Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ed23, post: 2048745, member: 32117&quot;]I realize how the metric system works ... I spent several years of my time in school in a British school system. It&#039;s quite healthy to have differences of opinion and I do have one over this subject. The metric system is an easy design but one that, which I still maintain, Americans stubbornly refuse to embrace in spite of the few examples you give.</p><p><br /></p><p>The fact that medicines are in mg/ml is not a new thing in this debate as this was common back in the early 20th century, and even earlier in this country. It was something people thought of as &quot;something doctors, nurses and druggists had to deal with as part of their profession&quot;. Had the doctors required patients to go home and take 5 ml of cough syrup instead of a teaspoon of it, or 250 mg of powdered meds every four hours instead of one pill they would have had a revolt. Today they are GRADUALLY getting new mothers to use metric measurements in giving their children meds, but they have to include in every box of Children&#039;s Tylenol a syringe-looking device which is clearly marked (ml) to draw up the liquid in. But without this device to aid in the gradual &quot;education&quot; I believe you&#039;d find a large-scale push back from these consumers if the instructions were the same without the device..</p><p><br /></p><p>Likewise, the fact that colas use to be sold in 6 oz glass bottles in the 30&#039;s, 40&#039;s &amp; 50&#039;s, was no big leap in any consumer&#039;s mind when colas were sold in 33.8 oz (1 litre) glass bottles in the 60&#039;s-70&#039;s, or, now to being sold in 2 litre plastic bottles today; it&#039;s is still JUST a bottle, and people can see exactly how much they&#039;re getting. But you will find many people who would balk if you tried selling them gasoline by the liter, or, if they buy a pint of whipping cream for grandma&#039;s recipe will it come in the US pint, the normal metric equivalent to the US pint, or the larger UK metric pint?</p><p><br /></p><p>So, although getting Americans to accept the metric system has made a few &quot;baby steps&quot; toward common usage in America, it is not widely used or accepted by the majority of Americans. If the PTB keep pushing Americans to use metric measurements at the same pace they have over the last century, metric use may be commonly used in everyday commerce by the 22nd century in America ... but I wouldn&#039;t bet on it.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in