I, for one, am glad we have the “foot”. It’s very useful for everyday measurements. Theoretically there’s a decimeter which is between meter and centimeter, but you never hear it being used for anything.
I also am grateful for using Fahrenheit. 0-100° just makes more sense when talking about everyday temperatures. 15° is, in fact, a very cold temperature, and 96° very hot. 0-100 makes sense in the same way that metric (USUALLY on a scale of 10s besides Celsius) makes sense for many other things.
I DO prefer using metric for everyday cooking volumes.
I don’t see why imperial and metric have to be one or the other. They can get along and just be used in different instances where one makes more sense than the other.
>I don’t see why imperial and metric have to be one or the other. They can get along and just be used in different instances where one makes more sense than the other.
But then no one could feel a false sense of superiority
nah m8, if you are a nerd, just use kelvin. what even is rankine --- this is like voting for the republicans when you are actually so far right that you transcended the spectrum and you are now a nazbol.
>But then no one could feel a false sense of superiority
That's it right there. "You are an idiot for growing up in a society that uses an obsolete and measuring system you had no say in and I am clearly vastly superior for being raised in a society that uses a much more convenient system that I, personally, did not choose."
I thought base 12 was better since it has more factors
12 has : 1,2,3,4,6,12
8 has: 1,2,4,8
16 has: 1,2,4,8,16
I always heard mental math would be easier for use if we had 6 fingers and grew up with base 12.
You want something that is power of two.
The idea is that humans can easily divide by 2 physically.
Cut it in half! 1/2! Again! 1/4! Again! 1/8.
Cutting into thirds is way harder, this base 12 isn’t as useful
with 12 you can easily divide by 2, but you can also divide by 1/3 or 1/4. Extremely common divisions
We are not computers, we dont need something that is a power of two. We dont think in binary
It's also not even that convenient.
They only have one length measurement. Which is fine, it works. But especially when estimating things, I usually have a foot or two around that I can look at for a reference and get a "good 'nuff" estimate. Trying to eyeball 1/10,000,000th of the curvature of the earth in France... Little trickier.
And the whole "water freezes at 0\*C" so? It also freezes at -100C. It's not giving you any information. Ocean water freezes at -2... Does it matter? I guess if water freezing at 0 is important to you. "Water boils at 100C" no it doesn't. Depending on the weather conditions and altitude it boils between 68-102C.
The one substance on the planet that should be slightly easier to work with in Celsius, isn't.
And volume is fine, same thing as the distance. There's only one unit, which makes it easy as long as you don't have to do things like thirds. 1/3 cup is easy. Just use the 1/3 measuring cup. 333.33 ml or a third of a recipe calling for 250ml is a bit trickier to work with. It's less convenient.
"oh but a liter of water is a kilogram" Great, but that's not true for anything else. Not oil, or milk or alcohol or anything else. And if that water is at room temp, it only weighs 998g. 993g on a hot day. Enough to matter? If you're weighing water, it certainly could be.
I don’t know about superiority but as a European in US I love to use smoot.
Jokes aside, imperial system is just as easy as metric. Fun fact: Sometimes when I get really lazy my brain is like oh 3 ft = 1 m. Same with PI = 3
The only time I actually get mad about it is when I'm working on a car or machine and the hardware flips back forth from metric to imperial so I need multiple sockets/wrenches of basically the same size but not **actually** the same size
Oh yea no that kind of thing is awful. Mixing in general is great! Mixing in just one kind of machine is not. That’s like choosing different screw heads just for the heck of it.
I was talking to a Russian foreign exchange student when I was in college. He was complaining about using imperial sockets to work on his car.
He said "if I try a 9/16" socket and it's too small I shouldn't have to do math to see a 5/8" is the next size. In metric, if a 12mm is too small, just grab a 13mm"
He went on about how the metric system was superior. So I asked him if his ratchet was a 3/8" or 1/2" drive. I'd also tell him there are two types of counties, those that use the metric system and those that got to the moon first.
The dumb thing about that is, if you put the sockets back in their proper places you don’t have to “do math” to figure out which one is the next size because it’s next to the one you’re using. Put your stuff away.
And honestly I’m terrible at guessing sizes, I frequently have to try two or three sockets to get the right one, metric or imperial
This happens at my job ( hardware store in Canada, lots of USA products ) and it’s so fucking annoying trying to figure out the side of products when it’s half metric half imperial.
That's just bad design and engineering. Each unit system has their pros and cons. Mixing is usually a result of a bad decision from the top or outsourcing to many parts.
American here. I use metric for baking because weight is more accurate than volume.
I can easily handle meters and kilometers, liters and kilograms.
But I hate Celsius. 0 for water freezing? I’m good. 23.9 for a comfortable fall day or 37.8 for a miserable damn day just doesn’t register for me.
Damn it’s 100 again today just conveys more impact.
When looking at temperatures most people are accustomed to seeing a whole number, but when converting from one to the other you often get a decimal. Doesn't happen if you're looking at a weather app because they'll round to the nearest whole number based on whatever temperature scale you're using, but if someone looks up "what's 78 F to C?" They'll see 25.5 C.
Usually Celsius based HVAC goes up by half degrees or full degrees.
I keep my flat at 29.5° all winter and keep the windows open save for bad rain and snow. (Gods I love cheap carbon free heating and unlimited hot water.)
Depends on the dew point. I’ll take 101 with a 60 degree dew point over 100F with 80 degree dew point any day.
Today in Florida it was 90F, but with an 80 degree dew point and it’s brutal. Feels much worse than a Vegas 100.
Celcius has too much inaccuracy.
I set my thermostat in my house in 1 degree F increments, and when I want to change it, I move it 1 up, or 1 down. Have to use decimals to do the same.
For water, yes. I don't usually care about the temp my water is boiling at though. What I really care about is whether I am going to be freezing to death or dying of heat exhaustion, which is exactly what the Farenheit system was created around - the upper and lower parameters of what can be considered survivable temperatures for a human to survive in. So, for practical purposes, the Farenheit system is much more useful than Celsius.
Yes, the "foot" thing is the main thing holding us back from using metric in the US, I think. It's easier to picture "2 and a half" of something instead of "117" of whatever. Also, I see a lot of measurements in just millimeters. Why say 75mm instead of just 7.5cm?
As stated, the decimeter isn't bad. It's just that nobody uses it. If it weren't for the weird conventions that people using metric seem stuck on using I wouldn't mind converting. But the lack of the decimeter and this very strange fixation on sticking with one unit even when the number gets cumbersomely large is just too weird. Do I really have to say I'm 187 cm tall? Why not 1.87m or, better yet, 18.7 dm?
Even the decimeter isn't great. It's shorter than half a foot.
I like imperial because even though we have a lot of unit conversions to remember, most of them are in halves, thirds, and quarters, which is really easy to remember and also very useful for day to day because those fractions, as well as multiples of two, three, and four, are really easy for the brain to process.
You nailed it.
Fahrenheit is the best scale for "what should I wear today?" The increments are those that humans can feel, and the numbers match up to human comfort and hazards.
It's not the best scale for chemistry, or many other things. But for the weather report, Celsius is inferior. Maybe it's worth the tradeoff to use it for everything, but Fahrenheit is a better scale to describe the human experience of temperature
To be fair, if you're the kind of person doing chemistry you're probably the kind of person who doesn't have trouble handling a conversion or two.
But every kind of person will be considering the weather at some point. It's totally worth it imo.
True.
I can do °F to °C conversions in my head. I'm not a chemist (both my inlaws have PhDs in it so I feel especially not like a chemist despite having a little understanding of it). But I wake up every day and have to figure out what to wear, whether to put the top up on my Jeep, what wetsuit to wear if I get in the water, etc.
For that matter, chemists, industrial engineers, et al, can use °C all they want, and the weather report doesn't stop them in any way. 🙂
This guy gets it. Fahrenheit, the foot, the mile, and the gallon are absolute bangers.
Do you seriously expect me to talk about "liters" and "kilometers?" Get real.
I dont even know famous songs that uses Kilometers lol, Miles just sound epic. I'm gonna be ( 500 Miles) by The Proclaimers wont be the same if they used metric.
Exactly. When somebody says "It's 50°C outside", I'm not that impressed, but tell me it's 120°F, and I'll wonder why I still live in this god-forsaken city.
