved and Metric is being taught in American schools?
- learc83 10y agoMetric has been taught in most American schools since the 70s. Nearly everyone here learned it at some point, but most people don't use it day to day, so they don't think in it.
- Shivetya 10y agoyeah but its not like its pushed much outside of chemistry. my niece and nephew have learned less about it than I did over thirty years ago. it simply is not a priority, it could be slowly slipped into prominence by emphasizing the measurements on everyday items instead of making those in small print
- learc83 10y ago>yeah but its not like its pushed much outside of chemistry Every science class I had in high school used metric. We also spent a fair amount of time going through it in elementary and middle school math classes. My younger sister (by 20 years) spent a good deal of time on the metric system in her math classes.
- khedoros1 10y agoMy science education, at least in secondary school, was all in metric. I graduated from high school in 2003. The issue is that it isn't used here in everyday life, so it becomes "that weird thing from science [which I already disliked because of the math]". I've done experiments switching to metric. It's not a good idea to rely on my GPS for speed limit information. My home thermostat apparently doesn't have a Celsius setting (and would confuse my wife if it did). It's difficult, but mostly possible to switch here...but what's the point? It's a lot of work for comparatively little benefit.
- knowaveragejoe 10y agoI was taught metric and its merits over other systems in public school, but I'm sure it varies across the country.
- rmc 10y agoIn theory the UK is fully metric. In practice isn't not.
- patall 10y agoIt is the same in Canada. F.e. Supermarkets advertise the price per pound (presumptively because it is smaller)
- Symbiote 10y agoAmerican influence on Canada means they have oven temperatures in Fahrenheit, recipes in cups, American paper sizes, furniture and buildings in inches etc. Britain has all of this in metric; the beer, road signs and casual (non-medical) body measurements are the only exceptions.
- jwalton 10y agoOntario build code is hilarious. For example, table 9.23.10.1 specified the size and spacing of studs in walls. For interior walls, the maximum stud spacing is 406mm on center, and minimum stud size is 38x38mm. If you didn't know this was 16" on center, and 2x2 framing, you'd think some mad drunk person had come up with these numbers. I also like to imagine building inspectors walking into a building and saying "Oh, these studs are 407mm apart. Tear the building down."
- tonyarkles 10y agoAnd in official government communication, it is nominally metric, but you'll see things in e.g. building codes like "hallways must have a width exceeding 914mm", which is really just 3 feet.