I remember being "threatened" to learn the metric system back in school in the sixties.....we were told that the conversion was scheduled to happen in the US. It never did completely happen.......my thoughts...it should have.
Buying American
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mjncad
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That's because Exxon is headquartered in the backwater oil patch, and Apple is headquartered in the land of fruits and nuts near the seat of the so called enlightened intelligentsia.
For the most part the auto industry here is all metric including tractors. It's the implement manufacturers and modifiers like me that have yet to jump on the metric bandwagon. Actually I would go all metric with my mods; but it's still easier to get the imperial fasteners locally, along with taps.
I remember being "threatened" to learn the metric system back in school in the sixties.....we were told that the conversion was scheduled to happen in the US. It never did completely happen.......my thoughts...it should have.
Jiminy Peanut (Jimmy Carter) tried to get the country to go metric, and it failed miserably. I wish we were a solely metric country as I thoroughly hate our system of measurement. I'm just so used to using imperial measurement from 24-years in the engineering business where imperial measurements were the norm for our type of work.
The scientific community uses metric as its norm.
kensnelling
Veteran Member
I remember being "threatened" to learn the metric system back in school in the sixties.....we were told that the conversion was scheduled to happen in the US. It never did completely happen.......my thoughts...it should have.
I remember that too. Seems like they started teaching it in 5th grade, then in junior high (7th & 8th grades) they hit us pretty hard with metrics. Then in high school (9th grade 1971) except for science classes and a little in advanced math classes metrics were forgotten.
Another poster said former President Jimmy Carter pushed hard for the metric system. I recall that the nationwide implementation of the metric system was to happen in 1975, a year before he was elected. Anyone else remember what year the metric system was supposed to be formally adopted in the U.S. ?
Ken
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Metric System officially sanctioned for use since 1866 in the United States.
Redneck in training
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When USA decided to go Metric the world was about equally divided between Metric and English system. Since USA intended to go Metric all countries converted but at the end USA didn't.
tractorshopper
Veteran Member
Where I work, we use both, depending on what the customer orders (lbs/kgs, etc). All foreign sales are in metric and about half or more domestic sales are also in metric. The rest are hold outs. I can honestly tell you that I wish we'd just go entirely in one direction because things would be so much easier, and I'd even say that while being an extremely patriotic American and "used to" the imperial system, I wish we'd just go metric. It's easier to work with on the whole and for various volume to weight conversions and all. At home, I'm tired of having two sets of tools and trying to find the right one and I find that I use metric wrenches more than anything in the end, so I actually go there first usually. Was different in the 80's where I usually went to the fractional inch wrenches first.
Renze
Elite Member
Hmm you guys have the metric vs. imperial debate...
In the late 60's there was the DIN vs. ISO debate in Europe. For instance on my 1967 Zetor 3011 the M8 bolts need a 14mm spanner, where any M8 nut you buy today, needs a 13mm spanner. Also the Fergie 133 i got for my 16th birthday, with a 4 cylinder Standard motors Diesel, had 14mm heads on M8 bolts.
Did you know that before the Metric system, every major city had its own weight, length and volume measurements ?? they were named by the same units, but it had no standard.
...And did you know that it took a little French jackass named Napoleon Bonaparte, to get all Europeans to adopt a single, standardised system of units ???
Typical compared to the title of this forum, but sometimes it takes a little dictator to get such things through...
In the late 60's there was the DIN vs. ISO debate in Europe. For instance on my 1967 Zetor 3011 the M8 bolts need a 14mm spanner, where any M8 nut you buy today, needs a 13mm spanner. Also the Fergie 133 i got for my 16th birthday, with a 4 cylinder Standard motors Diesel, had 14mm heads on M8 bolts.
Did you know that before the Metric system, every major city had its own weight, length and volume measurements ?? they were named by the same units, but it had no standard.
...And did you know that it took a little French jackass named Napoleon Bonaparte, to get all Europeans to adopt a single, standardised system of units ???
Typical compared to the title of this forum, but sometimes it takes a little dictator to get such things through...
rsewill
Veteran Member
kensnelling said:
It was supposed to be a gradual implementation beginning in the '60's. Carter pushed it which meant it became a campaign issue in 1980. There was a lot of resistance among people who didn't want to learn something 'foreign' so Reagan seized upon it as a wedge issue, calling the metric system un-American and promised not to implement the conversion if elected. Once in office he kept his promise. This cost the USA an estimated $20 billion dollars in lost exports at that time but the easily manipulated were made happy. Sadly this same result by the same people for the same reason would occur today if a push was made in Congress to convert to the metric system.
murphy1244
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Jiminy Peanut (Jimmy Carter) tried to get the country to go metric, and it failed miserably. I wish we were a solely metric country as I thoroughly hate our system of measurement. I'm just so used to using imperial measurement from 24-years in the engineering business where imperial measurements were the norm for our type of work??
President Nixion disbanded the Metric commission. The gas company's wanted to sell gas by the liter so they didn't have to add a digit on the pumps.It was the Auto companys that fought it here.
President Nixion disbanded the Metric commission. The gas company's wanted to sell gas by the liter so they didn't have to add a digit on the pumps.It was the Auto companys that fought it here.
rsewill
Veteran Member
murphy1244 said:
And now they are all metric as the auto companies are making 'world cars.'
