Re: Metrification of the USA

[Robert Brady <bobb@domain.elided>]

Sorry, I couldn't resist this one.  The Metric Conversion Act of 1975
and its ammendments in 1988 was supposed to have the US converted to SI
units by 1992.  Read a more complete synopsis at:
www.alltel.net/~sweaster/Metrication.html .  Recently, the Savings in
Construction Act altered the ammendments to allow for a soft conversion
to metric.  That is, in order to bid on federal projects, contractors
need only convert dimensions into metric units and are not required to
use "standard" metric sized construction materials.  I put "standard" in
quotes as from my experiences in designing chemical plants in Europe I
can say that every country and/or company seems to use a different
standard.  So, in Sweden they may prefer to use Swedish pulp and paper
industry pipe ( the designation eludes me right now), while in Spain
they may prefer DIN, in England they may prefer ANSI, and in France
AFNOR.

One final note: I think the lowest point in automotive hardware was in
the 80's when you could routinely find both metric and English sizes on
a US made vehicle.

I'll go away now.....

Bob Brady, DVAROC

ps.  I'm still annoyed by the fact that metric hardware is more
expensive and harder to find for our cars even though it seems to have
become the norm on domestic vehicles...

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