Beginning in the 1960s, there was a movement within this country to adopt the metric system as the official system of measurement. After years of study, the United States Metric Study concluded in 1971 in “Report to the Congress: A Metric America, A Decision Whose Time Has Come that it was time to make the switch.” Despite legislation requiring certain industries to use metric labeling and millions of dollars spent on increasing public awareness of the metric system, it is still used mostly by immigrants and academics. The American people have refused to give up their English measurement system, despite the fact that the British themselves have given it up already! There are some good reasons why the United States should go ahead and make the switch.
Most Other Countries Have Already Switched to the Metric System
The extent to which the United States is alone in clinging to its traditional system of measurement is greater than most Americans realize. The US is one of only three countries in the world that have not switched to the metric system. The others are Myanmar and Liberia. 95% of the people in the world live in countries with the metric system as the official system of measurement. While the fact that everyone else has done it is not necessarily a reason for doing something in this country, it seems reasonable in this case to believe that most of the countries in the world are on to something. It would greatly facilitate trade with the rest of the world if we understood the measurements used in international trade.
The Metric System is Easily Divisible
The best thing about the metric system is that it is easily divisible and convertible. Instead of having to remember that there are 12 inches in a foot, three feet in a yard, and 5280 feet to a mile, you just have to remember that there are 10 millimeters to a centimeter, 10 centimeters to a decimeter, and 10 decimeters to a meter. It is much easier to remember and much easier to convert.
Most Scientists Have Adopted the Metric System
Most scientists have learned to use the metric system since it is the universal measurement system in academia. As such, it is important for the American people to understand the measures that academics use. Anyone who wants to succeed in college, or just understand the complexities of our world will need to understand the metric system, because most scientists describe the world with the metric system.
