Yeah, it's a pain point for me as well. We try to do all of our design work in SI units, use metric screw, etc. The problem is that industry simply isn't aligned this way. Sometimes you end-up with such a mess that you are forced to go back to imperial just for sanity.
The problem with switching the US to the metric system is that the cost would be truly massive. It would take decades, somewhere in the order of 50 years, for a complete conversion.
There's the obvious, things like every single highway sign would have to be replaced. And then there's everything else, like every single tool that everyone owns in this country would have to be replaced at some point. You would still have to be able to buy and use imperial unit hardware and tools for decades during and likely after the transition. I can't possibly list just how deep and wide such a conversion would have to reach.
And that's assuming everyone goes along for the ride. That said, a 50 year timeline would mean a new generation would grow up using the metric system. Another 25 years after that and we should be OK.
All of that said, the real problem is political. The cost of such a transition would be significant. Politicians will only get behind things they can convert into votes. Going metric isn't one of these things. Spending billions of dollars over five decades isn't something anyone can use to win an election. Most people aren't close enough to the design and manufacturing of goods to understand just how much this system actually hurts us. And so, going metric, in a practical sense, becomes an impossible dream.
The problem with switching the US to the metric system is that the cost would be truly massive. It would take decades, somewhere in the order of 50 years, for a complete conversion.
There's the obvious, things like every single highway sign would have to be replaced. And then there's everything else, like every single tool that everyone owns in this country would have to be replaced at some point. You would still have to be able to buy and use imperial unit hardware and tools for decades during and likely after the transition. I can't possibly list just how deep and wide such a conversion would have to reach.
And that's assuming everyone goes along for the ride. That said, a 50 year timeline would mean a new generation would grow up using the metric system. Another 25 years after that and we should be OK.
All of that said, the real problem is political. The cost of such a transition would be significant. Politicians will only get behind things they can convert into votes. Going metric isn't one of these things. Spending billions of dollars over five decades isn't something anyone can use to win an election. Most people aren't close enough to the design and manufacturing of goods to understand just how much this system actually hurts us. And so, going metric, in a practical sense, becomes an impossible dream.