1 Meghan McCain = 19 Stone.
Posted on 09/19/2017 4:01:46 PM PDT by BBell
The proposal, conceived by a bunch of pointy-headed Parisian philosophes, sounded brilliant: A universal system of measurement, derived from decimal-based units and identified by a shared set of prefixes. It would end the era of merchants buying goods according to one unit, selling in another, and pocketing the ill-gotten profit. It would simplify scientific calculations and enable the free exchange of ideas around the world. It was an enlightened system for an enlightened time. If only the French scientists could persuade other countries to adopt it.
But pirates have a way of ruining even the best-laid plans.
In 1793, botanist and aristocrat Joseph Dombey set sail from Paris with two standards for the new "metric system": a rod that measured exactly a meter, and a copper cylinder called a "grave" that weighed precisely one kilogram. He was journeying all the way across the Atlantic to meet Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson - a fellow fan of base-ten systems who, Dombey hoped, would help persuade Congress to go metric.
Then a storm rolled in, knocking Dombey's ship off course. The unlucky academic was washed into the Caribbean - and straight into the clutches of British pirates. Technically, they were "privateers" because they were tacitly sanctioned by His Majesty's government so long as they only raided foreign ships. But it amounted to the same thing. The brigands took Dombey hostage and looted his equipment. The luckless scientist died in prison shortly after his capture; his belongings were auctioned off to the highest bidders.
France sent a second emissary to promote the metric system. But by the time the replacement arrived, America had a new secretary of state, Edmund Randolph, who apparently didn't care much for measurement. As the rest of the world adopted the metric system, the U.S. continued to bumble around with
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Having spent some time in other countries I am a fan of the metric system. I do not know why we don't adopt it.
ping
Yes, we've only ever been a bunch of bumblers here in the United States. /s
Why should we adopt it?
1 Meghan McCain = 19 Stone.
I’ve heard people say “it’s more precise” with a straight face before.
Instead of first and 10, in football, it will be first down and 9.144 meters to go.
The only flag on the moon is that of the US.
It’s simple and easy to use. The U.S. military, medical fields, and scientific fields all use it.
And by the way, today IS International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
Well it is far easier to convert measurements in a base 10 system. You can usually do it in your head...not so with imperial..
The metric system is too Francophillac for common use in the US.
It’s good in that it uses mass ilo “weight”. Using a combination is not a problem.
The US auto industry largely went metric some years ago. Of course they like 16 and 18mm hex heads ilo the 15/17/19 mm heads that the Germans used since way long ago.
It’s not human-scaled and the resultant aesthetics are imbalanced. Ever wonder why buildings and cars have gotten increasingly uglier over the years?
The metric system is like soccer, Americans aren’t going for it.
She could hold a lantern in my front yard.
Or be a door stop.
Most modern machinist use it as it is much simpler to use,being based on decimals (ten) and all. It is more precise but I know it will be useless to argue the point with you.
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The metric system is a clumsy costly joke.
Two Mars landers crashed due to having to convert careful calculations into metric units after the calcs were done, purely for political correctness.
Eschew the pagan system!
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“Having spent some time in other countries I am a fan of the metric system. I do not know why we don’t adopt it. “
I served in the military in Germany in 1969-70. As a young guy, the metric system made a lot of sense to me.
Back home I finished college,, worked in engineering and finance fields, as the USA talked about adopting the metric system.
Then nothing. I still remember in my head,, most of the approximate conversions. One K is 0.62 miles, one Kilo is 2.2 pounds, etc. Discussion faded. Over 40 years ago.
14 x 19= 266.
That's a whole lot of women
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