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Re: Metric units
Hi Hoa,
Congratulations, Hoa, on going metric on you web page! I see no problem
in using both units for a while, metric up front, the others in
parentheses. After a while people will get used to it, just as Canadians
did get used to degrees Celsius. I hope that many more people will
follow your lead.
You are, obviously, right, that some units will be harder to change than
others, because people get used to buy certain things in certain
quantities. There is some sentimental justification for using the old
measures, but sooner or later the US has to switch, to retain the export
business. Just look how Canada converted from Imperial measures to
metric. It involved temperature, distance, volume -- everything! It is
my understanding that the conversion went relatively smoothly.
Actually, the transition has already started: the Armed Forces have
converted; metric wrenches are generally avilable; many everyday
products are manufactured to metric specifications ... It is very
expensive for the industry to produce two products -- one, metric, for
export, the other for domestic consumption.
> Who would know what 1.9cm plywood is?
I don't know, what is it? ;-) If you mean 3/4" plywood, then we could
call it "2 cm plywood", just as we call a 1.5 x 3.5" piece of lumber a
"two-by-four"!
I would be interested to hear how did Canada handle the lumber problem.
Do any Canadians on this list know that?
> Or a 121.9 cm light bulb?
Admittedly, 48 inch sounds somehow simpler than 122 cm (I think that is
the measure used in Europe).
Anyway, good luck!
Best,
George S