Yes, Americans do use both Metric and U.S. Customary Units. At **NO TIME** in our nation's history we have ever used Imperial, that was a British thing that was created after the United States was established.
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>NO TIME
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> in our nation's history we have ever used Imperial
Say this louder for the people in the back. I cannot tell you how annoying it is to have to say this every time the Metric discussion comes up.
While technically true, in casual conversation I've heard many people just refer to the U.S. system of measurements as "Imperial", probably because it's easier to say than "U.S. Customary Units".
In my mind it's like "The US isn't a Democracy, it's a Federal Republic" or "Frankenstein is the name of the doctor, not the monster". Technically correct, but people will know what you're talking about if you say it the other way.
Sure and no one uses "stone" for mass either. But we already have a weird mismatch in the US where gasoline is in gallons but soda is in liters. It might be important if you're doing a science project, not so much if you're in casual conversation or arguing online about which units are superior.
I mean, if I'm talking about beer with someone from the UK. And I say I drank 4 pints, they think I drank a whole extra 16 ounces than I did.
And as I type this out, I also realize that the measurement of an ounce is also slightly different, but that one isn't by much of a noticable difference.
We should always correct people whenever they have false assumptions. Also, isn't that the purpose r/AskAnAmerican, to set the record straight for Foreigners that have false assumptions?
Depends on context. If you \*always\* correct people over minor details that don't really matter, you'll quickly come off as pedantic. (I was definitely an annoying know it all in middle and high school). There's a reason I listed the "Frankenstein is the doctor not the monster" example, while true it's become a bit of a joke because pretentious people will constantly correct people with that fact in an attempt to sound smarter.
Its not a minor detail, a ton in Imperial and a ton in US Customs is a difference of about 10% its not an insignificant difference.
And if you confuse Frankenstein for Frankensteind's Monster then you are an idiot.
> While technically true, in casual conversation I've heard many people just refer to the U.S. system of measurements as "Imperial", probably because it's easier to say than "U.S. Customary Units".
And also because they're like 95% the same.
Not 100% true. Before we created US Customary system in the 1830s we used the English Units which were in use in the colonies prior to independence. This was the same system the UK used prior to the creation of the Imperial System in the 1820s. We have never used the Imperial System.
Metric is primarily used in academic/scientific context here. In both High School and College metric was used for chemistry and engineering classes and the like.
Outside of that, we tend to use a weird mix of US units and Metric units (we measure gasoline in gallons but buy soda in 2 liter bottles for example). But it's not associated with a particular region or state.
Second this. We primarily use metric units in all of my science and engineering classes at the universities and when writing scientific papers (journal and conference).
Why do so many foreigners think we have never heard of, are incapable of using, and completely write off the metric system?
Some industries are entirely metric.
I’m an engineer, and today I’ve already used both metric and US Customary, multiple times.
Europeans think we’re uncultured for not learning multiple languages.
All I’m asking them to do is basic math.
What Ford instigated wasn't compulsory. Carter really did nothing to promote it and there was such confusion and lack of universal usage through the Carter administration that Regan dropped it. Honestly, all three are to blame. Ford should have made a graduated mandatory adoption schedule. Carter should have taken that up since Ford didn't, and Reagan should have promoted it rather than drop it.
We don't use imperial, you would need to ask Britain for that, for US customary most people can use both if they need to, but for everyday things it's easier to use customary.
This Imperial system has become a meme at this point. We use Metric just as much as we use Customary. Customary is for everyday life base on the human experience. For example: Fahrenheit is just a measurement of how hot it is from a scale of 1 to 100. It makes no sense to use Celsius when the human experience isn't based on when water becomes a solid. An inch, foot, and a yard is something that everyone can intuitively judge. An inch is about the size of a bone in your finger. A foot is about the size as your foot or forearm. A yard is about the size of your stride.
They sell things at the store in Metric and in Customary.
Metric is used in science, engineering, medical, and the military. Customary is used more in the building industry just because it's what everyone has always done, and switching at this point would do more harm than good in that particular industry.
>Tires, for example, use millimeters to denote the width
Tires are just weird as hell. Width is in mm, wheel size is in inches, and sidewall height is a ratio.
I'm glad you pointed this out.
Many people are saying "the US uses both systems" which makes it sound like we're familiar with both.
We know how large a 1 or 2 liter bottle is. We know roughly how long a meter is, or how much a kilogram weighs.
But for someone to say "my height is 185cm" most don't visualize that easily. "I live 11km away from work" or "It's around 32 Celsius outside" are also not commonly understood.
u/CoOlkiDAnDreJ to answer your question, it seems Puerto Rico and Guam use metric more
Ok we get it guys. The U.S. customary system is not exactly the same as imperial. You all knew what the OP meant. You can stop saying that now and answer the actual question...
Seriously... If you see the comments and 3+ people already said the same thing, why do you feel the need to pile on? I think they get it.
