In 1975, an Act of Congress passed the Metric Conversion Act declaring metric as the preferred measuring system for U.S. trade and commerce, threatening all of us with having to learn metric. Not until recently did I realize, Hey, What the heck happened? As far as hyped events go, it was about as exciting as the Y2K bug and those endless debates over when the new millennium really began.
We still drive 55 miles per hour on the freeway to watch football played on 100-yard fields. And we still order Quarter Pounders at McDonald’s.
But lest you conclude the creep of “metricization” stopped with overseas trade and commerce, I remind you that big plastic bottles of soda and water are two liters. Races, relays and marathons are measured in meters. Your non-fat milk boasts zero grams of fat. And most packaged goods display both traditional and metric weights and sizes.
The actual Act of Congress left the non-business use of metric in the hands of the non-business public, directing its use only within the departments and agencies of the executive branch of government. We are the only industrialized country in the world not officially using the metric system in non-business activities.
Like it or not, there are some undeniably nice things about the metric system. The nicest is that all the units of measure are divisible by 10 (like our currency system) instead of the mixed systems we use today. The decimal system, as this is called, supposedly came from the ancient Chinese and Egyptians. We got the duodecimal system from the Romans–where 12 and its factors are dividers (like our 12 inch foot). The Maya and Aztec used the vigesimal system, based on the number 20. And the Sumerians and Babylonians gave us my favorite to pronounce: the sexagesimal system where everything is divisible by 60 like our time and angles.
Before we had sensitive scientific instruments, we measured things based on what was at hand. For instance, length was measured with the forearm, hand, or finger. Time was measured by the periods of the sun, moon, and other heavenly bodies. When it was necessary to compare the capacities of containers, they were filled with plant seeds that were then counted to measure the volumes. When means for weighing were invented, seeds and stones served as standards. For instance, the carat, still used as a unit for gems, was derived from the carob seed. This is surprisingly true even in modern times. A meter is defined as 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of the orange-red radiation of Krypton 86.
All kidding aside, the metricization of America has clearly begun. The experts won’t put a deadline on when this will happen because they know it’s hard for us to give up our quaint, comfortable ways.
But when that day comes, 28.35 grams of prevention will be worth 453.6 grams of cure.
If you give a guy 2.54 centimeters, he will take 1,609.34 meters.
A touchdown will occur after the ball crosses the 91.44 meter line.
And a 113.4-grammer from McDonald’s will still taste delicious.