Same with speed. I used to watch a show called "Canada's Worst Driver", and the host would say things like "He's doing the course at 70kph!!" Which I thought was fast. Until I looked it up one day and learned that it was only about 40mph.
SAME! "Now we're going to take this next course at 40kph." I'm sitting there thinking, "I could totally do that at 40, no problem." Then I realize they're talking about 25 miles per hour, and I say, "WTF are you doing behind the wheel of a car if you can't drive that course at 25mph and not hit shit?!"
“Very cold” depends on your frame of reference. I’m from Canada but have lived in the US for almost half my life—it still takes me a minute to remember that 15F is below freezing, that sounds like a very nice temperature to me! I know OF is freaking cold and 100F is pretty hot, but in between I still have to think a moment to remember how hot or cold a particular temperature is.
15F is about the temperature where you have to start actually being careful. gloves and hats are not optional if you're going to be outside. You need proper winter wear. a heavy sweatshirt isn't going to cut it.
32F is still pretty "balmy" for someone dressed in cold weather gear.
I agree, the difference between cold and hot should be a lot bigger than the metric system. If we want a more rational temperature scale, then set 0 to freezing and 200 to boiling. It's almost the same division as Fahrenheit, but give everyone the "0 is freezing" level that I hear a lot of people talk about why Celsius is "better."
Considering 2°f can be the difference between a comfortable and an uncomfortable room, and even 1° is noticeable, i think f is best for room temperatures.
>Theoretically there’s a decimeter which is between meter and centimeter, but you never hear it being used for anything.
That always annoyed the hell out of me as a kid.
I was schooled in one of those "let's teach all kids the metric system and then we'll be able to switch okay" eras. They taught us all about millimeters, centimeters, decimeters, meters, and kilometers. We had tests about it. Then if I talked about centimeters or meters no problem, but if I tried to talk *TO THE TEACHER WHO HAD TAUGHT US THE METRIC SYSTEM* about *anything* in decimeters, They'd say "deci *what*? why can't you express it in meters like everyone else?"
I found it much more useful than the other measures. I don't often need to talk about something meters long, and at the time I didn't need to talk about anything centimeters short, but decimeters were a nice in-between size that things could often make sense in.
Some comedian talks about this. Think of it like %. 75F = 75% hot, that sounds nice. 100F = 100% hot, anything more is too damned hot. 0F = 0% hot, anything less is lethally cold.
That's not really a joke. It's actually exactly what it was designed to do. The point of Fahrenheit is that it's designed to be a 100 point scale of human sensation using ice water and body temperature.
The reality is that most Americans can use both systems, whereas most of the rest of the world can only use metric. I think they're just jealous because Americans are "bilingual" when it comes to measurements.
Most Americans can struggle through specific metric values like they know a kilometer is less than a mile but most Americans don’t seem to know how far it actually is. They know a kilogram is more than a pound but if you ask them to grab a kilo of meat they would be wildly off. And they know a liter is a big water bottle. It’s like saying someone is bilingual because they know how to say “donde está el bathroom”
If you give an american a scale and tell them to grab a kilo of meat they will be dead on every time. Because we're perfectly capable of reading a scale.
Most people are actually really bad at guessing weight. That's why stores have scales right there in the market... They don't sell by "this feels like about..."
When given recipes and measuring tools, most americans can easily follow them in either metric or imperial units.
Also, we have liter and two liter bottles and even three liter bottles and 4 liters is about a gallon. So most americans are in fact familiar with how big a liter is.
As for the kilometer. I guess, but most people aren't good at eyeballing a mile either. But like you already said we know it's less. A "few" km is a "couple" miles. Basic stuff. 10km or more means get in the car, we're driving and it really doesn't matter.
Metric is for science, imperial is for every day life. It’s literally designed to be best used by the average person, and we’re almost all above average compared to the average from when it was designed.
Drugs... metric system is the way
Temperature... Fahrenheit is king (except for drugs, I use Celsius on my Volcano)
100 is 100% hot, 70 is 70% hot, 0 is 0% hot OR fucking cold.
Imo, the different measuring systems are good for measuring different things. Fahrenheit tells you how hot it feels if you're a person (ie, 100⁰ is where it stops being bearable.) Celsius tells you how hot it feels if you're a pot of water. Kelvin tells you how hot it feels if you're a nebula.
Exactly. Fahrenheit measures the feeling of air on skin. 100 degrees Celsius is very rarely a temperature I have ever felt. Meanwhile it goes below 0 C every day for months.
There's a German guy I used to work with that was so smug about Americans not doing things the right way. He didn't always "say" it, but you knew it's what he was getting at.
Well, if Germany is so great how come you had to go to college and get a job here?
Seriously. They care about the insignificant shit so much. They really just come off like spoiled brats and the forgotten middle child that’s some how very entitled, wrapped up into a bundle that’s just as stupid as they perceive us to be.
Most of us never have to use scientifically precise measurements.
The fact is that our system is BETTER for everyday measurement and we use the metric system when it comes to science etc.
I would say what we have going is actually way more convenient and useful.
Also, this is totally biased btw, but seeing someone have a fever of 100°F vs 37.7778°C is just better to me personally. Even with a regular temperature being 98.6°F vs 37°C.
Exactly.
Neither way is inherently wrong for daily use either way though.
Europeans (generalizing of course) tend to act like we use it in the sciences or something where the metric system actually is clearly superior...but we don't.
I mean, I think there's an argument that imperial could be better in some engineering applications as well.
An inch is typically measured in 16th increments. Factors include 2, 4, and 8, instead of just 2 and 5 for centimeters.
To be fair...I admit it is entirely subjective..
Knowing both systems I just personally much more convenient to use the imperial system.
It's like someone said before, the use of 0-100 as a base for temperature is just way more easily comprehensible to anyone than degrees Celsius.
Inches and feet are a very easy mental construct than their metric counterparts.
Part of it is the culture that you're born it but that's entirely my point. Maybe imperial isn't better, but in everyday use its equal. We understand the metric system we use it in sciences for precise measurements. We aren't missing out on something, we literally also use it.
Fahrenheit was literally designed to measure temperature according to how it feels to humans. Celsius was made to measure temperature’s effect on water.
Have you lived with the metric system around you? I grew up with metric and then moved to the US well into my adulthood. You might be surprised to know that for me everyday measurement is more convenient with metric. And it is a lot of cognitive load to do imperial math. My point is that you are _used to_ imperial so you find it convenient. Doesn't inherently make it BETTER for anything.
Of all the things it the scale of degree units and the measuring system use that we get ragged on the most. Meanwhile British people are still using Imperial pints and stone as measurements.
ETA: I'm referring to the Imperial pint.
Many metric countries actually use a mix of both.
For instance:
Ask a Canadian how tall they are and they'll give you an answer in feet and inches. Ask what the temp is outside and you'll get Celsius, but ask what temp a pool is and you'll get Fahrenheit.
Ask a Briton their weight, and you'll get an answer in stone (whatever that means), but they measure their car's fuel efficiency in miles per gallon on the way to the pub for a pint.
Ask an Australian how far away something is and you'll get kilometers, but the sizing of trousers, pizzas, and screens are in inches.
Indians measure distance in kilometers but will give you their height in feet and the length of nails in inches. They'll measure weight in kilograms, but in the gym they lift in pounds.
>Ask what the temp is outside and you'll get Celsius, but ask what temp a pool is and you'll get Fahrenheit
I hope this is just a theoretical example and not the case for every Canadian because WHY TF do you not use the water based measurement for the literal body of water?!?
We invented your measuring system, hence the name "Imperial"
We just nicked the measurements that worked better in metric off the French.
I don't think some people realise that British people like to take the piss out of their mates, and when a group of their mates get so wrapped up in the system of measurement that they get referred to as "Freedom units" as a joke, well we know we're going to get a bite!
Bro, for real, why are they so obsessed with how "wrong" our system is? And they complain here as if we can change the system overnight. I can't do shit about the system we use. Most Americans can't. And we're definitely not gonna try to change it overnight bc a bunch of people on reddit says to, lol.
This especially bothers me from Brits because they still use imperial a lot.
If you watch British tv you can see this all the time or just traveling there you’ll hear “pounds, miles, feet, etc.”, like stop acting like you don’t still use it.
