Why is this so

[Rey Johnson]

I've gone metric in some respects just because I have alot of Festool's stuff. But I am nowhere near being a metric person. Even when my rulers, etc. have both measuring systems, I tend to go with inches and feet.


As for the 5/4 measurement on the board, increments of 4ths makes sense.

I won't hold my breath for the 'kilometers per hour' speed limit signs though.

[Lee DeRaud]

I recall a story of a son saying to his dad: "Is it true when you were in school they told you to hide under your desk in event of a nuclear attack?"

When the dad replied "Yes," the son asked, "Is this the same school where you got the rest of your education?"

Well, now I'm depressed: I remember the "duck and cover" drills.

[Michael Gabbay]

5th grade in 1984! Man when I was in 5th grade they had not invented the ruler, or measuring in metric, or imperial! When I was in 5th grade we had to take rocks and measure things. We had to cut wood with rocks, we had to hammer with rocks, we had to carve and turn with rocks! And I had to walk to school (both ways uphill barefoot over rocks and broken glass)!

Geez! Next you are going to tell me that you never used a slide rule!

Actually, I prefer metric but for woodworking it's hard to get used to. For all my mechanical stuff I try only to think in terms of metrics and its a lot easier.
Mike

[Lee DeRaud]

And I had to walk to school (both ways uphill barefoot over rocks and broken glass)!

Must be younger than I am: they didn't even invent glass until I was in high school. We did have rocks, but I think they were just the beta test versions.

[Frank Hagan]

I do remember having to learn how to use an abacus ... never figured out why, except that it probably had more to do with world history than it did with math. And duck and cover was drilled into me, as well as what to do if the school principal drove by with the Civil Defense sign in his window.

First time I saw a blimp I thought the world was ending.

As to the metric system, it was one of our engineers who converted the temperature rise across a heat exchanger on a boiler as -7 C, making the first ever gas-fired appliance that cooled water by building a fire underneath it. (The error was in taking the fahrenheit temp, 20 F, and converting it to a -7 like you would the ambient temperature. Most of the calculators out there assume that's what you are going to do.)

[Bill Fields]

I'm all for the logic and ease of the metric system. My concern is the unknown but substantial cost in dollars, lost efficiency, errors (some fatal-many costly).


All my engineering work is in metric--all my woodwork is still in inches.

BILL FIELDS

[Bart Leetch]

I've always found it interesting how there are or were some people that would try & force someone to change to another type of measurement system. WHY?

What difference does it make as long as we all end up with the same thing that is the same dimension in all ways say a dresser or dining room table.

[thomas prevost]

How many remember the 'slipstick'? I mean slide rule. WE all had one When I went to college.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

How many remember the 'slipstick'? I mean slide rule. WE all had one When I went to college.

Thomas......I've got one in a desk drawer where I'm setting. I actually pull it out about once a year and try to remember how to use it. I have a brief case in my company van with a scientific calculator...the last time I needed it for work the batteries were dead. More often I use the calculator on my company work laptop..........

[russ bransford]

we'll go metric when gas is sold by the liter, because the price of a gallon is too high.

do you think the wood will know it's supposed to expand and contract in mm instead of inches?

RB

[John Hemenway]

I've always found it interesting how there are or were some people that would try & force someone to change to another type of measurement system. WHY?

What difference does it make as long as we all end up with the same thing that is the same dimension in all ways say a dresser or dining room table.

I do think there are good reasons to use the same measurement system worldwide. We might not like it that it's not OUR system, but the change would be good once we (read old foggies here) get use to it.

Advantages: less confusion and mistakes converting back and forth. Economy of scale not having to produce multiple versions of the same item.

Two examples come to mind.

The language of avation is English. All control towers are supposed to speak English, all pilots also. How confusing would it be to have Farsi pilot and Mandarin CT?

A 'done wrong' example: There are three (at least) video standards in the world. NTSC -USA and Japan, PAL - most of the world and SECAM - France. Would it be less confusing if only one 'standard' existed? Would AV equipment be less expensive if Mitsubishi only had to make PAL? As they say in 'Fargo', "you betcha"!

Yes there would be expense and confusion as we convert. Would there be savings long term to offset the short term issues? IMHO, 'You betcha'!

[Lee DeRaud]

I do think there are good reasons to use the same measurement system worldwide. We might not like it that it's not OUR system, but the change would be good once we (read old foggies here) get use to it.

Advantages: less confusion and mistakes converting back and forth. Economy of scale not having to produce multiple versions of the same item.

As near as I can tell, there is no "multiple version" problem that doesn't exist for more fundamental reasons than measurement systems. If a Toyota sold in California is different from a Toyota sold in England, it is not because they had to replace all the 6mm bolts with 1/4".

If you want a real commonality problem to tackle, try getting all the metric-using countries to drive on the same side of the road.

[Joe Judge]

Ugh - the memories:
1974, sitting in the 4th grade in Danville, OH ... learning the metric system.

I don't want metric -- I want the jet packs & hover cars we'd all be using here in the future.


-- joe

[Norman Hitt]

"

If you want a real commonality problem to tackle, try getting all the metric-using countries to drive on the same side of the road.

This brings back a comical, but true thing I remembered. One of the Countries I used to fly into, which country fails my memory (but somewhere in either Africa, India or the Middle east), anyway they announced that to be compatible to the country adjoining them, on a certain date there would be a switchover from driving on the left side to the right side of the road.

Well.......the date came, the switchover was made, but after a very short time, they switched back to the original side. I asked if it was because the drivers couldn't get used to it, and they said no, that wasn't the problem. It seems that a large quantity of the shipping of goods in that area was still done by camel trains and the camels had been going the same route their whole life, from the time they were babies just following their mothers.

When the camels came to the border, they automatically switched to the other side of the road, and they apparently had tried everything they knew but just couldn't retrain the camels, and it was causing too much traffic disruption and accidents.

[Larry Norton]

Roger, I was thinking the same thing yesterday about buying water. Even funnier, you have to pay for air at convenience stores!


Larry