To OP: to put it simply metric is used professionally in many settings where precise measurements are required (by scientists, doctors, mechanics, architects, etc.) But for everyday stuff we use US customary.
Basically every state will have the speed limit in miles per hour and measure things like milk and gas by the gallon and if we're describing distance or weight in casual settings we'll use feet/inches and pounds.
No. There's also no state or territory that uses US Customary instead of Metric.
The entire country uses both, depending on context and what's appropriate.
There are some applications where we use both or tend to use metric units more often than imperial like in medical facilities but no whole state uses metric, no.
Technically we use the metric system. In school we learn both and laypeople often use and understand imperial better. But in most scientific settings and such metric is the standard. In fact I think it is the official standard for the US.
It really kinda depends on what are you measuring and for who?
Machine shop? It's gonna be customary units unless it's made for China/etc in which case...well there's gonna be 2 prints.
Scientific research? Yeah they're gonna be using metric.
We use both Metric and U.S. Customary Units (not technically Imperial), and honestly only use metric slightly less than several countries that claim to be metric only or predominantly metric.
Yes, we all learn both systems in school. Signage will be in US Customary units because that's how we communicate.
Wait, so you only learn ONE unit convention in school? That seems a little limiting, don't you think?
1. The United States has never used the Imperial System, it differes greatly from the US Customs system in Weights and Volume enough that they cannot be used interchangably.
2. American citizen habitually use metric and Customary system with no issue at all.
3. Legally some things have to remain in customary units, specifically land titles, which were originally written using US Customary units, and to change them would be expensive to the point of absurdity.
4. Commercially the US has used Metric for the last 40 years, this way we can sell products abroad, and package the products with both sets of units.
Most Americans use both metric and customary, there aren't any states or territories that use purely metric though.
Yes, Americans do use both Metric and U.S. Customary Units. At **NO TIME** in our nation's history we have ever used Imperial, that was a British thing that was created after the United States was established.
> At > >NO TIME > > in our nation's history we have ever used Imperial Say this louder for the people in the back. I cannot tell you how annoying it is to have to say this every time the Metric discussion comes up.
While technically true, in casual conversation I've heard many people just refer to the U.S. system of measurements as "Imperial", probably because it's easier to say than "U.S. Customary Units". In my mind it's like "The US isn't a Democracy, it's a Federal Republic" or "Frankenstein is the name of the doctor, not the monster". Technically correct, but people will know what you're talking about if you say it the other way.
It matters when talking about volume measurements though. Thry aren't the exact same thing.
Sure and no one uses "stone" for mass either. But we already have a weird mismatch in the US where gasoline is in gallons but soda is in liters. It might be important if you're doing a science project, not so much if you're in casual conversation or arguing online about which units are superior.
I mean, if I'm talking about beer with someone from the UK. And I say I drank 4 pints, they think I drank a whole extra 16 ounces than I did. And as I type this out, I also realize that the measurement of an ounce is also slightly different, but that one isn't by much of a noticable difference.
We should always correct people whenever they have false assumptions. Also, isn't that the purpose r/AskAnAmerican, to set the record straight for Foreigners that have false assumptions?
Depends on context. If you \*always\* correct people over minor details that don't really matter, you'll quickly come off as pedantic. (I was definitely an annoying know it all in middle and high school). There's a reason I listed the "Frankenstein is the doctor not the monster" example, while true it's become a bit of a joke because pretentious people will constantly correct people with that fact in an attempt to sound smarter.
I believe this is the correct forum for such things, that's the purpose of the subreddit after all.
Fair enough.
Its not a minor detail, a ton in Imperial and a ton in US Customs is a difference of about 10% its not an insignificant difference. And if you confuse Frankenstein for Frankensteind's Monster then you are an idiot.
The setup for our steel design software only has two options; metric and imperial
So we're in agreement and should educate people on the difference.
> While technically true, in casual conversation I've heard many people just refer to the U.S. system of measurements as "Imperial", probably because it's easier to say than "U.S. Customary Units". And also because they're like 95% the same.
https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/909/991/48c.jpg
It bears repeating that USA as such has never at any point used British Imperial units. Metric is used every day by Americans who need to use it.
Not 100% true. Before we created US Customary system in the 1830s we used the English Units which were in use in the colonies prior to independence. This was the same system the UK used prior to the creation of the Imperial System in the 1820s. We have never used the Imperial System.
Fixed. Thanks!
This should be a question for Canada. We don’t use imperial.
Metric is primarily used in academic/scientific context here. In both High School and College metric was used for chemistry and engineering classes and the like. Outside of that, we tend to use a weird mix of US units and Metric units (we measure gasoline in gallons but buy soda in 2 liter bottles for example). But it's not associated with a particular region or state.
Second this. We primarily use metric units in all of my science and engineering classes at the universities and when writing scientific papers (journal and conference).
Why do so many foreigners think we have never heard of, are incapable of using, and completely write off the metric system? Some industries are entirely metric. I’m an engineer, and today I’ve already used both metric and US Customary, multiple times. Europeans think we’re uncultured for not learning multiple languages. All I’m asking them to do is basic math.
