U.S. system of measurement sinking below other countries

Staff Viewpoint

Imagine standing over a water-filled beaker jar with a $100 bill at the bottom of it. This beaker is resting on top of a hot plate with a Celsius thermometer reading 99 degrees. The sign directly in front of you reads, "If you can reach this $100, you can have it!"

Sounds like your lucky day, right? Not exactly. If you were from anywhere other than the United States, you would know that this deal is not as appealing as it seems.

As a U.S. citizen, who knows only the "customary" system of measurement, you likely did not know that the water was 1 degree Celsius away from boiling. That is one degree Celsius away from second degree burns all over your once silky, smooth hand.

Like any emotional human being, you would probably be cussing the customary system of measurement.

Okay, so I lied. Liberia and Myanmar (Burma) citizens also would have suffered from this tragedy. But still, why is the United States, a major global player, so far behind the rest of the world when it comes to adopting the Metric system of measurement?

If the rest of the world can adopt so many customs from the world superpower, such as the English language and the way of democracy, then why is the superpower unable to adopt a simple system of measurement?

"The U.S. is pretty ethnocentric, so of course we don't think we should have to change. I've often heard people say everyone else should change, which is a pretty ridiculous idea. We think our system is the best," said UM-Columbia student Chelsea Arnold.

The Metric system, also known as the International System of Units (SI), was developed in France in 1791, shortly after the French Revolution.

For easy conversion, it was based on units of 10, and its purpose was to collect data in a more consistent manner.

While the Metric system measures weight in grams, volume in liters, temperature in Celsius and length in meters, the United States measures in pounds, gallons, Fahrenheit and yards respectively.

The U.S. Customary system primarily originated from the Imperial system, which was used by the Untied Kingdom until 1995, and has had minor alterations to its format since its inauguration.

Maybe egotistical pride is blocking the United States from changing its system. Or perhaps the United States and its people are just lazy, and consequently do not want to deal with the hassle of change.

Sadly, the United States may be risking its own hand in the world by not making this change.

As the attractiveness of global trade heats up, U.S. trading companies may begin to feel their wallets burning a little as a result of snags in the separate but equal measurement systems.

If the United States can force its citizens to switch their television units over to HD by 2009, then should it not be able to switch its measurement units over to the metric system in a similar time frame?

The change would not even affect many U.S. citizens, as they probably watch television more often than they check the temperature of their refrigerator.

On a more positive note, the United States made progress toward adopting the Metric system in the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, which stated that the United States government would help small business convert to the Metric system.

If the United States were to impose the Metric system upon its citizens, the citizens may feel an initial, surprising drop of hot water; but as time passes and those droplets gather, the citizens will begin to find that using the Metric system is as relaxing and easy to use as sitting in a Jacuzzi filled with 100 $100 bills.