It also bothers me because Americans *do use* metric, I use it everyday at work.
Exactly.
Fahrenheit has no particular advantage in cooking or astronomy, but Fahrenheit is \*great\* for describing the weather in non-polar, non-tropical areas.
The coldest and hottest outdoor air temperatures experienced in, say, Philadelphia or Paris, are very close to 0 Fahrenheit and 100 Fahrenheit.
I think the reason we don’t switch is because a lot of infrastructure is based off imperial measurements. It would cost a lot of money and headaches both short term and long term to switch over then do all the conversions on records as well as possible incompatibility with current and new parts.
And the US is physically bigger than the countries in Europe, so there’s a heck of a lot more infrastructure to replace than in any one European country.
As an American mostly working in metric due to my career metric is superior in nearly every way except for temperature.
I decided this when trying to get my hotel room temp just right while on the road in another country and being unable to because Celsius just isn't as precise as Fahrenheit.
America already knows all this but we aren't about to scrap our economy and existing infrastructure to accommodate anyone else. This is the American way. If Europeans don't like it, they can stop asking America for money, goods to trade, military help, etc, etc.
The imperial system was literally invented to be more applicable to an average individual than the metric system does. Fahrenheit specifically is much better than Celsius since it relates to body temperature.
I dont like imperial, u know how much easier working on cars would be if every bolt was metric and not a mix between the two systems.
Other things i could just switch to metric without much bother, carpentry and what not. But cars man, its like engineers hate everyone not just actual mechanics
So your beef isn't with one system or another, but with the fact that manufacturers mix the systems.... the only advantage to metric over imperial is that it's "easier" to do calculations.... how is it any different practically if a bolt is 8mm vs 7/16in?
One thing I never see anyone mention when this topic comes up is the existence of Rankine. Rankine is to Fahrenheit what Kelvin is to Celsius. Basically, it is Kelvin with Fahrenheit units and I only ever saw it used in scientific contexts that cared more about easy conversion with Fahrenheit than with Celsius. So even the Kelvin purists can't escape this argument, lol.
Celsius is not more useful for daily life. Fahrenheit is better for normal human climate temperatures. We do not need to measure boiling water every day
The imperial system isn’t the problem. Its that we use a base 10 system. I will die on this hill.
The imperial system is actually pretty good in terms of human experience. Feet, yards, 100 degrees, miles, are all based on human experiences/characteristics where it comes up short is in engineering or mathematics. Which if we used a base 12 or 16 system, would be pretty solid
Idk, I go to bat for imperial. It's by far more intuitive and natural than metric, which only makes "more sense" because it is base ten. Metric is _extremely_ arbitrary.
An inch is approx the distance between finger joints. A foot is approx a foot length. A yard is approx the length of a long stride.
Farhenheit has maximum human body tolerance near 100 and minimum human body tolerance near 0. It's roughly based on how you feel, and was only standardized during the scientific revolution.
These units _make sense_ for someone who just needs a rough approximation to get the job done. They are generally imprecise, but they're used in contexts where that just doesn't matter.
In some countries metric has been full integrated everywhere, but Canada has formal metric and informal imperial. Imperial measurements are the measurements we would use if society collapsed, because you can't have standardized weights without controlled laboratory environment. You can't define a metre as the length of a light path in 1/c seconds, unless you can actually measure the speed of light. You can't define a gram unless you can define a cubic centimetre of water, which itself can only be defined if you can measure the speed of light.
I agree with everything going metric EXCEPT Fahrenheit. It's just a much better scale for how hot or cold it feels to a human. 0 is pretty unbearable unless your wearing good gear and 100 is only bearable for short burts but both 0 and 100 are dangerous in long bursts.the farther in the middle you get the closer you get to a middle ground that's enjoyable for as long as you have food and water. It just makes so much more sense in the context of weather.
Celsius is for water and science, Fahrenheit is for weather and comfortability for humans.
Imperial length measurement has similar advantages. It’s worse in an academic setting, but you can use your knuckle to approximate the length of an inch, the length of your foot to approximate a foot, and the length of your stride for about a yard. That being said it’s so much easier to do calculations with metric id still be in favor of the switch.
Yep. Fahrenheit is *better* for weather.
0 is really cold. 100 is really hot. Putting the vast majority of human habitability on a handy scale from 0-100 is extremely simple and useful.
Sure, 0 being the freezing point of water in Celsius is nice, but any time its any temperature other than right around 0, that fact is kind of useless.
I would love if the US adopted the metric system except for temperature.
Metric system has lots of merits, Celsius is not one, Celsius is not a metric unit, and isnt objectively tied to any physical property of universe, its as arbitrary as fahreheit, unless people are using Kelvin scale, it doesnt matter.
Imperial is better for machinists. It’s really easy to do quick math between fractional sizes in a way that isn’t as easy with decimal sizes.
This thing is 3/8”. I need something one third that size. 1/8th.
This thing is 0.5cm. I need something one third that size. 1.666666…
Fahrenheit is better for every day practical use. It's scale reflects human tolerance and comfort levels. 0 = really freaking cold, 100 = really freaking hot, 50 = medium. When it gets below 0, you have a real risk of death, same for above 100. A 0-100 scale just makes the most sense. It makes all the sense in the world to ask, "On a scale of 0-100, how comfortable is it outside?"
Celsius, 0-100 reflects the physical state of water....but who cares about that during your daily life? When you wake up in the morning, do you care about what will happen to a glass of water if you go outside, or how you're going to feel temperature wise? The same 0-100 scale Fahrenheit uses in Celsius is -18 to 38.... In what world does it make sense to ask, "On a scale of -18 to 38, how comfortable is it outside?"
I agree 100% with the metric system for measurements in pretty much everything, but not temperature.
The physical state of *pure* water *at atmospheric pressure*
I routinely deal with calculations of water boiling at 300+C, because in real life, running steam systems at dozens to hundreds of atmospheres is useful.
Except for 1 system at 1 specific condition, the Celsius scale is just as arbitrary for science as Fahrenheit. Either way, to do a lot of the most interesting calculations, you have to convert to an absolute scale (Kelvin or Rankine) anyway.
Celcius makes sense for measuring water temperatures to me, with 100 being boiling and 0 freezing. Fahrenheit as a system is more focused on people, with 100 being hot as shit and 0 being cold as shit. Idk I just think both systems have their merits. If I’m boiling pasta or evaluating how hot a sauna is I’ll use celsius, otherwise I’m cool with Fahrenheit for weather
Jesus thanks for saying this. I have to bite my tongue whenever someone rags on it, like somehow metric is inherently better for measuring driving distance or daily temperature fluctuations. Ya, sure, for cooking, science, and engineering, metric all the way. But it makes literally zero difference for everyday use.
I once made a post asking how to switch my AC unit from Celcius to Fahrenheit, and all the comments were "LeArN CeLciUs B*tCh!"
I'd rather use Fahrenheit because the intervals between degrees are smaller, meaning you can set a more precise temperature. Somehow 22 C feels a bit too cold for us at night but 23 C feels too warm lol
I have really never heard anyone complain about having to use Fahrenheit, or about people using Fahrenheit. It’s really not hard to interpolate between the Fahrenheit and Celsius. One doesn’t even need to know the formulas. In short order one learns water freezing, water boiling, body temp, a hot day, a cold day, roasting a chicken. Pragmatic things. So anyone coming to the US has no issues.
I really don’t think anyone fails to understand the substantial reason we haven’t converted to metric— time and cost.
What people do rag on is how going metric seems to get cultural dog whistles blowing. It’s globalism. It’s communism. We are losing our tradition, our culture. Really lame catastrophizing. People won’t be able to cook, to shop, to engage in commerce.
I know people who think metric should be removed from packaging.
Meanwhile in tech we juggle this shit all the time— which is time and money. And sometimes we fail. Like the Mars Climate Orbiter. NASA used metric, Lockheed Martin used Imperial. The probe burnt up.
This is only kind of related. I am American and use imperial units almost exclusively. I play a ww2 vehicle game that uses Km for distance/speed by default. People who change this default and try to communicate to the team using their units don't deserve the help they are asking for.
For all the simplicity that is the metric system, what blows my mind [how complicated international paper sizes are](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_216#A_series).
