On Jun 2, 4:00*pm, Doug Freyburger > wrote:
> Terry wrote:
>
> > <chemistry mode on>
>
> > A new nickel weighs 5.000 grams according to
> >http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint...specifications
>
> One of several abortive attempts by the US to "go metric" over the
> years; this one well over a century ago at this point.
>
> The US has been officially metric for a long time but there's no
> enforcement so it doesn't take. *The only reason (other than Fahrenheit
> temperatures) is inertia. *Military, engineering, export have all been
> switched over but there's no pressure to switch in domestic civilian
> use. *It's bizzare to anyone outside of the US and to anyone in a
> technical field within the US.

My tool box weighs twice what it ought to. I need metric and SAE
wrenches, sockets, hex drivers, etc. At least I haven't needed
Whitworth wrenches for a long time now. When do you expect that US
plumbers will start using metric pipe sizes and threads? Are there
metric light bulbs?

Jerry
--
Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get.