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I am tired of people using the word "metrics".

Do it again and you're gone

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Fuck that. I'll say metrics all I want.

If you say the words advanced and metrics next to each other though you will be gone.

Also, it was nice knowing you guys.

DerekJohnson

There won't be a warning, you'll just be gone

Mad_Son

Have you been getting a lot of complaints in private?

DerekJohnson

Try answering my phone for a day.

MikeDamone

Are you at a bar?

Mad_Son

Are you at a bar?

Are there blondes?

tracker

Some "metrics" should be exempt.

Judges?

MikeDamone

We should have gone to the metric system in 1973. Or not. But pick one. Now we have this hybrid piece of shit.

DerekJohnson

In the words of a 14-year old CheersWestDawg: Holy Crapoli!

PurpleBaze

Metrics superiority guy shit himself and left. You didn't even have to ban him, DJ.

AZDuck

Metrication in the United States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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See also: United States customary units

History[edit]

19th century[edit]

Although the Constitution grants Congress the authority to determine standards of measure, it was not until 1832 that the customary system of units was formalized.[2] In the early 19th century, the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (the government's surveying and map-making agency) used meter and kilogram standards brought from France. Shortly after the American Civil War, the 39th United States Congress protected the use of the metric system in commerce with the Metric Act of 1866[3] and supplied each state with a set of standard metric weights and measures. In 1875, the United States solidified its commitment to the development of the internationally recognized metric system by becoming one of the original seventeen signatory nations to the Metre Convention or the Treaty of the Metre. The signing of this international agreement concluded five years of meetings in which the metric system was reformulated, refining the accuracy of its standards. The Metre Convention established the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (Bureau international des poids et mesures, BIPM) in Sèvres, France, to provide standards of measurement for worldwide use.

Under the Mendenhall Order in 1893, metric standards, developed through international cooperation under the auspices of BIPM, were adopted as the fundamental standards for length and mass in the United States. The definitions of United States customary units, such as the foot and pound, have been based on metric units since then.

The 1895 Constitution of Utah, in Article X, Section 11, originally mandated that: "The Metric System shall be taught in the public schools of the State." This section was repealed, effective July 1, 1987.[4][5]

20th century[edit]

The General Conference on Weights and Measures is the governing body for the modern metric system and comprises the signing nations of the Treaty of the Metre. The General Conference on Weights and Measures approved an updated version of the metric system in 1960 named Le Système international d'unités (International System of Units) and abbreviated SI.

On February 10, 1964, the National Bureau of Standards (now known as the National Institute of Standards and Technology) issued a statement that it will use the metric system, except where this would have an obvious detrimental effect.[6]

1980s Road Map mentioning an impending change to the metric system
The ending of the USMB increased doubts that metrication would really be implemented. Public and private sector metrication slowed even while competitiveness between nations and demands of global marketplaces increased.[10]

A 1980s-vintage dual miles per hour and kilometers per hour sign, (formerly) located in Florida. (60 km/h ≈ 37.3 mph)
21st century[edit]

In June 2010, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) called for an amendment to the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act that would allow manufacturers the option to voluntarily label their packages solely in metric units, rather than being dual-labeled with U.S. customary units and metric units as is currently required. The goal of these changes would be to encourage metric labeling, leading to greater agreement of U.S. labeling laws and simplifying domestic and international commerce. NIST Metric Program coordinator Elizabeth Gentry added that the proposed changes were "in response to requests by U.S. manufacturers and consumers", particularly that "manufacturers want to take control of the limited net quantity of contents real estate on their packaging." [17]

On December 31, 2012, a petition was created on the White House's petitioning system, petitioning the White House to "Make the Metric system the standard in the United States, instead of the Imperial system." On January 10, 2013, this petition garnered over 25,000 signatures, exceeding the threshold needed to require the Obama Administration to officially respond to the petition.[18] Patrick D. Gallagher, director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, provided the official response stating that customary units were defined in the metric system, thus making the nation "bilingual" in terms of measurement systems.[19] Gallagher also said that using the metric system was a choice to be made by individuals.[19]

Early in 2013, state Representative Karl Rhoads introduced bill HB36 into the Hawaii House of Representatives that sought to make the metric system mandatory within his state.[20] Called "Relating to the Metric System", the bill stipulated that the law would come into effect on January 1, 2018. By June 2014, bill HB36 had not gained enough support and was considered dead.[21] If the bill had become law, Hawaii would have been the first state to introduce the metric system on a broad scale.

In January 2015, Oregon State Senator Brian Boquist, at the request of metric enthusiast David Pearl, proposed Oregon Senate Bill 166, which is similar to the Hawaiian bill. It would establish the International System of Units as the official units of measurement within the state of Oregon.[22][23][24]

Current use[edit]

Weather[edit]

Televised and radio weather reports are given in Fahrenheit instead of Celsius for dew point and air temperatures, miles per hour for wind speed, inches of mercury for atmospheric pressure (millibars are used only when reporting tropical phenomena such as hurricanes), and other customary units. In some states that border Canada, temperatures are described in both Fahrenheit and Celsius, as the broadcasts can be received by Canadians in the respective stations' broadcast areas.

NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts from the National Weather Service in the Twin Cities, MN will provide the local temperature reports in Fahrenheit and in Celsius. Also, the station WXL57 in Des Moines, IA will provide temperature reports in Fahrenheit and Celsius.

