Why is the United States one of only three nations in the world that does not use the metric system? The response will certainly surprise you. Have you ever observed that when you leave the United States, the conventional method of measuring seems to change?
Typically, clothing sizes are measured in centimeters as opposed to inches; distance is measured in kg as opposed to miles; and volume is measured in liters as opposed to fluid ounces.
Even though English is spoken in many places throughout the world, when it comes to measurements, Americans and the rest of the world may sometimes feel separated by a linguistic barrier.
You might think this is too much; there must be other countries that don’t use the metric system, right? However, the United States is one of just three nations in the whole globe that does not utilize the metric system.
It may seem odd that the United States has not embraced the most widely used system of measurement in the world, given the frequency with which it engages with other nations over critical metrics. So why does the United States not use the metric system? Find out why it uses Fahrenheit rather than Celsius as well!
How does the metric system work?
The metric system is one of 31 topics most Americans have probably never considered. Before we can understand why the United States does not use the metric system, we need to know what it is and how it is different from U.S. customary units.
The metric system, often known as the International System of Units (SI), consists of three primary units: meters, liters, and grammes. Since the metric system is a base-10 system, each successive unit of length, mass, or volume is 10 times bigger than the preceding unit.
The names of these units are made up of a prefix that tells you how big the unit is and a base that tells you if it measures length, mass, or volume.
Still don’t understand it? Let’s break it down.
In the metric system, metres are the basic unit for measuring length, so any previous or subsequent unit will have “metre” and a prefix that indicates its size. For example 70 kg to lbs conversion is with simple formula.
A metre is similar to three feet and three inches in length. Therefore, a decimeter is ten times smaller than a metre, a centimetre is one hundred times smaller, and a millimeter is one thousand times smaller than a metre.
In contrast, a dekameter is ten times bigger than a meter, a hectometer is one hundred times larger, and a kilometer is one thousand times larger than a meter.
Although we could easily measure the length of a football field in meters, measuring the length of a computer in meters would not make sense. Since a computer is less than one meter long, we would use a lower metric unit, like centimeters or millimeters, to describe its length.
The same rules apply whether you use gramms or liters to measure the mass or volume of something. Examine these scientific “facts” that are really incorrect.
What do U.S. customary units consist of?
Now that we know how the metric system works, we need to know what makes the metric system different from U.S. customary units.
Even though the US system also measures length, mass, and volume, it uses a whole different set of units than the metric system. In addition, unlike the metric system, the U.S. customary units lack a “base” method of measuring.
When measuring the volume of a liquid using U.S. customary units, we use fluid ounces, cups, pints, quarts, and gallons, with fluid ounces being the smallest and gallons the biggest unit of measurement, correspondingly.
One gallon equals four quarts, which equals eight pints, which equals sixteen cups, which equals 128 fluid ounces. Simple, correct?
Due to the absence of a “base” rule in U.S. customary units, volume, mass, and distance are all measured differently using this system. Ounces, pounds, and tonnes are the standard units for measuring the mass of an item in the United States.
The ounce is the lowest unit of mass in this category of measurement, followed by the pound and the tonne. One pound is equivalent to sixteen ounces; one tonne is equal to two thousand pounds; and one tonne is also equal to thirty-two thousand ounces.
U.S Customary Units
Length is the last sort of measurement under U.S. customary units, and it is measured in inches, feet, yards, and miles. According to this system, the smallest unit of length is an inch, while the biggest unit of length is a mile.
Most U.S. people are aware that there are 12 inches in a foot, three feet in a yard, and 1,760 yards in a mile, since this is likely the most commonly used unit of measurement in daily life.
Despite the fact that both systems of measuring serve the same goal, U.S. customary units and the metric system are fundamentally distinct. Never taught this distinction in school? These fifteen more interesting facts about America will surprise you.
Why does the United States not use the metric system?
With the exception of the United States, Myanmar, and Liberia, the whole planet has accepted the metric system as of today.
Given that translating between U.S. customary units and the metric system is time-consuming and cumbersome, having two competing systems is not ideal for global communication and collaboration. So why does the United States not use the metric system?
Surprisingly, the explanation goes back to the 18th century.
In 1790, France devised the metric system as a method of expediting business, minimizing fraud, and resolving the widespread uncertainty that pervaded the nation due to the lack of a consistent system of measuring.
The initial stage in developing this system was establishing a universal meter measurement standard.
In order to be as exact as possible and allow others to replicate their method, the French scientists opted to derive the measurements from the circumference of the globe, a well-known dimension at the time.
To do this, the scientists chose a longitudinal slice of the Earth that spanned between the northern and southern regions of France and split it precisely to establish the meter.
The resultant method of measuring, now known as the metric system, was exceedingly inventive and appealing to the worldwide community. But since the metric system was created in France, the United States decided not to use it.
The Conclusion:
As the rest of the world started to adopt the metric system in the 19th century, the U.S. Congress advocated that the country adopt this international system as well.
Nonetheless, American manufacturers had already equipped their plants with equipment based on U.S. customary units at this time. During the 19th and 20th centuries, these businessmen did everything in their power to stop the United States Congress from using the metric system.
Today, American schools continue to teach U.S. customary units despite the fact that many scientists and organizations have adopted the globally accepted metric system.
The United States’ adherence to U.S. customary units is not the only tradition it has maintained throughout the years. Find out why Americans and the British drive on opposing sides of the road.
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