Why are Americans so antique in using units like Fahrenheit?
114062
I dont know, people are just slow to change I guess.  Also, there isnt much reason for the "average" person to change, they can get through life quite easily not know a single metric unit.\n\nThe United States has through redinfined its standard measurement system in terms of metric equililents and is suppose to use metric measurement on official stuff.\nCongressed passed the Metric Conversion in 1975 to promote the use of the metric system in the US.\n\nI love the SI system, it is great.  I am get a little agrivated when I have to explain how many pounds are in a kilogram to people, and I think in Liters.\nHowever, I still like to use miles per hour for speed.
480279
because it relies to the events which can't be measured metrically anyway. Weeks follow the approximate lunar circle, there's 365 days in a year etc.\n\nalso, imagine we would divide a day into 100 hours. 1 hour would last only 14 minutes, which would be way too few and confusing. \nIf we divided a day into 10 hours, an hour would last 2 hours and 64 minutes. this would probably be too long, and we wouldn't have enough hours to properly determine a time of day...\n\nAn hour was determined as 1/4 of the time when the shadow of a pole travels a 60 degree angle or something... i THINK. I might be wrong on this, high school phisics is a LONG time ago. \nAnyway, it was old Sumerians or Babilonians who determined it like that and ever since it wasn't changed. We're too used to these units now, we can't just change them without causing a massive MESS :D
1170479
That's like asking why the US uses inches, feet, etc., instead of the metric system (which the rest of the world uses).  Basically, it's just because we're the US.  No reason.  But it's too much of a hassle to change, apparently, on both counts.
111465
I'm really worried about all you folks who say you learned your incorrect answers in history class.  What are they teaching you?\nThe awkward system of measurement that Americans use was also used by the English until just a couple of decades ago.  It has nothing to do with Americans wanting to be different from the English, or the American Revolution, or anything like that.\nThe metric system was invented by French scientists in the Age of Enlightenment back in the 18th Century when the French (quite literally) worshipped Reason.  (There were even temples to Reason during the French Revolution.)\n During this revolution, in the 1790's, the French instituted the very rational, scientific metric system, in which everything is based on the decimal system.  The basic unit of measurement, the metre, was established by determining the distance between the equator and the North Pole and then dividing that by powers of ten until you got something small enough to be a useful unit of measurement in everyday life.  The gram was established by weighing the amount of water in a cubic centimeter (at least I think it was a centimeter).  In the centigrade system of temperature, 0 is the temperature at which water freezes and 100 is the temperature at which it boils.  Everything is beautifully rational, and therefore good for science, where it is universally used.\n\nThe French Revolution failed but its measuring system lived on, because it was so useful.  The English, who hated the French, refused to adopt their measuring system until they were forced to by the emergence of the Common Market.  Others on this list have accurately given the history of the failure of Americans to convert to the metric system.  But that's how it all began.
592545
Because we are the mighty!  Oh, yeah!  The greatest!  Float like a butterfly, sting like a 10 megaton MIRV topped ICBM! In your face, G8!  Go on and cry, mew, mew, the big bad Americans make us do conversions to imperial.  Hah!  I fart in your general direction, silly european bedwetting types!\n\nUh, but seriously, uh, maybe it's because our leaders were too retarded to understand the basic simplicity of using a standardized base-ten system.  \n\nA-hem, harumph.\n\nOh, say can you see my math must be converted from imperial to metric then back to imperial again by the dawn's early light.  And you thought we were lazy!  We're so arrogant we don't mind doing two extra conversions for every problem.\n\nNow, has anyone considered going to base 60?  Worked for the ancient Sumerians, and we still use it today in geography, calculus, .....\n\nI hope no one was put off by my little bit of fun.  I  personally don't have a clue as to why we didn't go metric.  Sure would make a lot of s**t easier.\n\nBy the way, in case you haven't heard, GW is an idiot.  Heck, I bet he can't even calculate the kill radius for a 30 megaton thermonuclear warhead, 'scuse me, nu-cu-lur.\n\nYee-haw, yee-haw.  (Slim Pickens riding it in ala  Dr. Strangelove.)\n\nBye now.
49357
2000. The metric system is cool. We should use it in the U.S.
260770
Because America is so arrogant that it doesn't think it needs to join in with the rest of the civilized world and use the metric system like everyone else. Before you all start, yes, I'm American.
336624
This question is miscategorized.\n\nSpecial Education refers to the education and parenting of children with special needs. \n\n\nThat being said... the Fahrenheit thermometer was designed by a guy named... Fahrenheit. He took an unmarked thermometer, marked it and numbered it using evenly spaced marks, then stuck it in water turning to ice, and noted that it came out to -32 degrees by his marking system. Then he stuck it in water starting to boil, and noted that it came out to 212 degrees by his marking system.\n\nThe other scale we commonly use, Celsius, was created by a guy named... Celsius!!! He took an unmarked thermometer, stuck it in water that was turning to ice, and marked where it came out. He numbered that as 0 degrees. He stuck it in water starting to boil, and marked where it came out. He numbered that as 100 degrees.
278524
Celsius or Centigrade
1109243
Are you serious? Every possible temperature is in both Fahrenheit and Celsius whether it's hot or cold. Depends where you live if you use F or C.
619422
Beacause many people perceive the metric system to be complicated. In fact it is much easier than the US system; it is the conversion between systems that is complicated.\nThe answer is to throw away your inch or inch/metric tapes and get a metric only tape. Ditto for scales, thermometers etc. And just use metric units. \n\nWhen you go to the shops, demand to be served in litres, kg etc. If they moan, tell them that congress legalised metric units in 1875. Only commercial pressure will win in the end.
722343
Britain sort of use Fahrenheit but not as frequentily as the USA. they said that it will be (25°C) which is about .... fahrenheit
521136
i was just reading about this issue the other day on a website and would you beleive that america was the first country to want to move to metric system but after a long time of not agreeing on issues it was dropped. it had been discussed on and off for nearly 60 years. nobody still knows why it never went ahead.
204112
Yes. It's like sweet, sweet, mathematical unification of the world! Many parts of the world has already been using the Metric System, except for various countries like the US. The rules of the Metrics, is simplier than the Customs. (cm)Each unit of the measurement is in 10s, as inch, make it hard to make specific measures because each mark on the ruler is 0.0625! Adopting the Metric System!
928331
same reason the U.S. won't change measuring systems. We like what we know. Someone once told me that the U.S. and Sri Lanka are the only countries that use our measuring system, yet it appears on nearly everything. As long as you coddle us and let us have our way we'll keep doing it.\n\nI'd never seen yyyy-mm-dd before. We use the mm/dd/yy system in the US and I'd seen dd/mm/yy in my Spanish classes (which was very confusing the first time I saw it because it was talking about october 11 which I read as november 10.)
280680
I can't do the Math, maybe you can't either.  So for future conversions, try this:\nFahrenheit to Celsius Converter @\nhttp://www.wbuf.noaa.gov/tempfc.htm
35621
The phrase "twice as cold", has no meaning.\nYou could argue that one temperature is twice as warm as another, if they were measured from absolute zero.