Consumer and retail[edit]

Some U.S. consumer products come in rounded metric sizes. This appears to be increasing because of the international nature of manufacturing, distribution, and sales. A few products display the metric quantity first or more prominently. Some items are produced and sold in rounded metric quantities (e.g., Crest Glide dental floss is available in 35-, 40-, and 50-meter packages).

Sometimes metric and non-metric are combined on the same product. The standard method for sizing tires combines millimeters for tread width but uses inches for rim diameter.[26] Tire inflation for a typical passenger car is 30 psi (pounds per square inch), which is also given in its metric equivalent (207 kPa, or kilopascals). In lighting, light bulbs use eighths of an inch for bulb diameter and full inches for fluorescent tube lengths, while the socket is always in millimeters (for example, the standard "medium Edison screw" is E26). On recently introduced Christmas lights, however, millimeters are often used with small globe-shaped bulbs (G30 and G40), and with miniature LED sets, where the standard T1¾ ( 7⁄32-inch tube) ones are sometimes called M5 (5 mm miniature; not to be confused with M5 thread).[citation needed]

Military[edit]

The U.S. military uses metric measurements extensively to ensure interoperability with allied forces, particularly NATO Standardization Agreements (STANAG). Ground forces have measured distances in "klicks", slang for kilometers, since 1918.[37] Most military firearms are measured in metric units, beginning with the M-14 which was introduced in 1957,[33] although a few legacy exceptions exist, such as .50-caliber guns. Aircraft ordnance is normally measured in pounds. Heavy weapon caliber is measured in millimeters. Military vehicles are generally built to metric standards. An exception is the U.S. Navy, whose guns are measured in inches and whose undersea fleet measures distances in terms of "kiloyards" (equivalent to 914.4 m), depth as "feet", and velocity, in some cases, as "feet per second". The Navy and Air Force continue to measure distance in nautical miles and speed in knots; these units are now accepted for use with SI by the BIPM.[38] Furthermore, in military aviation NATO countries use feet for flight heights, as they do in the civilian aviation.

Illegal drugs and controlled substances[edit]

Illegal drugs and controlled substances are often measured in metric quantities.[39] The federal law prohibiting them defines the penalties in metric masses.[40]

In everyday use within its subculture, marijuana is sold using a combination of metric and American customary units. At small scales the basic unit is the gram (or fractions thereof), but for larger orders fractions of ounces and pounds are used generally starting at ⅛ ounce, which is often defined in turn as 3.5 grams and referred to simply as "an eighth".[41] The strength of a tab of LSD is almost always expressed in micrograms. The term "kilo" is used quite commonly by those in law enforcement to describe the amount of drugs (in kilograms) seized during a drug bust. A kilo of illegal drugs (in particular cocaine) is often referred to by the slang term "key".

In popular culture [edit]

In the 1994 film Pulp Fiction, Vincent Vega (John Travolta) tells Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) that "Europe is a little different", because for example in Paris, they don't call it a "Quarter Pounder with Cheese" but a "Royale with Cheese" as "they've got the metric system, they don't know what (...) a Quarter Pounder is". Later, Jules compliments the intelligence of one of their victims, after he correctly surmises that French use of the metric system is what precludes the term "Quarter Pounder."

Popular Science's September 2003 edition listed NIST's "Metric System Advocate" on its list of the "Worst Jobs in Science".[59]

BearsWiin

Yesterday afternoon my 12yo was playing some Call of Duty game on the XBoxOne in the back room, and from the front room I hear "Fucking hell, that sonofabitch just shot me with a (one of the handguns they use) from a good thirty meters away, shit, howdhedothat!" Wife was aghast, as was I, so I said loudly, "Heey, none of that metric shit in our house." Kid said sorry, then went back to turning the air blue using standard measurement.

dnc

Yesterday afternoon my 12yo was playing some Call of Duty game on the XBoxOne in the back room, and from the front room I hear "Fucking hell, that sonofabitch just shot me with a (one of the handguns they use) from a good thirty meters away, shit, howdhedothat!" Wife was aghast, as was I, so I said loudly, "Heey, none of that metric shit in our house." Kid said sorry, then went back to turning the air blue using standard measurement.

Not all heroes wear capes

backthepack

Advanced metrics

RaceBannon

Yesterday afternoon my 12yo was playing some Call of Duty game on the XBoxOne in the back room, and from the front room I hear "Fucking hell, that sonofabitch just shot me with a (one of the handguns they use) from a good thirty meters away, shit, howdhedothat!" Wife was aghast, as was I, so I said loudly, "Heey, none of that metric shit in our house." Kid said sorry, then went back to turning the air blue using standard measurement.

Give your kid a centimeter and they will take a kilometer

RaceBannon

On February 10, 1964, the National Bureau of Standards (now known as the National Institute of Standards and Technology) issued a statement that it will use the metric system, except where this would have an obvious detrimental effect.[6]

I was there. Third grade. There really was a big push at school for this

Still waiting

Fenderbender123

The thing about the metric system in America is that nobody is forcing us not to use it. Here in America, you can measure anything and refer to existing measurements using the metric system all you want. Not sure why foreigners are always trying to shit all over our freedoms.

PurpleThrobber

I can't measure blow on hookers' asses without metrics.

A pound of coke is just way too much.

DerekJohnson

I am tired of people using the word "metrics".

Do it again and you're gone

Wow, I was quite the tyrant.

But then again, we were going through our "you'll be gone, no warning, just gone" phrase fun

PurpleBaze

I am tired of people using the word "metrics".

Do it again and you're gone
Wow, I was quite the tyrant.

But then again, we were going through our "you'll be gone, no warning, just gone" phrase fun

Was?