[Wikipedia-l] Metric v. English

Fri Jan 3 15:06:47 UTC 2003

On Friday 03 January 2003 09:30, Jimmy Wales wrote:
> Yes, I forgot the ;-).  I don't really think that they'll be switching
> back.
>
> But I do think that the United States will not be changing anytime in
> the next 50 years, at least.  When I was a child, we were taught both
> systems, and we were told that the U.S. would be switching within a
> few years to metric.  But it didn't "stick".
>
> And I do think that the metric system is inferior to the English
> system for the sorts of measurements that ordinary people make all the
> time.  It has the advantage of simplicity, to be sure.  But the quirks
> of the English system are there for good reasons.
>
> The foot, for example, is evenly divisible into inches by 2, 3, and 4.
> That sort of division comes up all the time in carpentry.

The acre is some weird number of square feet. It's not even square. I draw 
lots and wonder when they're going to change. Of course all the easements are 
currently round numbers of feet, but for the lengths that are 
130*sin(rodbo'e)-66*cos(daidza), it doesn't matter what unit you measure them 
in, they'll be neither round nor square.

If the people lead, will the liters follow?

phma