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That's a hard one. Why change? Here are 2 reasons. 1) The metric system is alot easier to understand and follow than the old imperial. Everything in base 10 as opposed to the Licorice Allsorts that is imperial measure 2) It means that America's dealings with the outside world would be much more straightforward. The economic benefits would be immense. Remember Challenger! An Australian died (and several Americans) because NASA assumed the Europeans' research and calculations were in imperial measures. But that's not my question: my question is why does the US stay as it is?

1)metric is easier if you grew up with it. You think in metric. I think in pounds, oz, ft and inches. You say 195 kilos, means nothing to me, until I convert to pounds. I can understand 1-2 liters since that is how soda comes in bottles. I understand mL and cc's since that is (half the time) how I give my kids meds.

2)The economic cost of converting strictly to metric is staggering. Imagine every worker having to rework every order by hand, from imperial to metric, then back again to make sure they did it right. Imagine consumers completely baffled by the new measurements as they grocery shop.

This has been tried, and in this democracy the public said NO!

The economic cost of converting strictly to metric is staggering.

It continues apace, however. In the photographic industry, Kodak builds very little equipment anymore. Film processors, film splicers, automatic printers, order sorters, manual printers, paper processors and just about every other piece of equipment in the plant are either German, Japanese, or Swiss. As a result, every maintenance department has a full complement of metric tools.

Photochemically, metric measurements are the only way to go. No one wants to have to convert ounces in quarts and such nonsense. While the mixing equipment, mix sizes, and storage tanks are usually in gallons, adjustment chemistry and replenishment rates are in millilters per square foot.

One day you will wake up and find the only nonmetric in use will be miles and gallons. All else is slipping away.

And pray that gasoline remains metered in gallons. In Canada, when they made the switch to liters, retailers found that customer resistence to raising prices a cent a liter was no higher than raising it a cent a gallon. Ouch.