16-05-2003 21:45									#121
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quote: Originally posted by Urban Ranger These measurement units are all artificial constructions.

Not all. A year has to have 365 and a bit days no matter what units you want to use.

	17-05-2003 02:45									#122
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quote: Nah, I want Kelvin.

I actually cannot understand fahrenheit.

BTW, why do the Americans use a system that orginated in Germany?

You would think they would learn after the FIRST spacecraft that crashes.

	17-05-2003 03:04									#123
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I think the second comes from the heart rate. But you have to be extremely fit and rested to have a heart rate of 60 bpm. Perhaps the Sumerian elite soldiers were like that? Or the unit has changed over the millenia.

But I wouldn't complain if they changed hours, minutes and seconds into 10 hours a day and the other sub-units into 10 or 100 parts of that.

Have a nice 10-hour day

	17-05-2003 03:50									#124
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I'm happy for the Americans to keep their feet planted firmly in the dark ages - after all, even their own mother country has adopted metric...

No skin off my nose, I can do both either independently or as a convertion from one to the other...

What I do find disturbing is that there seem to be a large number of you americans using 'imperial' (ah, the nostalgia...) who don't have a clue how many pounds there are to a stone - if you're gonna use it, use it properly...

Horse is right about miles and kms though, at least with miles you get a real sense of achievement when you've reeled off a few hundred - not like those namby-pamby kms...

	18-05-2003 12:37									#125
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quote: Originally posted by Rogan Josh Not all. A year has to have 365 and a bit days no matter what units you want to use.

Why chose a year? It's only because of agriculture that humans needed to know when to plant crops. So it's all artificial, after all.

	18-05-2003 17:03									#126
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i was taught metric, but i still understand imperial much better.

here we use different systems for different things, height, weight and distance are still measured in imperial, but if you buy petrol or large quatities of drink you'll be buying in litres. temperature is measured in degrees C rather than F.

i would hate to switch fully to metric, if someone tells me their height or weight in metric i always ask 'what's that in english?'

	18-05-2003 17:32									#127
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Duh. The US is using the metric system. Do you think the White House buys a pound of butter? No, it buys .6kg (or whatever it is) instead. The metric system is the standard system for the US Government, its just not used on food labels and highway/road signs as well as when talking about property (like ft squared and miles squared, acres, etc...) and other stuff like that. Its just the stuff where Imperial works just as well and everybody knows it already so why intentionally screw up everyone when you don't have to?

Remember the US is a big country... it would cost a ton and confuse millions. Why bother?

	19-05-2003 07:57									#128
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The units of time were first used by the Sumerians and are still used because it is a base-60 that can easily be used as parts of a circle (a year is 360 plus 5.24 days). A 24-hour system is quite rational, it can be divided easily into many things, much more that a base-10 time system.

	19-05-2003 08:00									#129
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quote: Originally posted by JimmyCracksCorn Remember the US is a big country... it would cost a ton and confuse millions. Why bother?

Canada is bigger, and China has more people.

	20-05-2003 05:00									#130
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quote: Originally posted by Urban Ranger Canada is bigger, and China has more people.

Yes, but the USA is number 3 in Population and Number 3 in size of Country.
Pop. China, India, and USA.
Size Russia, Canada, USA.
Besides, I have already said no and any more posting on this thread is a waste of time.

	20-05-2003 05:03									#131
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quote: BTW, why do the Americans use a system that orginated in Germany?

Well that's obvious isn't it? If you dislike the French, the Germans are your natural ally .

	20-05-2003 05:06									#132
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quote: Remember the US is a big country... it would cost a ton and confuse millions. Why bother?

Because America trades with the rest of the world, and excluding two other countries, everyone uses metric. So while your millions continue to use that old system, it confuses billions.

	20-05-2003 05:26									#133
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Other then sending the odd satilite crashing into the atmosphere of other planets what harm does it do us? None at all.

	20-05-2003 06:22									#134
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quote: Originally posted by MOBIUS I'm happy for the Americans to keep their feet planted firmly in the dark ages - after all, even their own mother country has adopted metric...

My dad's from Scotland and everytime his family comes to visit us in California they always, always, always talk about stones, pounds, feet, and miles. Canada is metric too but I remember a Canadan girl my friend dated in College and she couldn't even say how tall she was in metric; she'd just say 5'7".

	20-05-2003 07:14									#135
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<-----American who is 100% for s witching to metrics.

	20-05-2003 08:01									#136
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We have the MEGATONS and we say no!

	20-05-2003 09:22									#137
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Why switch? There's no reason to. Besides, variety is the spice of life.

	20-05-2003 12:01									#138
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Shouldn't that be Megatonnes?

95% of the world population have adapted the metric system. Almost 50% of them have Megatonnes too (China, India, Russia, France etc). And metric tonnes are heavier than short tons...