5 ms·

Also remarkable how universal the subdivision of time (egyptian 24 hr day, babylonian 60 min hr et) But adoption of the metric system has stalled so clearly in

Also remarkable how universal the subdivision of time (egyptian 24 hr day, babylonian 60 min hr et) But adoption of the metric system has stalled so clearly in the short term there are various competing forces

detritus 5y ago
> But adoption of the metric system has stalled so clearly in the short term there are various competing forces Presumably this is from an American perspective? Even here in Ye Olde Englande we mostly defer to metric, even if there are some deeply embedded imperial measures, such pints of ale and milk or miles on pathways... .
- refurb 5y ago
  The US adopted the following long ago: metric fasteners for vehicles, metric for scientific research, metric for a lot of engineering. The only places I know it’s not commonly used in business is machining and civil engineering. And obviously consumer facing measures, but that’s a domestic issue.
cyberpunk 5y ago
There’s what, only 300m-ish Noth Americans? You’re the only ones not using it as far as I know, that’s not exactly stalled.
- boomboomsubban 5y ago
  Liberia also largely uses it, and Myanmar has their own thing, but you're largely right.
Broken_Hippo 5y ago
There has, if you aren't in the US, Liberia, and Myanmar. Sure, you get a few small outliers (Canada and probably Great Britain still have a mix of measurements)... but mostly, the world uses Metric. This winds up being in the background in the US. Medicine uses a lot of metric. Sciences generally use it to be standardized. Soda is sold in liter bottles. But there hasn't ever really been a push to actually adopt metric, which basically needs to start from the government. Road signs do not list metric and standard distances or speeds: Food is still sold in pounds and gallons as no labeling law has been made. Weather reports don't mention celcius. Without a push from the government itself, I can't say there was ever really and adoption at all.
- wil421 5y ago
  I’d switch to metric tomorrow but I’d still want mph and for a person’s weight pounds. The UK seems to be fine with 2 sets of measurements for certain things.
- wolverine876 5y ago
  The US military uses metric.
gumby 5y ago
I believe the Egyptians also got the 12 sunlight periods and 12 dark periods from the Babylonians. While sunrise-to-sunset (and its converse) were divided into equal twelfths each day the duration of those divisions varied each day as the amount of sunlight varies each day. And the 60 minute hour did not originate with the Babylonians (though they used a sexagesimal counting system and inspired others) but be came de facto, with the invention of the mechanical clock (there was little need for such resolution before that point). The wikipedia does discuss some academic usage of that fraction, but its influence was presumably only conventional in regards to clockmaking. The more common divisions, which we still commonly use today, were "quarter past" or "half" which are of a viable resolution for a sundial.

detritus 5y ago

> But adoption of the metric system has stalled so clearly in the short term there are various competing forces Presumably this is from an American perspective? Even here in Ye Olde Englande we mostly defer to metric, even if there are some deeply embedded imperial measures, such pints of ale and milk or miles on pathways... .

refurb 5y ago
The US adopted the following long ago: metric fasteners for vehicles, metric for scientific research, metric for a lot of engineering. The only places I know it’s not commonly used in business is machining and civil engineering. And obviously consumer facing measures, but that’s a domestic issue.

cyberpunk 5y ago

There’s what, only 300m-ish Noth Americans? You’re the only ones not using it as far as I know, that’s not exactly stalled.

boomboomsubban 5y ago
Liberia also largely uses it, and Myanmar has their own thing, but you're largely right.

Broken_Hippo 5y ago

There has, if you aren't in the US, Liberia, and Myanmar. Sure, you get a few small outliers (Canada and probably Great Britain still have a mix of measurements)... but mostly, the world uses Metric. This winds up being in the background in the US. Medicine uses a lot of metric. Sciences generally use it to be standardized. Soda is sold in liter bottles. But there hasn't ever really been a push to actually adopt metric, which basically needs to start from the government. Road signs do not list metric and standard distances or speeds: Food is still sold in pounds and gallons as no labeling law has been made. Weather reports don't mention celcius. Without a push from the government itself, I can't say there was ever really and adoption at all.

wil421 5y ago
I’d switch to metric tomorrow but I’d still want mph and for a person’s weight pounds. The UK seems to be fine with 2 sets of measurements for certain things.
wolverine876 5y ago
The US military uses metric.

gumby 5y ago

I believe the Egyptians also got the 12 sunlight periods and 12 dark periods from the Babylonians. While sunrise-to-sunset (and its converse) were divided into equal twelfths each day the duration of those divisions varied each day as the amount of sunlight varies each day. And the 60 minute hour did not originate with the Babylonians (though they used a sexagesimal counting system and inspired others) but be came de facto, with the invention of the mechanical clock (there was little need for such resolution before that point). The wikipedia does discuss some academic usage of that fraction, but its influence was presumably only conventional in regards to clockmaking. The more common divisions, which we still commonly use today, were "quarter past" or "half" which are of a viable resolution for a sundial.