SpokenTruth said:
Imagine the cost involved just to change every road sign in the US. Now think of every text book that needs to be rewritten and purchased. Think of every technical manual. Think fo every machine or device that must be calibrated. It cost NASA nearly $400 million just to convert the Space Shuttle documents and software to metric. To convert everything would be an absolutely astoundingly large figure if done all at once. Thankfully, many thing are already transitioning to it behind the scenes. Cars built in the US are measured and spec'ed in metric with the driver relevant infor (speeds, tire pressure, fuel capacity, etc..) being displayed in SI units. Much of the DoD and other government agencies internally use metric. Many large multinatinoal companies are now using metric internally. We'll get there but it will just take a lot of time and money. Wholly impossible to happen overnight in one fell swoop. |
Well text books are updated all the time (if you mean school books), and there's no need to update normal books. I assume it would tell you what unit is being used in whatever book it is, so that shouldn't be much of a problem. Signs would have show both imperial and metric system (while specifying unit of course). Anyway, like you said, it's happening slowly but surely, but it's more happening internally. new equipment is calibrated in metric, etc. Eventually, most of the US will have made the switch, and the only thing remaining would be to make it official.
And I have no doubt that if the government put their mind to it, it could be done in a presedential term, it's just not exactly high on their list of priorities (not to mention those that want to keep it because reasons).