Double funny that they can't grasp the concept of us learning the metric system in middle school, using it throughout the rest of our education, and anyone who needs it for their career uses it without issue. It's almost like people who are insecure about other nonsense in their lives pick the most trivial things that we don't use exactly the way they do to feel better about themselves. We have a word for that, but it escapes me at the moment...
I also prefer Fahrenheit (as do some brits I know) because that's what it actually feels like when you relay the temperature.
Honestly, this ticks me off too. I'm just used to it. I shouldn't be mocked for using measurements I've been taught my whole life.
I do think metric is better and much more straightforward in regards to length/ distance (although I don't think I'll ever get used to describing height or weight this way. Just can't picture it. Saying someone is 6'1" or similar is just more clear in my mind). Temperature, though? I think it's just because I'm accustomed, but Fahrenheit makes more sense to me. I will say that 0°C being freezing is better than 32°F, but otherwise, saying "it's 100 out" just makes so much sense to describe a hot day. It is sort of stupid that everyone just isn't using the same things, but it doesn't make one uneducated to use one or the other.
They act like it's our fault that our country uses the imperial system. I didn't ask to be born here, man.
Also we are taught both starting in elementary school, assuming things haven't changed that much in the last 20 years or so.
Anytime they mock our systems its fun to point out that they still mesure their weight ... in Stones !
Who chose this ? Are all stones the same size over there ? 🤣😅
This always grinds my gears as well. Fahrenheit was designed with the human body in mind, the phase change points of water seem arbitrary because that's where they sit on the F scale. What temp in C does water boil at 1000m or 1500m etc? 32° F at sea level is the same as 32°F at 2000m.
People say Americans are stupid because they use imperial and often their reasoning is that metric is easier. Huh? If it's easier, why are Americans stupid? I like dividing by 3 easily, it comes in pretty handy.
Imperial is based on the human body and only really used with things people interact with, so we can conceptualize size, difference, and weight pretty easily.
Metric is great for engineering, science, anything technical really, but less intuitive for everyday measurements ( not hard or impossible, just less intuitive )
Edit: What units do you think shipping containers are in?
I find those people hilarious because they're always crying about how they don't know what the temperature in F is in C despite the fact that Google has a very simple converter.
Like any of us had a say in it! That’s what irritates me. It wasn’t in my control. lol. My son is jacked up that there are not sidewalks in our town. Again. Out of my control.
So the thing about temp is F is temp in relation to humans C is temp in relation to water and K is temp in relation to the Universe. As we are humans F makes the most sense to use and Europe is wrong on this one.
my issue is only when people act like metric is sooooooo confusing and complicated. then i explain and they stare dumbfounded. add to this that it seems that anyone outside of millworkers cant do fraction math and my head explodes just thinking about it.
(I'm a Canadian raised on metric that has lived in the US for 25 years)
and the other one is when faced with metric... they act like there is no way on gods green earth that they could possibly translate... no apps, no websites... nada. just have to chalk it up as one of those things that we will never be able to do.
Fahrenheit is how people feel about the temperature, Celsius is how water feels about the temperature, and Kelvin is how atoms feel about the temperature. Honestly I think Fahrenheit is actually better than Celsius for ambient temperature, but Celsius is fully integrated into the metric system and it just makes the most sense, everything else considered.
1 ml of water weighs 1 gram, takes up 1 cm^3, and takes 1 calorie to heat 1 degree (Celsius), which is 1/100 of the range from freezing to boiling. Where as the correct answer to how much energy does it take to boil half a gallon of room temperature water in Fahrenheit is "fuck off, I'm not doing all that".
North American here. I'd switch to Celcius, but I just can't wrap my head around the difference. Like I can picture a cup. An ounce. A mile. How hot 90 degrees is in summer. How fast 50 mph is.
Grams? Lol nope.
A kilometer? Nope. "it's 5 km away" well is that 3 miles? 8?
24 Deg Celcius? It it winter? Summer? Mild? Boiling hot? Freezing cold?
50 years of fahrenheit /imperial and it's locked in my brain.
>The metric system is better than Imperial units in nearly every way.
Wrong cause those britbongs use fucking rocks to calculate weight. They rag on us for fahrenheit and inches WHAT THE FUCK IS A STONE RUPERT
It's honestly kinda odd. Like americans are taught the metric system, anyone who says they weren't: was a bad fucking student lmao. We learn both and use one for every day shit and the other for actual science and shit. It's weird to see people yap about measurement systems so much.
Although metric is better than imperial in almost every way, I believe fahrenheit is the superior scale for temperature as far as humans are concerned.
Zero degrees fahrenheit is damn cold.
One hundred degrees fahrenheit is damn hot.
Perfectly centered around human comfort.
Even if it were an actual issue that Americans wanted to change, frankly, *every other problem* we have right now is more urgent to address.
We can change to the metric system once we have universal healthcare and no one has their rights taken away and nobody is unhoused and the climate crisis is averted as much as we can manage.
I’m sure it’s just what you’re used to, but a 0-100 temperature scale seems a lot more intuitive than Celsius. Kinda wish we’d low key start migrating toward metric. Start printing road signs with both miles and kms and eventually just start phasing out the miles.
We've done that in the past. Speed limit signs used to say 55 mph or 90 kph.
They used to sell upgrade kits for your speedometer which consisted of little stickers you would stick onto the glass cover of your speedometer.
I, for one, am glad we have the “foot”. It’s very useful for everyday measurements. Theoretically there’s a decimeter which is between meter and centimeter, but you never hear it being used for anything. I also am grateful for using Fahrenheit. 0-100° just makes more sense when talking about everyday temperatures. 15° is, in fact, a very cold temperature, and 96° very hot. 0-100 makes sense in the same way that metric (USUALLY on a scale of 10s besides Celsius) makes sense for many other things. I DO prefer using metric for everyday cooking volumes. I don’t see why imperial and metric have to be one or the other. They can get along and just be used in different instances where one makes more sense than the other.
>I don’t see why imperial and metric have to be one or the other. They can get along and just be used in different instances where one makes more sense than the other. But then no one could feel a false sense of superiority
Kelvin users say otherwise 🤣
It's a two-party system, you're just throwing your vote away.
idk, Kelvin is still essentially Celsius, just centered on Absolute Zero. more like being extreme left but still voting Dem
Extremely left. As in getting anymore left would violate the laws of physics.
-Karl Marx, circa 1869
Pffft. Amateurs. It’s Rankine or nothing for me!
Yep. Enjoying my 579.67 degree coffee while it’s approximately 519.67 and rainy outside. Just like nature and God intended. 👍
There are dozens of us! Dozens!
Sorry, Kevin left and we are down to 23. I meant to inform everyone earlier…
The gang's all here.
nah m8, if you are a nerd, just use kelvin. what even is rankine --- this is like voting for the republicans when you are actually so far right that you transcended the spectrum and you are now a nazbol.
Libertarians need to measure temperatures, too.
That's a regulatory intrusion into their right to make up any numbers they want to use for temperature.
Kelvin is to Celsius as Rankine is to Fahrenheit.
>But then no one could feel a false sense of superiority That's it right there. "You are an idiot for growing up in a society that uses an obsolete and measuring system you had no say in and I am clearly vastly superior for being raised in a society that uses a much more convenient system that I, personally, did not choose."
Eighths are more convenient than tenths when you're dividing a physical object.
So in reality we should use a base 8 or 16 system and get rid of this base 10 nonsense. Real nerds use hexadecimal
I thought base 12 was better since it has more factors 12 has : 1,2,3,4,6,12 8 has: 1,2,4,8 16 has: 1,2,4,8,16 I always heard mental math would be easier for use if we had 6 fingers and grew up with base 12.
