Why didn’t the U.S. go metric? Good question. I remember being
taught the metric system in my elementary school classroom, and being
told this was the direction of the future. The failure to get there
is an interesting study in culture and why seemingly sensible plans
sometimes end up DOA.
The metric system isn’t completely absent from the American market
place. I buy my soda in 2-liter bottles, and when I compare amounts
in various packages, I usually look at the grams. Both ounces and
grams are listed, but the grams (or ml, or whatever) are usually
simpler math. Having studied both systems of measurement, I’m
perfectly comfortable with either. I measure small things in mm and
calculate distance in miles. Whatever.
But I wonder if the whole project didn’t stall because it turned out
to have so many more ramifications than the Powers that Be
anticipated. I mean, it’s no big deal to buy soda in liters. All I do
with soda is pour it into a glass (no measuring) and drink it. But
all my grandmother’s recipes are written up in pints, cups,
teaspoons, etc. If I buy my cream in a half liter container, I now
need a calculator in the kitchen to figure out if I have the right
amount for the cake. (I don’t do calculations in my head – I’m just
really, really lousy at thinking in those terms. And that’s a topic
for another day, OK? ) Worse, when I’m standing in a grocery
store, I have to guess whether the half-liter is enough. What if I
need a tiny bit more than that? Arrgh, now I have to buy a whole
liter, when a pint used to work just fine, thank you very much. I’ll
end up with a bunch left, and spending twice as much (Because the
liter will cost the same amount as the quart, guaranteed…) So if
Dairy B gives me the option of just buying a pint instead of a
half-liter… well, which would you choose?
There are lots of other things that have similar downhill
ramifications – the size of paper, for example. Most European paper
sizes are slightly different from the 8.5 x 11 inch that’s the
standard in the U.S. No big deal, right? Except my folders are sized
for 8.5 x 11, my computer printer assumes 8.5 x 11, all the defaults
in my computer system are for 8.5 x 11. My envelopes assume my paper
is 8.5 x 11, so the metric paper won’t fit quite right. Yes, I can
buy all new folders and envelopes to go with my new paper, and buy
software patches and a new printer… but darn, what a pain in the
neck.
Americans don’t take well to the government telling them they should
put up with all these nuisances for the “greater good.” Heck, it’s
hard to persuade us to put up with nuisances when the benefits are
obvious and personal. And for most of us, going metric didn’t offer
those kinds of benefits. For most people, the old system worked just
fine. I can make a cake, no problem, doesn’t much matter if the
recipe is in cups and teaspoons. In fact, I’m only going to have a
problem if you insist I convert it to metric. So why should I favor
someone in government passing a law that all milk manufacturers must
now sell only in liters? And if you don’t force all dairies to sell
milk in liters, the market will ensure that they continue to sell in
pints --because that’s what I want, the benighted consumer, who has
all her grandmother’s recipes and finds it easier to follow them as
written, rather than convert to metric.
So we’re left with this dual system, where I buy 2-liters of soda
and a gallon of milk. Perhaps it will eventually shift to one or the
other: Perhaps the pressures of the global economy will leave the
corporations forcing it upon us, where our government didn’t dare.
Put it down to American obstinancy, individualism, or the cowardice
of our legislative leaders, whichever you fancy. But I have to say, I
don’t think it’s going anywhere soon.
Suzanne
Suzanne Wade
Writer/Editor
Phone: (508) 339-7366
Fax: (928) 563-8255
@Suzanne_Wade1
http://www.rswade.net