Yeah but "smoot" is WAY more fun to say than most other units of measurements. It's right up there with plancks, bees dicks, and megaFonzies.
There should be a scholarship for people with funny sounding names.
It was Washington’s dream https://youtu.be/JYqfVE-fykk?si=oPtinGhnRE5Uw5SS
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Not available outside of the US it seems
The irony is that in the US, Metric is the standard, used by all science, military, governmental etc sectors. It's just that the average American is too insecure to acknowledge this fact.
This is utter horseshit. Anyone who doesn’t acknowledge that fact probably just didn’t know and you’re just projecting some “I’m better than you” nonsense.
We learn the metric system in our schools. It’s part of our curriculum. We learn it in math classes, we learn it in science classes, we learn about it in history classes as well.
The UK drives using MPH too, despite the metric system being the standard. Oh nooooo! An alternate measurement system that the masses understand and accept!
For what it is worth, if you were curious, NIST adopted and recommends the SI standard.
However what IS fun is the world adopting US customary measures intertwined with metrics units for new measurements that weren’t used before, electrical current/resistance stuff like that. Though, good luck getting anyone who likes to try to dunk on the USA like this to admit it. Any American who responds how you’re saying is just pissed that once again someone is trying to look down their nose at us for living our fucking lives.
We learn the metric system in our schools. It’s part of our curriculum. We learn it in math classes, we learn it in science classes, we learn about it in history classes as well.
And apparently promptly have an episode of amnesia because every adult here seems to not know how to convert.
That really hurt you didn't it...
The US Navy is an exception, and doesn't use metric. Even their nuclear stuff uses the English Engineering System (Mostly imperial units.).
Yep, the US military operates on metric time
Insecure about what? Which side of the tape measure to use? Honestly I don't think many Americans are or were ever made aware that metric is the standard.
Everyone who has ever served in any branch of the US military knows this fact.
In 2020, US gvmnt estimates were 19.4m living vets in the nation. With a population of around 331m, that's around 6%. If you include the number of non-vets civilians who's jobs directly support the military, and who therefore are also required to use metric in their jobs, this number will be higher - I couldn't find population estimates, but it's at least a couple percent as the DoD alone employs a million civilians. NASA employs around 17k, and anyone working for a company who works with NASA is going to have to use metric. I'd be shocked if the number of Americans who aren't having to use metric at work, and are therefore aware that it's a standard here, wasn't at least 10%.
Nowhere near a majority, but certainly significant; over 20m people warrants "many," surely?
Or too rebellious
Yep, how can the "greatest nation on earth" use a system that inferior countries do...
Fun fact, Oliver is actually only 5 ft 5.75 in. He's still alive today!
And was chairman of ANSI, followed by president of ISO.
That's hilarious
And with stories like this, i wouldn't have it any other way 😊
It's not our fault! Our Kg, and possibly our Meter stick, got stolen by pirates, and we never got a replacement!
(This is mostly a joke)
British pirates, mind you.
Huh, TIL. I thought they were Caribbean
Alex Horne has entered the chat
Ha, I've walked that bridge. I also like all the random trophies under the Boston Longfellow bridge.
https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/the-man-behind-bostons-secret-trophy-room/2562003/
I'm checking out photos. That's so bizarre and I love it!
Fun. My GF put one from each of her 3 daughters up.
What was the prank?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot
The smoot is a nonstandard, humorous unit of length created as part of an MIT fraternity pledge to Lambda Chi Alpha by Oliver R. Smoot, who in October 1958 lay down repeatedly on the Harvard Bridge between Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, so that his fraternity brothers could use his height to measure the length of the bridge.
The 83 year old Smoot is still alive, and his career was as a chairman of two standardization organizations. Pretty funny.
Evening except bullets?
Bold of you to assume that Americans are not so lazy as to refuse to measure anything at all. (Can confirm: am American) :-P
As proof, just look at who wins the votes in an election vs. what actually happens next.