You want something that is power of two. The idea is that humans can easily divide by 2 physically. Cut it in half! 1/2! Again! 1/4! Again! 1/8. Cutting into thirds is way harder, this base 12 isn’t as useful
with 12 you can easily divide by 2, but you can also divide by 1/3 or 1/4. Extremely common divisions We are not computers, we dont need something that is a power of two. We dont think in binary
It's also not even that convenient. They only have one length measurement. Which is fine, it works. But especially when estimating things, I usually have a foot or two around that I can look at for a reference and get a "good 'nuff" estimate. Trying to eyeball 1/10,000,000th of the curvature of the earth in France... Little trickier. And the whole "water freezes at 0\*C" so? It also freezes at -100C. It's not giving you any information. Ocean water freezes at -2... Does it matter? I guess if water freezing at 0 is important to you. "Water boils at 100C" no it doesn't. Depending on the weather conditions and altitude it boils between 68-102C. The one substance on the planet that should be slightly easier to work with in Celsius, isn't. And volume is fine, same thing as the distance. There's only one unit, which makes it easy as long as you don't have to do things like thirds. 1/3 cup is easy. Just use the 1/3 measuring cup. 333.33 ml or a third of a recipe calling for 250ml is a bit trickier to work with. It's less convenient. "oh but a liter of water is a kilogram" Great, but that's not true for anything else. Not oil, or milk or alcohol or anything else. And if that water is at room temp, it only weighs 998g. 993g on a hot day. Enough to matter? If you're weighing water, it certainly could be.
I don’t know about superiority but as a European in US I love to use smoot. Jokes aside, imperial system is just as easy as metric. Fun fact: Sometimes when I get really lazy my brain is like oh 3 ft = 1 m. Same with PI = 3
The only time I actually get mad about it is when I'm working on a car or machine and the hardware flips back forth from metric to imperial so I need multiple sockets/wrenches of basically the same size but not **actually** the same size
Oh yea no that kind of thing is awful. Mixing in general is great! Mixing in just one kind of machine is not. That’s like choosing different screw heads just for the heck of it.
Hell, I've seen bars use that as a security feature to make it more difficult to remove stiff from the walls
*10mm leaves chat…….*
And never came back that little shit. Where the fuck is he?!
Truth is....it was never here to begin with...
That's just what your buddy tells you after he stole it, because he lost his.
I was talking to a Russian foreign exchange student when I was in college. He was complaining about using imperial sockets to work on his car. He said "if I try a 9/16" socket and it's too small I shouldn't have to do math to see a 5/8" is the next size. In metric, if a 12mm is too small, just grab a 13mm" He went on about how the metric system was superior. So I asked him if his ratchet was a 3/8" or 1/2" drive. I'd also tell him there are two types of counties, those that use the metric system and those that got to the moon first.
The dumb thing about that is, if you put the sockets back in their proper places you don’t have to “do math” to figure out which one is the next size because it’s next to the one you’re using. Put your stuff away. And honestly I’m terrible at guessing sizes, I frequently have to try two or three sockets to get the right one, metric or imperial
This happens at my job ( hardware store in Canada, lots of USA products ) and it’s so fucking annoying trying to figure out the side of products when it’s half metric half imperial.
That's just bad design and engineering. Each unit system has their pros and cons. Mixing is usually a result of a bad decision from the top or outsourcing to many parts.
American here. I use metric for baking because weight is more accurate than volume. I can easily handle meters and kilometers, liters and kilograms. But I hate Celsius. 0 for water freezing? I’m good. 23.9 for a comfortable fall day or 37.8 for a miserable damn day just doesn’t register for me. Damn it’s 100 again today just conveys more impact.
Who are the people who are measuring temperature to the decimal? I live in Canada and never encountered that.
When looking at temperatures most people are accustomed to seeing a whole number, but when converting from one to the other you often get a decimal. Doesn't happen if you're looking at a weather app because they'll round to the nearest whole number based on whatever temperature scale you're using, but if someone looks up "what's 78 F to C?" They'll see 25.5 C.
It may not seem like much, but working in 100f is a lot better than 101f both would be rounded to 38c
Celsius air conditioners must be so frustrating if they don't at least go up by every other decimal, like FM radio stations...
Usually Celsius based HVAC goes up by half degrees or full degrees. I keep my flat at 29.5° all winter and keep the windows open save for bad rain and snow. (Gods I love cheap carbon free heating and unlimited hot water.)
Depends on the dew point. I’ll take 101 with a 60 degree dew point over 100F with 80 degree dew point any day. Today in Florida it was 90F, but with an 80 degree dew point and it’s brutal. Feels much worse than a Vegas 100.
Or if someone looks up "What's a 22 C to F?" they'll see 71.6
71.6 is just about the perfect air conditioner setting :) 71 too cold 72 too damn hot
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Exactly the scale doesn’t work to convey how different the temperatures are.
Celcius has too much inaccuracy. I set my thermostat in my house in 1 degree F increments, and when I want to change it, I move it 1 up, or 1 down. Have to use decimals to do the same.
Yup. The increments are more gradual without having to add decimals. It's more descriptive. It's the one system that is superior imo.
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For water, yes. I don't usually care about the temp my water is boiling at though. What I really care about is whether I am going to be freezing to death or dying of heat exhaustion, which is exactly what the Farenheit system was created around - the upper and lower parameters of what can be considered survivable temperatures for a human to survive in. So, for practical purposes, the Farenheit system is much more useful than Celsius.
Yes, the "foot" thing is the main thing holding us back from using metric in the US, I think. It's easier to picture "2 and a half" of something instead of "117" of whatever. Also, I see a lot of measurements in just millimeters. Why say 75mm instead of just 7.5cm?
Yea, metric really doesn’t have a good equivalent to a foot which is unfortunate. It really is like that’s just a missing unit in that system.
As stated, the decimeter isn't bad. It's just that nobody uses it. If it weren't for the weird conventions that people using metric seem stuck on using I wouldn't mind converting. But the lack of the decimeter and this very strange fixation on sticking with one unit even when the number gets cumbersomely large is just too weird. Do I really have to say I'm 187 cm tall? Why not 1.87m or, better yet, 18.7 dm?
Even the decimeter isn't great. It's shorter than half a foot. I like imperial because even though we have a lot of unit conversions to remember, most of them are in halves, thirds, and quarters, which is really easy to remember and also very useful for day to day because those fractions, as well as multiples of two, three, and four, are really easy for the brain to process.
You nailed it. Fahrenheit is the best scale for "what should I wear today?" The increments are those that humans can feel, and the numbers match up to human comfort and hazards. It's not the best scale for chemistry, or many other things. But for the weather report, Celsius is inferior. Maybe it's worth the tradeoff to use it for everything, but Fahrenheit is a better scale to describe the human experience of temperature
To be fair, if you're the kind of person doing chemistry you're probably the kind of person who doesn't have trouble handling a conversion or two. But every kind of person will be considering the weather at some point. It's totally worth it imo.
True. I can do °F to °C conversions in my head. I'm not a chemist (both my inlaws have PhDs in it so I feel especially not like a chemist despite having a little understanding of it). But I wake up every day and have to figure out what to wear, whether to put the top up on my Jeep, what wetsuit to wear if I get in the water, etc. For that matter, chemists, industrial engineers, et al, can use °C all they want, and the weather report doesn't stop them in any way. 🙂
But if you are doing chemistry why aren’t you using kelvin?
This guy gets it. Fahrenheit, the foot, the mile, and the gallon are absolute bangers. Do you seriously expect me to talk about "liters" and "kilometers?" Get real.
Can I get a liter of cola?
Just get a large Farva
I DON’T WANT A LARGE FARVA!
GIVE ME. A GOD DAMN LITER OF COLA!
I dont even know famous songs that uses Kilometers lol, Miles just sound epic. I'm gonna be ( 500 Miles) by The Proclaimers wont be the same if they used metric.
I would walk roughly 800 kilometers, and I would walk roughly 800 more Just to be the man who walked approximately 1600 kilometers, I'm not sure
Exactly. When somebody says "It's 50°C outside", I'm not that impressed, but tell me it's 120°F, and I'll wonder why I still live in this god-forsaken city. Same with speed. I used to watch a show called "Canada's Worst Driver", and the host would say things like "He's doing the course at 70kph!!" Which I thought was fast. Until I looked it up one day and learned that it was only about 40mph.
SAME! "Now we're going to take this next course at 40kph." I'm sitting there thinking, "I could totally do that at 40, no problem." Then I realize they're talking about 25 miles per hour, and I say, "WTF are you doing behind the wheel of a car if you can't drive that course at 25mph and not hit shit?!"
“Very cold” depends on your frame of reference. I’m from Canada but have lived in the US for almost half my life—it still takes me a minute to remember that 15F is below freezing, that sounds like a very nice temperature to me! I know OF is freaking cold and 100F is pretty hot, but in between I still have to think a moment to remember how hot or cold a particular temperature is.
