Of the British survival of the Battle of Britain, PM Winston Churchill said famously, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed to so many by so few.” Of the historical overview you present here, Maven, I would observe that never in any attempt in societal cooperation on U S. metrication was so much been said by so many to such a predictable outcome of stalemate.
Across that intellectually anemic decade of the 1970s in America, none if the parties is equipped to be effective. Mr. Grassley may not have been presented with the facts about previous acts of the Congress and the Executive that had by then brought the metric system home to America. The government was actually willing to just slap a decal on every American speedometer and post metric bridge clearance signs without much more orientation as to what metrication was and why it was taking place. And (this is crucial) there was no public relations liaison allowable by anyone to field questions about how legacy units (the inch-pound system) will be relegated to the history books during and after U.S. metrication.
And I? I associate the metric system with Australia, a country I visited, a free country that converted from imperial to totally metric in 10 years.
It was the year 1976, the bicentenial of the United States. My small town buried a time capsul at the local river park to be uncovered in the year 2076.
(Doubt I’ll make it)
Inside the capsul I recall various items such as blue jeans, a bottle of coke, a calculator, ect…. Being a very young man at the time, I cared little concerning the matter. Although, I do recall a Mr. Chuck Grassley who was a young senator at the time who gave a speech in dedication of the event.
Yes, he’s still in office some 43 years later! The cold war may be over but the mentality hasnt been defeated.
Of the British survival of the Battle of Britain, PM Winston Churchill said famously, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed to so many by so few.” Of the historical overview you present here, Maven, I would observe that never in any attempt in societal cooperation on U S. metrication was so much been said by so many to such a predictable outcome of stalemate.
Across that intellectually anemic decade of the 1970s in America, none if the parties is equipped to be effective. Mr. Grassley may not have been presented with the facts about previous acts of the Congress and the Executive that had by then brought the metric system home to America. The government was actually willing to just slap a decal on every American speedometer and post metric bridge clearance signs without much more orientation as to what metrication was and why it was taking place. And (this is crucial) there was no public relations liaison allowable by anyone to field questions about how legacy units (the inch-pound system) will be relegated to the history books during and after U.S. metrication.
And I? I associate the metric system with Australia, a country I visited, a free country that converted from imperial to totally metric in 10 years.
It was the year 1976, the bicentenial of the United States. My small town buried a time capsul at the local river park to be uncovered in the year 2076.
(Doubt I’ll make it)
Inside the capsul I recall various items such as blue jeans, a bottle of coke, a calculator, ect…. Being a very young man at the time, I cared little concerning the matter. Although, I do recall a Mr. Chuck Grassley who was a young senator at the time who gave a speech in dedication of the event.
Yes, he’s still in office some 43 years later! The cold war may be over but the mentality hasnt been defeated.
Ernst…