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Old 04-24-2011, 12:39 AM   #111 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by euromodder View Post
The funny part is that even Europe isn't fully converted to metric
And it goes well beyond the ratchets.
We still use inches for plumbing and the like.
This is an important point. You can say all (or certainly most) cars are metric now. But that makes some sense in that most cars are internationally produced, they don't last more than a decade before they are scrapped, and the manufacturers would prefer we buy new ones even sooner than that.

But most people don't replace their plumbing every decade. Or the studs in their walls. Or lots of other things that are not metric based. American precision machining of steel parts used to be the standard and envy of the world (in quality, if nothing else) - and much of such machinery, tooling and parts are still widely in use today, and not exclusively in America.

There would be much profit to be made in scrapping it all and imposing obsolescence to serve a different standard. But why? To accommodate who? For what purpose?

It begs the ultimate questions: Who will pay? And who will benefit?

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