i have been an advocate of the metric system since i learned about it in elementary school - back in the 70's when the US was on a push to convert everything to metric --- i found the metric system wonderful and so beautiful as everything converted (even between mass and volume!) -- and then it was halted for some stupid reason - i think from US business lobbies like the dairy industry and conservative groups wanting to keep America "different"... but i'm not exactly sure (i was a kid so i wasn't so hip to politics)

so now the US sells soft drinks in liters (and fluid onces), milk in gallons, medicines in grams, fuel in gallons -- a total mismash of metric and imperial with double-labelling for almost everything.

it is just beautiful the easy conversions in metric -- how many inches in a mile? i forget (5280 x 12)

and now having lived for 2 years in Europe i also really like the 24h clock. here in Germany when you write a time or see it in a time table it is always 24 hour time. but in conversation people use both and often say "half-eight" to mean 7:30pm...

i while back i visited a bunch of US websites who are against the metric system. the most do so on the basis of "pride" and say that the hard conversions and irregularity make the US cool and strong and we should have pride to be different... whatever! if you have to use a funky measurement system in order to take pride in yourself or your country, something smells fishy...

most of industry is already ready to convert with double-labelling for most products (either b/c they are international or they thought they would have to convert). and the US should just set a few milestone dates: say, by Jan 1 2005 all products must have metric labelling and by Jan 1 2008, metric will be used for ALL official measurements and trade... people are not so stupid and they can adapt. if you start buying your milk in liters instead of quarts and gallons you quickly learn "how much" a liter is...