The Metric System
| For guest writer, Duwain Mattson, The story of the Metric System is full of weird and wonderful facts, including why the United States remains a hold-out against using it. |
A Metric Clock
If those crazy French had their way then clocks today might be very unrecognisable. The French Republican Calendar (or the so-called Metric Calendar) started off by dividing the year into 12 month periods. Now naturally in a nod to the decimal system these months were divided into ten day periods. Three ten day periods in fact. Naturally there were ten hours in each of those days and they each had 100 decimal minutes! The idea never got off the ground and hasn’t been heard of since 1795.
Who doesn’t believe in the Metric System?
Even with a system as easy to use and making so much sense as the metric there are always going to be reactionary people resisting change. The biggest opponent to the French led system of weights and measures is still the USA, who is slowly coming around to see sense. Unfortunately they’re not in the best of company as the only other countries resisting the change are Myanmar and Liberia!
Serious Historical Support
For those of you who still think that inches and quarts are a good idea maybe the opinion of notable British scientists, ex-presidents and the inventor of the telephone will change your mind. If ever asked the question , “What do Alexander Graham Bell,Thomas Jefferson and Lord Kelvin have in common?” The answer is that all three (and many others of course), were serious supporters of the system. Bell even compared using the old system as akin to carrying on using Roman numerals for arithmetic.
It’s protected by the law!
The Metric Act of 1866 actually made it illegal to use anything but metric quantities for trading purposes. Quite clearly the law was never taken seriously as almost 150 years on business carries on as normal in the USA.
A recent petition to change the US to the Metric System had a lot of support as well. The petition cited the metric system as "superior, less convoluted - everything is ordered in units of tens, while the chaotic arrangement of the Imperial System slows things down for us - not only in terms of education, but also businesses, science, foreign relations, and daily life."
Who was the first to have a currency founded on the Metric System?
Confusingly enough despite resisting the metric system the U.S was actually the first country to have a currency based on the decimal system! Ignoring the en vogue British system of pence/shillings and pounds the U.S adopted a decimal system of 100 cents to the dollar through the 1792 Mint Act.
If you really love it get the Fan Magazine
If you absolutely can’t get enough of the metric system then you can subscribe to the bi-monthly Metric Today newsletter. Inside you’ll find such fascinating topics as to which companies are adopting the system and if your future eco-friendly car’s hydrogen fuel will be measured in a metric friendly fashion. The publishers, the U.S Metric Association, are certainly passionate about the system and are always trying to convert the government to their way of thinking. Posters and flashcards are all part of their strategy to bring the USA into the metric age.
| By Duwain Mattson | Subscribe to 33rd Square |
Author Bio: Duwain is a teacher who pursues a second career as a tech blogger and freelance writer. In his free time he frantically researches on the topics of apps and games. He is currently associated with Converterin which is an online unit providing the most accurate and up to date metric and measurement conversions.
0 comments:
Post a Comment