This was all the rage, about 35 years ago. The media and government kept saying America must change to use the same units as the rest of the world. We must change!!!
But we didn’t change for the most part. We have liter gas and liter sodas, but not much else on a regular basis.
Metric? Really? How very ‘1983’ of you, Lincoln.
Chaffee is a liberal New England nutbag just like his father who tried to repeal the Second Amendment.
I remember back in elementary school (in the mid 70’s) when they tried to get us to learn the metric system.
It didn’t go well at all.
The Clinton Criminal Enterprise will whip Chafee within 2.54 centimeters of his life.
I have to agree. I am a track official and everything is metric EXCEPT the field events. WHT? I have to measure in inches which is a pain.
Pat Paulsen is smiling
Of course we should adopt the metric system.
But with common sense, and based on the experience of countries such as Britain and Canada.
The secret is to adopt where it is easy, and where it makes sense, and keep what works. What works is standardized materials, such as 4x8 plywood sheets.
Where change is easy, and educationally reasonable is (for example) to adopt °C. One could do that overnight. DO NOT memorize a conversion formula: it will just slow you down. Simply learn that 0°C is freezing, 20°C is room temperature, and 37°C is human body temperature. That is all you need to know to understand weather reports.
The trouble is, liberals and socialists are not practical, moderate people; so they tend to go to extremes. They are by nature endowed with a strong streak of fanaticism.
So if Chaffee gets in, football will be known as 30.5 centimeter ball.
Anyway, if we had phased in metric starting in 1981 (and ending in 1991), our freeway speed limits would be 90 km/h (56 mph) for urban freeways, 100 km/h (62 mph) for suburban freeways, and 110 or 120 km/h (68 or 74 mph) for rural freeways.
But the big issue is the need to replace all our climate control thermostats, ovens, cooking ranges and especially food packaging with their metric equivalents--very expensive, to say the least.
Jimmy Carter wanna be.
Finally!! The true leadership that America has been longing for!
I found the metric system to rather confusing—with measurements that spanned multiple dimensions *coughcoughchemistrycoughcough*
It made more sense for STP to be 32 degF @ 14.7 psi than 0 degC @ 101.325 kPa, for example.
Or for that matter, they forced us to learn multidimensional conversions—if I didn’t have to deal with the *units* while performing the calculations, it would have been a lot easier. Why would I need to eliminate units as I divided?
Perhaps he was influenced by George Carlin, who once wondered if, upon converting to the metric system, we’d be able to smoke a gram of carrots.
Slap him. Just slap him hard.
I saw the announcement of that bold initiative. Chaffee should also be awarded the espy courage award. Imagine...daring to talk metrics. /sarc
