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Actually, the U.S. put people on the moon using metric units. Contrary to popular belief, the technical parts of the USG (including NASA) generally use metric.

Actually, the U.S. put people on the moon using metric units. Contrary to popular belief, the technical parts of the USG (including NASA) generally use metric. Of course, this is just to point out a different kind of error in GP's comment.

ghaff 3y ago
Metric is widely used in the US in many contexts where it actually matter. That we generally use (our version of) Imperial units in the kitchen or in home construction is sort of irrelevant however riled up it gets some Europeans--which is maybe a bit of a net plus.
- SEJeff 3y ago
  The most hilarious thing is that the Imperial units came from the UK. They should blame the UK for the Imperial units, not us.
  - ghaff 3y ago
    The reality is that the Anglosphere as a whole uses a hybrid system to greater or lesser degrees. Heck, stones are still used at least somewhat in the UK. And I'd argue that Fahrenheit is actually a pretty decent system for day-to-day use. The degrees are smaller and it's not really that hard to remember 32 degrees is freezing. And sub-zero is fricking cold in most places. If you want to be all-on scientific, use Kelvin. But that would be silly for day-to-day use.
    - TMWNN 3y ago
      >And I'd argue that Fahrenheit is actually a pretty decent system for day-to-day use. The degrees are smaller and it's not really that hard to remember 32 degrees is freezing. Also, in Fahrenheit 0-100 degrees roughly demarcates the survival zone for humans without special precautions.
WrongAssumption 3y ago
They used a combination, with all the displays outputting customary. It wasn’t until the 80s/90s NASA really transitioned to metric. You can see the mission report all measurements referred to are customary units. https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/A11_MissionReport.pdf https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/A11_MissionReport.pdf
- pdabbadabba 3y ago
  That's a weird document, from a units perspective. Mass is reported in lbs while distances are in cm. Notwithstanding the units used for reporting, though, I had always heard that the actual work was done in metric (to avoid potential conversion errors).[1] Is that not correct? [1] But see https://everydayastronaut.com/mars-climate-orbiter/ https://everydayastronaut.com/mars-climate-orbiter/

ghaff 3y ago

Metric is widely used in the US in many contexts where it actually matter. That we generally use (our version of) Imperial units in the kitchen or in home construction is sort of irrelevant however riled up it gets some Europeans--which is maybe a bit of a net plus.

SEJeff 3y ago
The most hilarious thing is that the Imperial units came from the UK. They should blame the UK for the Imperial units, not us.
- ghaff 3y ago
  The reality is that the Anglosphere as a whole uses a hybrid system to greater or lesser degrees. Heck, stones are still used at least somewhat in the UK. And I'd argue that Fahrenheit is actually a pretty decent system for day-to-day use. The degrees are smaller and it's not really that hard to remember 32 degrees is freezing. And sub-zero is fricking cold in most places. If you want to be all-on scientific, use Kelvin. But that would be silly for day-to-day use.
  - TMWNN 3y ago
    >And I'd argue that Fahrenheit is actually a pretty decent system for day-to-day use. The degrees are smaller and it's not really that hard to remember 32 degrees is freezing. Also, in Fahrenheit 0-100 degrees roughly demarcates the survival zone for humans without special precautions.

WrongAssumption 3y ago

They used a combination, with all the displays outputting customary. It wasn’t until the 80s/90s NASA really transitioned to metric. You can see the mission report all measurements referred to are customary units. https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/A11_MissionReport.pdf https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/A11_MissionReport.pdf

pdabbadabba 3y ago
That's a weird document, from a units perspective. Mass is reported in lbs while distances are in cm. Notwithstanding the units used for reporting, though, I had always heard that the actual work was done in metric (to avoid potential conversion errors).[1] Is that not correct? [1] But see https://everydayastronaut.com/mars-climate-orbiter/ https://everydayastronaut.com/mars-climate-orbiter/