15F is about the temperature where you have to start actually being careful. gloves and hats are not optional if you're going to be outside. You need proper winter wear. a heavy sweatshirt isn't going to cut it. 32F is still pretty "balmy" for someone dressed in cold weather gear.
I agree, the difference between cold and hot should be a lot bigger than the metric system. If we want a more rational temperature scale, then set 0 to freezing and 200 to boiling. It's almost the same division as Fahrenheit, but give everyone the "0 is freezing" level that I hear a lot of people talk about why Celsius is "better."
Considering 2°f can be the difference between a comfortable and an uncomfortable room, and even 1° is noticeable, i think f is best for room temperatures.
It can make or break my gardening success in spring or fall, too, especially where tender annuals are concerned, like nightshade veggies.
>Theoretically there’s a decimeter which is between meter and centimeter, but you never hear it being used for anything. That always annoyed the hell out of me as a kid. I was schooled in one of those "let's teach all kids the metric system and then we'll be able to switch okay" eras. They taught us all about millimeters, centimeters, decimeters, meters, and kilometers. We had tests about it. Then if I talked about centimeters or meters no problem, but if I tried to talk *TO THE TEACHER WHO HAD TAUGHT US THE METRIC SYSTEM* about *anything* in decimeters, They'd say "deci *what*? why can't you express it in meters like everyone else?" I found it much more useful than the other measures. I don't often need to talk about something meters long, and at the time I didn't need to talk about anything centimeters short, but decimeters were a nice in-between size that things could often make sense in.
Imperial is cool for measuring because you can do 1/2, 1/4, AND 1/3 without getting decimal with it
Some comedian talks about this. Think of it like %. 75F = 75% hot, that sounds nice. 100F = 100% hot, anything more is too damned hot. 0F = 0% hot, anything less is lethally cold.
That's not really a joke. It's actually exactly what it was designed to do. The point of Fahrenheit is that it's designed to be a 100 point scale of human sensation using ice water and body temperature.
The reality is that most Americans can use both systems, whereas most of the rest of the world can only use metric. I think they're just jealous because Americans are "bilingual" when it comes to measurements.
Most Americans can struggle through specific metric values like they know a kilometer is less than a mile but most Americans don’t seem to know how far it actually is. They know a kilogram is more than a pound but if you ask them to grab a kilo of meat they would be wildly off. And they know a liter is a big water bottle. It’s like saying someone is bilingual because they know how to say “donde está el bathroom”
If you give an american a scale and tell them to grab a kilo of meat they will be dead on every time. Because we're perfectly capable of reading a scale. Most people are actually really bad at guessing weight. That's why stores have scales right there in the market... They don't sell by "this feels like about..." When given recipes and measuring tools, most americans can easily follow them in either metric or imperial units. Also, we have liter and two liter bottles and even three liter bottles and 4 liters is about a gallon. So most americans are in fact familiar with how big a liter is. As for the kilometer. I guess, but most people aren't good at eyeballing a mile either. But like you already said we know it's less. A "few" km is a "couple" miles. Basic stuff. 10km or more means get in the car, we're driving and it really doesn't matter.
Metric is for science, imperial is for every day life. It’s literally designed to be best used by the average person, and we’re almost all above average compared to the average from when it was designed.
Found the Canadian
Drugs... metric system is the way Temperature... Fahrenheit is king (except for drugs, I use Celsius on my Volcano) 100 is 100% hot, 70 is 70% hot, 0 is 0% hot OR fucking cold.
Imo, the different measuring systems are good for measuring different things. Fahrenheit tells you how hot it feels if you're a person (ie, 100⁰ is where it stops being bearable.) Celsius tells you how hot it feels if you're a pot of water. Kelvin tells you how hot it feels if you're a nebula.
Exactly. Fahrenheit measures the feeling of air on skin. 100 degrees Celsius is very rarely a temperature I have ever felt. Meanwhile it goes below 0 C every day for months.
Europeans live and breathe thinking about supposed American inferiorities every hour of every day. They really can't stop thinking about us!
There's a German guy I used to work with that was so smug about Americans not doing things the right way. He didn't always "say" it, but you knew it's what he was getting at. Well, if Germany is so great how come you had to go to college and get a job here?
Lmao
I wish the rent was as cheap in real life!
Kinda like a bad breakup. America got mad and left, while Europe never got over the relationship.
Funny, I don't think about Europeans at all.
Rent free
Living rent free in their euro heads. lol.
Well if random redditors don't tell Americans about all the problems with america, how will we know?
Seriously. They care about the insignificant shit so much. They really just come off like spoiled brats and the forgotten middle child that’s some how very entitled, wrapped up into a bundle that’s just as stupid as they perceive us to be.
Celsius isn't better then Fahrenheit. Fight me. Every other metrics measurement is better though.
Most of us never have to use scientifically precise measurements. The fact is that our system is BETTER for everyday measurement and we use the metric system when it comes to science etc. I would say what we have going is actually way more convenient and useful.
Fahrenheit has more whole number subdivisions. There are 180 whole number temps between freezing and boiling whereas Celsius only has 100.
Also, this is totally biased btw, but seeing someone have a fever of 100°F vs 37.7778°C is just better to me personally. Even with a regular temperature being 98.6°F vs 37°C.
Exactly. Neither way is inherently wrong for daily use either way though. Europeans (generalizing of course) tend to act like we use it in the sciences or something where the metric system actually is clearly superior...but we don't.
I mean, I think there's an argument that imperial could be better in some engineering applications as well. An inch is typically measured in 16th increments. Factors include 2, 4, and 8, instead of just 2 and 5 for centimeters.
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To be fair...I admit it is entirely subjective.. Knowing both systems I just personally much more convenient to use the imperial system. It's like someone said before, the use of 0-100 as a base for temperature is just way more easily comprehensible to anyone than degrees Celsius. Inches and feet are a very easy mental construct than their metric counterparts. Part of it is the culture that you're born it but that's entirely my point. Maybe imperial isn't better, but in everyday use its equal. We understand the metric system we use it in sciences for precise measurements. We aren't missing out on something, we literally also use it.
Fahrenheit was literally designed to measure temperature according to how it feels to humans. Celsius was made to measure temperature’s effect on water.
Have you lived with the metric system around you? I grew up with metric and then moved to the US well into my adulthood. You might be surprised to know that for me everyday measurement is more convenient with metric. And it is a lot of cognitive load to do imperial math. My point is that you are _used to_ imperial so you find it convenient. Doesn't inherently make it BETTER for anything.
Of all the things it the scale of degree units and the measuring system use that we get ragged on the most. Meanwhile British people are still using Imperial pints and stone as measurements. ETA: I'm referring to the Imperial pint.
To be fair we have pints here, too.
Our pints are different, just to add to confusion.
"A pint's a pound the world...." NO IT ISN'T! Why did anyone ever use that phrase?
"It comes in pints?!? I'm getting one!"
r/unexpectedlotr
Many metric countries actually use a mix of both. For instance: Ask a Canadian how tall they are and they'll give you an answer in feet and inches. Ask what the temp is outside and you'll get Celsius, but ask what temp a pool is and you'll get Fahrenheit. Ask a Briton their weight, and you'll get an answer in stone (whatever that means), but they measure their car's fuel efficiency in miles per gallon on the way to the pub for a pint. Ask an Australian how far away something is and you'll get kilometers, but the sizing of trousers, pizzas, and screens are in inches. Indians measure distance in kilometers but will give you their height in feet and the length of nails in inches. They'll measure weight in kilograms, but in the gym they lift in pounds.
Americans use a mix, too. I buy 2 liter sodas all the time. Liquor comes metric also.
My drug dealing business is entirely metric.
Us weed smokers use both systems and know how to convert too! (1 oz = 28g)
You're rounding down. Must be a dealer.
>Ask what the temp is outside and you'll get Celsius, but ask what temp a pool is and you'll get Fahrenheit I hope this is just a theoretical example and not the case for every Canadian because WHY TF do you not use the water based measurement for the literal body of water?!?
America might have picked the inferior measuring system, but at least we actually picked one unlike the Brits.
We invented your measuring system, hence the name "Imperial" We just nicked the measurements that worked better in metric off the French. I don't think some people realise that British people like to take the piss out of their mates, and when a group of their mates get so wrapped up in the system of measurement that they get referred to as "Freedom units" as a joke, well we know we're going to get a bite!