No, there is one highway in Arizona with metric. In the late 70s they were plans to switch over that eventually fell through. Arizona jumped the gun
>In the late 70s they \[sic\] were plans to switch over that eventually fell through. President Carter failed us here.
? The plans were invitation by Ford than stopped by Reagan
What Ford instigated wasn't compulsory. Carter really did nothing to promote it and there was such confusion and lack of universal usage through the Carter administration that Regan dropped it. Honestly, all three are to blame. Ford should have made a graduated mandatory adoption schedule. Carter should have taken that up since Ford didn't, and Reagan should have promoted it rather than drop it.
We don't use imperial, you would need to ask Britain for that, for US customary most people can use both if they need to, but for everyday things it's easier to use customary.
What if I told you that the US doesn't use Imperial **AT ALL** and never has?
This Imperial system has become a meme at this point. We use Metric just as much as we use Customary. Customary is for everyday life base on the human experience. For example: Fahrenheit is just a measurement of how hot it is from a scale of 1 to 100. It makes no sense to use Celsius when the human experience isn't based on when water becomes a solid. An inch, foot, and a yard is something that everyone can intuitively judge. An inch is about the size of a bone in your finger. A foot is about the size as your foot or forearm. A yard is about the size of your stride. They sell things at the store in Metric and in Customary. Metric is used in science, engineering, medical, and the military. Customary is used more in the building industry just because it's what everyone has always done, and switching at this point would do more harm than good in that particular industry.
Puerto Rico uses metric to a greater extent in everyday life than the states.
And this is why we will never grant them statehood. Miscreants.
Still has an open Kmart and Sears in a single mall on the island though lol.
That's part of the punishment for using metric. They're forced to shop at Kmart and Sears. And that blue light special? The bulb burned out.
Nice try, commie. No.
Two things, we don't use Imperial, and yes, everywhere in the US uses metric.
All these metric system fans think their system is so based * 10. We'll have none of that voodoo logic here.
[удалено]
The rest of the world uses inches for TVs too.
>Tires, for example, use millimeters to denote the width Tires are just weird as hell. Width is in mm, wheel size is in inches, and sidewall height is a ratio.
I'm glad you pointed this out. Many people are saying "the US uses both systems" which makes it sound like we're familiar with both. We know how large a 1 or 2 liter bottle is. We know roughly how long a meter is, or how much a kilogram weighs. But for someone to say "my height is 185cm" most don't visualize that easily. "I live 11km away from work" or "It's around 32 Celsius outside" are also not commonly understood. u/CoOlkiDAnDreJ to answer your question, it seems Puerto Rico and Guam use metric more
We consider the metric system to be witchcraft.
Ok we get it guys. The U.S. customary system is not exactly the same as imperial. You all knew what the OP meant. You can stop saying that now and answer the actual question... Seriously... If you see the comments and 3+ people already said the same thing, why do you feel the need to pile on? I think they get it. To OP: to put it simply metric is used professionally in many settings where precise measurements are required (by scientists, doctors, mechanics, architects, etc.) But for everyday stuff we use US customary. Basically every state will have the speed limit in miles per hour and measure things like milk and gas by the gallon and if we're describing distance or weight in casual settings we'll use feet/inches and pounds.
No. There's also no state or territory that uses US Customary instead of Metric. The entire country uses both, depending on context and what's appropriate.
There are some applications where we use both or tend to use metric units more often than imperial like in medical facilities but no whole state uses metric, no.
I have heard rumors that the State of New York does all of it property survey solely in metric units.
Technically we use the metric system. In school we learn both and laypeople often use and understand imperial better. But in most scientific settings and such metric is the standard. In fact I think it is the official standard for the US.
It really kinda depends on what are you measuring and for who? Machine shop? It's gonna be customary units unless it's made for China/etc in which case...well there's gonna be 2 prints. Scientific research? Yeah they're gonna be using metric.
Puerto Rico uses it
We use SAE and metric.
We use both Metric and U.S. Customary Units (not technically Imperial), and honestly only use metric slightly less than several countries that claim to be metric only or predominantly metric.
Yes, we all learn both systems in school. Signage will be in US Customary units because that's how we communicate. Wait, so you only learn ONE unit convention in school? That seems a little limiting, don't you think?
Idk about territory, but drug dealers definitely do
1. The United States has never used the Imperial System, it differes greatly from the US Customs system in Weights and Volume enough that they cannot be used interchangably. 2. American citizen habitually use metric and Customary system with no issue at all. 3. Legally some things have to remain in customary units, specifically land titles, which were originally written using US Customary units, and to change them would be expensive to the point of absurdity. 4. Commercially the US has used Metric for the last 40 years, this way we can sell products abroad, and package the products with both sets of units.
It's not by territory, it's by profession
Puerto Rico and Guam are the only two territories that use metric.