"J. Clarke" wrote in message
...
Ed Edelenbos wrote:
"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
s.com...
On 9/8/2009 6:32 AM J. Clarke spake thus:

dpb wrote:

Robatoy wrote:

...

But what seems to be the reason for the US hold-out to stay with
an archaic system?

Comfort...it's what people grew up with so it's what's natural.

The hold-out is that the US is still at least somewhat responsive
to the will of the people and the public doesn't _want_ some
bizarre French system crammed down its throat.

Amen.



Yeah, the US would much rather hold out for some stupidly bizarre
measurement that had to do with the distance from the nose to the
thumb of some long dead English king.

It's only stupidly bizarre to those who didn't grow up with it. And it
goes
back to Rome or earlier, not to "some long dead English king".


I think the yard as we know it dates back to Henry I of England. And I
*did* grow up with it. I'm kind of ****ed about that. It is a stupid
system, regardless of how I can relate to it.

Bizarre French system? Talk about your basic unadulterated
horse****... downright bizarre, if you ask me.

It's not bizarre only if you grew up with it.

It isn't bizarre... it's based on science. I should have grown up with it
as opposed to having it as a sideline. The majority of manufacturing and
packaging is done with metric... why is my country so stinking backwards it
can't (or more accurately, won't) teach it (effectively) in schools?

Yes it's *my* country, but I really wonder about it sometimes.

Ed