Hating on the U.S measuring system :)

“Want to go for a run?,” “sure!” I answered, then I asked the simple question of how much would we run, but of course this wasn’t really a simple question. The answer was six miles, which for me has no meaning. Therefore I am faced with the task of converting to kilometers, and let me tell you, maybe it’s really simple, the difference isn’t that big... whatever. Math is not my strong suit, that means I have to go on the mighty, solution-to-everything-internet and look for a site that does it for me. Yes, I know; how lazy, how dumb, and why don’t you just use the calculator on your cellphone?  True, maybe a little, and no can do. What good is the calculator if I can’t remember the equivalence in the first place. 

Now, I ask, WHY? What the fuck is an inch? Miles? Fahrenheit? What's wrong with the perfect sense making metric system? Every other place in the world uses the same UNIVERSAL system, kilograms NOT pounds, kilometers, NOT miles... centimeters!! 

Trying to have a conversation about almost anything becomes exceedingly difficult, beads of sweat start materializing, my forehead wrinkles and my eyes shut deep in concentration as I desperately try to convert my height from 1,70 meters to feet, just so I can casually chat with a friend, or maybe fill out an application for the gym. I can’t even tell if it’s cold or not by a simple look at the weather reports or at the temperature sensor, because 40 degrees is quite hot to me, but oh wait! it’s in Fahrenheit, a whole different world in comparison to the simple and easy Celsius. So, obviously 40 degrees Fahrenheit is not shorts and a tank top weather.... 

And like this many other examples in day to day life, that make no sense at all.  Seriously, I just want to understand the reason, why use different measuring methods, and really annoying ones at that. Life could be so simple, everyone could understand each other, stripping away the hassle of conversion. That room in our brains it occupies could be free and used for other way more important and productive purposes.

Most businesses in the U.S have realized this, and utilize the metric system in order to be more productive in an economy that is increasingly becoming more globalized. Globalization is a huge part of the world today, nonetheless there is still the U.S measuring system, the only major country in the world who does not use the metric, which in my humble opinion is much more practical.  

Even the names of the units are disgusting.  The word pound makes me cringe, and don’t get me started on yards... it should just be the name of a stick, not a distance. On the other hand the names used in the great metric system are logic based. Take centimeters and meters, a centimeter, 1/100 of a meter, it’s explicit in its name. The name is explanatory! As I said before, it’s all about practicality, which obviously the U.S system lacks.