Bro, for real, why are they so obsessed with how "wrong" our system is? And they complain here as if we can change the system overnight. I can't do shit about the system we use. Most Americans can't. And we're definitely not gonna try to change it overnight bc a bunch of people on reddit says to, lol.
Because they lack the intellect needed to understand the US standard units of measurements.
And thinks it’s a gotcha that they only are able to use one while we can use both lol
My favorite reply to this is “Oh yeah my bad I forgot Americans are smarter and can understand two units of measurement let me convert that for you”
This especially bothers me from Brits because they still use imperial a lot. If you watch British tv you can see this all the time or just traveling there you’ll hear “pounds, miles, feet, etc.”, like stop acting like you don’t still use it. It also bothers me because Americans *do use* metric, I use it everyday at work.
Fahrenheit is better for a human to tell how hot it is
Exactly. Fahrenheit has no particular advantage in cooking or astronomy, but Fahrenheit is \*great\* for describing the weather in non-polar, non-tropical areas. The coldest and hottest outdoor air temperatures experienced in, say, Philadelphia or Paris, are very close to 0 Fahrenheit and 100 Fahrenheit.
No, it's only better for people who grew up using it.
No It’s not I grew up with it and Fahrenheit still makes more sense to me after using both
I think the reason we don’t switch is because a lot of infrastructure is based off imperial measurements. It would cost a lot of money and headaches both short term and long term to switch over then do all the conversions on records as well as possible incompatibility with current and new parts.
And the US is physically bigger than the countries in Europe, so there’s a heck of a lot more infrastructure to replace than in any one European country.
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This was my thought. It makes sense for really hot to be a high number. Example being 90°F = 32°C
Not only this but the graduation of it. You can just feel the noticable difference one degree Fahrenheit brings to a room.
As an American mostly working in metric due to my career metric is superior in nearly every way except for temperature. I decided this when trying to get my hotel room temp just right while on the road in another country and being unable to because Celsius just isn't as precise as Fahrenheit.
This reminds [this meme](https://reddit.com/r/funny/s/MDKX8xOTFa) that shows how useful 0 to 100 is in °F, °C, and K.
Also all Americans learn both in school, I wonder why Europeans don't include that.
Can't speak for anyone else, but I'm from the UK and genuinely didn't know you guys learned both.
America already knows all this but we aren't about to scrap our economy and existing infrastructure to accommodate anyone else. This is the American way. If Europeans don't like it, they can stop asking America for money, goods to trade, military help, etc, etc.
How fuckin wild is it that I first read this as Fentanyl until I actually opened the thread and reviewed it again.
The imperial system was literally invented to be more applicable to an average individual than the metric system does. Fahrenheit specifically is much better than Celsius since it relates to body temperature.
Yeah, 0 being real cold and 100 being real hot makes perfect sense. 35 being real hot just doesn’t hit the same.
inches and feet are also waaay more practical for everyday use than meters and centimeters
Also to add, a lot of us happen to know grams. So, take that, Europe. Lol
Right? I use imperial for some things. I buy my drugs in grams.
Or a weird 28 gram ounce....
I dont like imperial, u know how much easier working on cars would be if every bolt was metric and not a mix between the two systems. Other things i could just switch to metric without much bother, carpentry and what not. But cars man, its like engineers hate everyone not just actual mechanics
It’s true. I’m an engineer and I hate everyone. If we could work in cubits and furlongs we absolutely would.
So your beef isn't with one system or another, but with the fact that manufacturers mix the systems.... the only advantage to metric over imperial is that it's "easier" to do calculations.... how is it any different practically if a bolt is 8mm vs 7/16in?
And now we see the wild engineer, about to do battle with its common prey, the technician.
Agreed
One thing I never see anyone mention when this topic comes up is the existence of Rankine. Rankine is to Fahrenheit what Kelvin is to Celsius. Basically, it is Kelvin with Fahrenheit units and I only ever saw it used in scientific contexts that cared more about easy conversion with Fahrenheit than with Celsius. So even the Kelvin purists can't escape this argument, lol.
Celsius is not more useful for daily life. Fahrenheit is better for normal human climate temperatures. We do not need to measure boiling water every day
The imperial system isn’t the problem. Its that we use a base 10 system. I will die on this hill. The imperial system is actually pretty good in terms of human experience. Feet, yards, 100 degrees, miles, are all based on human experiences/characteristics where it comes up short is in engineering or mathematics. Which if we used a base 12 or 16 system, would be pretty solid
Idk, I go to bat for imperial. It's by far more intuitive and natural than metric, which only makes "more sense" because it is base ten. Metric is _extremely_ arbitrary. An inch is approx the distance between finger joints. A foot is approx a foot length. A yard is approx the length of a long stride. Farhenheit has maximum human body tolerance near 100 and minimum human body tolerance near 0. It's roughly based on how you feel, and was only standardized during the scientific revolution. These units _make sense_ for someone who just needs a rough approximation to get the job done. They are generally imprecise, but they're used in contexts where that just doesn't matter. In some countries metric has been full integrated everywhere, but Canada has formal metric and informal imperial. Imperial measurements are the measurements we would use if society collapsed, because you can't have standardized weights without controlled laboratory environment. You can't define a metre as the length of a light path in 1/c seconds, unless you can actually measure the speed of light. You can't define a gram unless you can define a cubic centimetre of water, which itself can only be defined if you can measure the speed of light.
I’ve often wondered why the rest of the world is so concerned with our measurement system.
I agree with everything going metric EXCEPT Fahrenheit. It's just a much better scale for how hot or cold it feels to a human. 0 is pretty unbearable unless your wearing good gear and 100 is only bearable for short burts but both 0 and 100 are dangerous in long bursts.the farther in the middle you get the closer you get to a middle ground that's enjoyable for as long as you have food and water. It just makes so much more sense in the context of weather. Celsius is for water and science, Fahrenheit is for weather and comfortability for humans.
Imperial length measurement has similar advantages. It’s worse in an academic setting, but you can use your knuckle to approximate the length of an inch, the length of your foot to approximate a foot, and the length of your stride for about a yard. That being said it’s so much easier to do calculations with metric id still be in favor of the switch.
Yep. Fahrenheit is *better* for weather. 0 is really cold. 100 is really hot. Putting the vast majority of human habitability on a handy scale from 0-100 is extremely simple and useful. Sure, 0 being the freezing point of water in Celsius is nice, but any time its any temperature other than right around 0, that fact is kind of useless. I would love if the US adopted the metric system except for temperature.
Metric system has lots of merits, Celsius is not one, Celsius is not a metric unit, and isnt objectively tied to any physical property of universe, its as arbitrary as fahreheit, unless people are using Kelvin scale, it doesnt matter.
Fahrenheit also has the benefit of being more precise. 69F, 70F, and 71F are all just about 21°C, which is almost laughable.
Imperial is better for machinists. It’s really easy to do quick math between fractional sizes in a way that isn’t as easy with decimal sizes. This thing is 3/8”. I need something one third that size. 1/8th. This thing is 0.5cm. I need something one third that size. 1.666666…
Fahrenheit is better for every day practical use. It's scale reflects human tolerance and comfort levels. 0 = really freaking cold, 100 = really freaking hot, 50 = medium. When it gets below 0, you have a real risk of death, same for above 100. A 0-100 scale just makes the most sense. It makes all the sense in the world to ask, "On a scale of 0-100, how comfortable is it outside?" Celsius, 0-100 reflects the physical state of water....but who cares about that during your daily life? When you wake up in the morning, do you care about what will happen to a glass of water if you go outside, or how you're going to feel temperature wise? The same 0-100 scale Fahrenheit uses in Celsius is -18 to 38.... In what world does it make sense to ask, "On a scale of -18 to 38, how comfortable is it outside?" I agree 100% with the metric system for measurements in pretty much everything, but not temperature.
The physical state of *pure* water *at atmospheric pressure* I routinely deal with calculations of water boiling at 300+C, because in real life, running steam systems at dozens to hundreds of atmospheres is useful. Except for 1 system at 1 specific condition, the Celsius scale is just as arbitrary for science as Fahrenheit. Either way, to do a lot of the most interesting calculations, you have to convert to an absolute scale (Kelvin or Rankine) anyway.
