Boat Building Forum

Find advice on all aspects of building your own kayak, canoe or any lightweight boats

Off Topic: Goin' Metric
By:John Caldeira
Date: 2/2/2011, 12:19 am

Historically, I am an American. The ol' USA is one of the 3 countries in the world that has not officially adopted the metric system of measurement for weights, volumes and distances. The other two countries? Not the best of company: Burma and Liberia.

I've become acquanted with the metric system during my inernational travels over the years, but it was not until I moved to Fiji a few years ago that I really 'went metric'. Allow me to tell you the result.

It's GREAT. When measuring with a measuring tape, there's none of the 1/4, 1/8 and 1/16 nonesense that becomes a mathematical nightmare when adding or subtracting numbers. Everything metric is base 10 math. :-). A liter of water weighs one kilogram. Water boils at 100 and freezes at zero.

I'll admit to still doing some mental conversions on miles to kilometers (0.62 miles is one km), and temperatures are the hardest.

I have no idea how much the U.S. resistance to the global measurement system has hurt U.S. exports (who want's thread counts or weights in U.S. measurements?), but I sense that business in converting even if the U.S. government can't get off the fence on this.

I recommend that folks lean towards metric to make their measurin easier.

John

Messages In This Thread

Off Topic: Goin' Metric
John Caldeira -- 2/2/2011, 12:19 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
JohnK -- 2/2/2011, 4:38 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Doug S -- 2/2/2011, 8:26 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Damian wentzel -- 2/2/2011, 9:19 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 1:51 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Richard Hayes -- 2/2/2011, 10:05 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Al Edie -- 2/2/2011, 11:49 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Mike Savage -- 2/2/2011, 1:03 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Paul G. Jacobson -- 2/2/2011, 4:34 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
John Caldeira -- 2/2/2011, 9:10 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Niven Paine -- 2/3/2011, 2:07 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 2:16 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Niven Paine -- 2/3/2011, 4:29 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 8:46 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
John Caldeira -- 2/3/2011, 2:21 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Chris Richer -- 2/3/2011, 9:29 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
John Caldeira -- 2/3/2011, 9:54 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 2:09 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
John Caldeira -- 2/3/2011, 2:26 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Robert N Pruden -- 2/7/2011, 12:44 pm
Off Topic: Goin' with Yost measurements
Paul G. Jacobson -- 2/3/2011, 3:25 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' with Yost measurements
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 8:48 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' with Yost measurements *PIC*
Tom Yost -- 2/3/2011, 9:21 am
R/C pushrod
Doug S -- 2/3/2011, 1:29 pm
Re: R/C pushrod
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 3:29 pm
Re: R/C pushrod
Doug S -- 2/3/2011, 3:44 pm
Re: R/C pushrod
Les Cheeseman -- 2/3/2011, 3:47 pm
Re: R/C pushrod
Doug S -- 2/3/2011, 4:29 pm
Re: R/C pushrod
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 5:43 pm
Re: R/C pushrod *PIC*
Tom Yost -- 2/3/2011, 6:06 pm
Re: R/C pushrod
Clayton Plunkett -- 2/3/2011, 6:12 pm
Re: R/C pushrod
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 7:00 pm
Re: R/C pushrod
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 7:03 pm
Re: R/C pushrod
Clayton Plunkett -- 2/3/2011, 7:23 pm
Re: R/C pushrod *PIC*
Tom Yost -- 2/3/2011, 7:35 pm
Re: R/C pushrod
Randy Echtinaw -- 2/3/2011, 7:45 pm
Re: R/C pushrod
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 7:48 pm
Re: R/C pushrod
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 7:50 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' with Yost measurements
Robert N Pruden -- 2/7/2011, 12:34 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' with Yost measurements
Bill Hamm -- 2/8/2011, 12:39 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 2:04 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Paul G. Jacobson -- 2/3/2011, 3:18 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 1:53 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Richard Hayes -- 2/3/2011, 7:30 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 8:51 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Richard Hayes -- 2/3/2011, 1:33 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 3:32 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Robert N Pruden -- 2/7/2011, 12:39 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/8/2011, 12:39 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
dave -- 2/2/2011, 12:46 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Paul G. Jacobson -- 2/2/2011, 4:37 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
ancient kayaker -- 2/3/2011, 12:04 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 2:23 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Phil Nelson -- 2/3/2011, 2:34 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 8:54 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Phil Nelson -- 2/3/2011, 8:39 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/4/2011, 6:59 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Phil Nelson -- 2/4/2011, 7:17 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/4/2011, 7:23 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/4/2011, 7:31 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bushwacker -- 2/4/2011, 10:48 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Todd O -- 2/4/2011, 11:29 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/4/2011, 12:28 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/4/2011, 7:17 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Phil Nelson -- 2/4/2011, 6:54 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
John Caldeira -- 2/3/2011, 3:13 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Alex Ferguson -- 2/3/2011, 4:31 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 8:56 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
John Caldeira -- 2/3/2011, 10:05 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
dhwdaniels -- 2/3/2011, 5:37 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
dhwdaniels -- 2/3/2011, 5:29 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Mike Savage -- 2/3/2011, 6:28 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Les Cheeseman -- 2/3/2011, 8:48 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/3/2011, 9:00 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Les Cheeseman -- 2/3/2011, 9:06 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
ancient kayaker -- 2/3/2011, 11:28 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Mike Savage -- 2/3/2011, 1:28 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
ancient kayaker -- 2/3/2011, 3:07 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
John Caldeira -- 2/3/2011, 5:56 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Ian Johnson -- 2/4/2011, 12:48 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/4/2011, 7:12 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Mike Savage -- 2/4/2011, 1:15 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/4/2011, 1:38 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
ancient kayaker -- 2/4/2011, 11:51 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/5/2011, 5:35 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
ancient kayaker -- 2/5/2011, 12:58 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Charles Leach -- 2/5/2011, 1:53 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Les Cheeseman -- 2/4/2011, 11:07 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Roy Martin (fadedred) -- 2/4/2011, 6:56 pm
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Will Clarke -- 2/5/2011, 12:07 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Roy Martin (fadedred) -- 2/5/2011, 9:25 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Bill Hamm -- 2/5/2011, 10:32 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Roy Martin (fadedred) -- 2/5/2011, 11:59 am
Re: Off Topic: Goin' Metric
Robert N Pruden -- 2/7/2011, 12:30 pm
I can't read any more metric conv. posts...
Robert N Pruden -- 2/7/2011, 12:50 pm
Re: I can't read any more metric conv. posts...
Kirk Fredericks - Farback Carpentry and Automation -- 2/7/2011, 1:25 pm
Re: I can't read any more metric conv. posts...
Bill Hamm -- 2/7/2011, 2:07 pm
Just one more
Ian Johnson -- 2/8/2011, 4:34 am
Re: I can't read any more metric conv. posts...
Palle Dam -- 2/8/2011, 5:28 pm
Re: I can't read any more metric conv. posts...
Bill Hamm -- 2/9/2011, 12:43 am
Re: I can't read any more metric conv. posts... *PIC*
Tom Yost -- 2/14/2011, 12:39 pm