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In an odd way, the US is fully metricized: they’re one of the original signatories of the Treaty of the Metre, and redefined all of their legacy units in terms
by kd5bjo 7y ago
In an odd way, the US is fully metricized: they’re one of the original signatories of the Treaty of the Metre, and redefined all of their legacy units in terms of SI ones [1]. SI units are used directly in the sciences and most products have the SI equivalent listed alongside the traditional measure. I understand that industries with international supply chains, like the auto industry, are also mostly metric these days.
There just hasn’t been much of a reason for the purely-domestic parts of the market to switch: house builders are looking for 2x4 lumber, and won’t buy from a lumberyard that calls it 50x100mm. Knowing that, the sawmills continue producing the 1.5x3.5 inch profile that’s called “2x4” and anything else is a specialty item. Who has an incentive to push through the change?
[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendenhall_Order https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendenhall_Order