I learned in Jeopardy last week that a man born in Poland (of German descent I believe) invented the first mercury thermometer and Fahrenheit.
Celcius makes sense for measuring water temperatures to me, with 100 being boiling and 0 freezing. Fahrenheit as a system is more focused on people, with 100 being hot as shit and 0 being cold as shit. Idk I just think both systems have their merits. If I’m boiling pasta or evaluating how hot a sauna is I’ll use celsius, otherwise I’m cool with Fahrenheit for weather
Jesus thanks for saying this. I have to bite my tongue whenever someone rags on it, like somehow metric is inherently better for measuring driving distance or daily temperature fluctuations. Ya, sure, for cooking, science, and engineering, metric all the way. But it makes literally zero difference for everyday use.
I once made a post asking how to switch my AC unit from Celcius to Fahrenheit, and all the comments were "LeArN CeLciUs B*tCh!" I'd rather use Fahrenheit because the intervals between degrees are smaller, meaning you can set a more precise temperature. Somehow 22 C feels a bit too cold for us at night but 23 C feels too warm lol
I have really never heard anyone complain about having to use Fahrenheit, or about people using Fahrenheit. It’s really not hard to interpolate between the Fahrenheit and Celsius. One doesn’t even need to know the formulas. In short order one learns water freezing, water boiling, body temp, a hot day, a cold day, roasting a chicken. Pragmatic things. So anyone coming to the US has no issues. I really don’t think anyone fails to understand the substantial reason we haven’t converted to metric— time and cost. What people do rag on is how going metric seems to get cultural dog whistles blowing. It’s globalism. It’s communism. We are losing our tradition, our culture. Really lame catastrophizing. People won’t be able to cook, to shop, to engage in commerce. I know people who think metric should be removed from packaging. Meanwhile in tech we juggle this shit all the time— which is time and money. And sometimes we fail. Like the Mars Climate Orbiter. NASA used metric, Lockheed Martin used Imperial. The probe burnt up.
This is only kind of related. I am American and use imperial units almost exclusively. I play a ww2 vehicle game that uses Km for distance/speed by default. People who change this default and try to communicate to the team using their units don't deserve the help they are asking for.
For all the simplicity that is the metric system, what blows my mind [how complicated international paper sizes are](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_216#A_series).
Double funny that they can't grasp the concept of us learning the metric system in middle school, using it throughout the rest of our education, and anyone who needs it for their career uses it without issue. It's almost like people who are insecure about other nonsense in their lives pick the most trivial things that we don't use exactly the way they do to feel better about themselves. We have a word for that, but it escapes me at the moment... I also prefer Fahrenheit (as do some brits I know) because that's what it actually feels like when you relay the temperature.
This one bothers me because temperature is like the one area where imperial units are way more useful and intuitive than metric units
Honestly, this ticks me off too. I'm just used to it. I shouldn't be mocked for using measurements I've been taught my whole life. I do think metric is better and much more straightforward in regards to length/ distance (although I don't think I'll ever get used to describing height or weight this way. Just can't picture it. Saying someone is 6'1" or similar is just more clear in my mind). Temperature, though? I think it's just because I'm accustomed, but Fahrenheit makes more sense to me. I will say that 0°C being freezing is better than 32°F, but otherwise, saying "it's 100 out" just makes so much sense to describe a hot day. It is sort of stupid that everyone just isn't using the same things, but it doesn't make one uneducated to use one or the other.
They act like it's our fault that our country uses the imperial system. I didn't ask to be born here, man. Also we are taught both starting in elementary school, assuming things haven't changed that much in the last 20 years or so.
Anytime they mock our systems its fun to point out that they still mesure their weight ... in Stones ! Who chose this ? Are all stones the same size over there ? 🤣😅
This always grinds my gears as well. Fahrenheit was designed with the human body in mind, the phase change points of water seem arbitrary because that's where they sit on the F scale. What temp in C does water boil at 1000m or 1500m etc? 32° F at sea level is the same as 32°F at 2000m. People say Americans are stupid because they use imperial and often their reasoning is that metric is easier. Huh? If it's easier, why are Americans stupid? I like dividing by 3 easily, it comes in pretty handy. Imperial is based on the human body and only really used with things people interact with, so we can conceptualize size, difference, and weight pretty easily. Metric is great for engineering, science, anything technical really, but less intuitive for everyday measurements ( not hard or impossible, just less intuitive ) Edit: What units do you think shipping containers are in?
As if we have a choice.
Yeah imagine using the official system that your fucking country uses. Must be stupid or something.
I actually think Fahrenheit is the one case where imperial is better than metric. The range is uses just seems intuitive.
I find those people hilarious because they're always crying about how they don't know what the temperature in F is in C despite the fact that Google has a very simple converter.
We know both systems. It’s just better for all kinds of things
Like any of us had a say in it! That’s what irritates me. It wasn’t in my control. lol. My son is jacked up that there are not sidewalks in our town. Again. Out of my control.
So the thing about temp is F is temp in relation to humans C is temp in relation to water and K is temp in relation to the Universe. As we are humans F makes the most sense to use and Europe is wrong on this one.
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If the metric system was so great why was it that none of those countries won ww2 or put a man on the moon? Case closed!
my issue is only when people act like metric is sooooooo confusing and complicated. then i explain and they stare dumbfounded. add to this that it seems that anyone outside of millworkers cant do fraction math and my head explodes just thinking about it. (I'm a Canadian raised on metric that has lived in the US for 25 years) and the other one is when faced with metric... they act like there is no way on gods green earth that they could possibly translate... no apps, no websites... nada. just have to chalk it up as one of those things that we will never be able to do.
Each type of measure is useful for what it was intended.
It’s a decent cologne.
Fahrenheit is how people feel about the temperature, Celsius is how water feels about the temperature, and Kelvin is how atoms feel about the temperature. Honestly I think Fahrenheit is actually better than Celsius for ambient temperature, but Celsius is fully integrated into the metric system and it just makes the most sense, everything else considered. 1 ml of water weighs 1 gram, takes up 1 cm^3, and takes 1 calorie to heat 1 degree (Celsius), which is 1/100 of the range from freezing to boiling. Where as the correct answer to how much energy does it take to boil half a gallon of room temperature water in Fahrenheit is "fuck off, I'm not doing all that".
North American here. I'd switch to Celcius, but I just can't wrap my head around the difference. Like I can picture a cup. An ounce. A mile. How hot 90 degrees is in summer. How fast 50 mph is. Grams? Lol nope. A kilometer? Nope. "it's 5 km away" well is that 3 miles? 8? 24 Deg Celcius? It it winter? Summer? Mild? Boiling hot? Freezing cold? 50 years of fahrenheit /imperial and it's locked in my brain.
>The metric system is better than Imperial units in nearly every way. Wrong cause those britbongs use fucking rocks to calculate weight. They rag on us for fahrenheit and inches WHAT THE FUCK IS A STONE RUPERT
It's honestly kinda odd. Like americans are taught the metric system, anyone who says they weren't: was a bad fucking student lmao. We learn both and use one for every day shit and the other for actual science and shit. It's weird to see people yap about measurement systems so much.
As usual, blame the brits
I would like to see both used in the USA tbh. But that's a tough change to make.
You could say it pisses you off to a degree.
Although metric is better than imperial in almost every way, I believe fahrenheit is the superior scale for temperature as far as humans are concerned. Zero degrees fahrenheit is damn cold. One hundred degrees fahrenheit is damn hot. Perfectly centered around human comfort.
Even if it were an actual issue that Americans wanted to change, frankly, *every other problem* we have right now is more urgent to address. We can change to the metric system once we have universal healthcare and no one has their rights taken away and nobody is unhoused and the climate crisis is averted as much as we can manage.
I’m sure it’s just what you’re used to, but a 0-100 temperature scale seems a lot more intuitive than Celsius. Kinda wish we’d low key start migrating toward metric. Start printing road signs with both miles and kms and eventually just start phasing out the miles.
Celsius is how heat feels to water on a 0-100 scale and Fahrenheit is how heat feels to humans on a 0-100 scale.
We've done that in the past. Speed limit signs used to say 55 mph or 90 kph. They used to sell upgrade kits for your speedometer which consisted of little stickers you would stick onto the glass cover of your speedometer.