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<h1 class="nist-page__title">Happy Metric Week! Celebrating 100 Years of the U.S. Metric Association</h1>
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<div class="daterange"><time datetime="2016-10-13T12:00:00Z">October 13, 2016</time>
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<span>By: </span>
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<p><em>Guest blog post by Don Hillger, President, U.S. Metric Association</em></p>
<p>This year, 2016, marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the <a href="https://usma.org/about">U.S. Metric Association</a> (USMA). Our mission is to help the U.S. complete its transition to the metric system. Although weve always expected that the adoption of the metric system in the U.S. was just around the corner, all these years later we find were still working for the metric cause.</p>
<p>I joined the USMA in the early 1980s. Like many citizens, I had been mostly unaware of the worldwide move to metric, mainly in the former British Commonwealth countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, etc. At the time, metric-adopting countries followed through on their planned transitions without a hitch, according to schedules and deadlines for national metric changes. The U.S. considered following suit, but didnt exclusively adopt metric to the extent necessary to complete the job.</p>
<p>While many companies and certain industries have recognized the <a href="https://usma.org/use">benefits of converting to metric</a>, such as its simplicity and the streamlined access it gives them to global markets and supply lines, no one would really consider the U.S. to be a metric country.</p>
<p>But metric usage in the U.S. is more common than most citizens realize. From automobiles and machinery and medical fields, to nearly everything made in China or the rest of the world, which is a lot these days, metric is everywhere.</p>
<p>Its true that much of our metric usage is behind the scenes, but its not completely hidden from the observant citizen. Take a typical car speedometer that gives readings in both miles and kilometers per hour (in smaller font). While this feature gives you the impression that the car is customary through and through, the truth is that the car was designed and built using metric measurements. This is a good metaphor for the state of metric in the America: Under the hood were metric; its the part that people see that isnt.</p>
<p>What I think we need to do is bring metric out of the shadows, stop converting and start <em>conversing</em> in metric. We need to begin using metric in the way that metric countries do, e.g. on road signs, in weather reports, and at the grocery store.</p>
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<figcaption class="nist-image__caption">Overdosing can be dangerous, and underdosing is ineffective. For the most accurate dosing, ask for and use metric measures.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While were not there yet, opportunities exist for people like you and me who want to see more metric use in everyday life. Lets ask for more metric units in media. Lets simplify <a href="https://www.nist.gov/pml/weights-and-measures/laws-and-regulations/packaging-and-labeling">product packaging labels</a> to list only metric quantities. Lets prevent <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4721007/">medical dosage errors</a> by using only milliliters, not tablespoons or teaspoons. Lets <a href="https://usma.org/teaching-metric-units-to-very-young-children">help children build familiarity in metric</a> by providing daily opportunities to practice using metric measures as much as they can, at both home and school.</p>
<p>USMA has a number of programs to help in the U.S. metric transition. Besides basic metric information, our website has a section on the laws related to the metric system covering the past 100 years, showing where the U.S. stands legislatively. We also have a ton of information showing metric use in food and other product labeling.</p>
<p>As far as tools and suggestions for members and the public, we have a metric guide , as well as <a href="https://usma.org/basics">just the basics</a>. If you want to teach metric or consult with businesses, we offer training to make you a metric expert. Theres a large <a href="https://usma.org/science-fair-award-program">Science Fair Award</a> program to honor students who use metric units especially well in their science projects. Teachers can also download materials for them to use in their classrooms.</p>
<p>We regularly publish a newsletter, <a href="https://usma.org/metric-today"><em>Metric Today</em></a>, that keeps our members informed of metric advances in the U.S., as well as stories of metric use that otherwise are not apparent to the average citizen.</p>
<p>The adoption of the metric system in the U.S. is inevitable. Many advances are yet taking place, slowly but surely. The metric system is not something that was tried here and failed: Its just taking longer than most metric advocates would like. We cant predict when well see metric road signs and weather reports, and those may be among the last things to change, but we can quicken the pace of that change by conversing in metric. In the meantime, my colleagues and I at the USMA and our supporters will continue to pursue a metric U.S. because we believe that the adoption of the metric system is in the best interests of this country and its citizens.</p>
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<div class="text-with-summary"><p>Don Hillger became USMA President in 2015. His career, as a meteorologist specializing in weather satellite applications, began in the 1970s. He has been a NOAA meteorologist for nearly 30 years, stationed at the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University. Don has also been a topical philatelist for many years, with numerous publications on the topics of satellites and weather on postage stamps, as well as the metric system and amateur radio.</p></div>
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<div class="text-with-summary"> Twas the night before Christmas; NIST staff had gone home. Our director was left to reflect all alone. She thought about NIST and the breadth of its work, from
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<span class="nist-comment__author"><span lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Baccar Wozat</span></span>
on
<span class="nist-comment__date">October 15, 2016 10:02 PM</span>
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<div class="text-long">Give them an inch and they'll take a mile.</div>
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<span class="nist-comment__author"><span lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">coursework</span></span>
on
<span class="nist-comment__date">November 29, 2016 11:22 AM</span>
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<div class="text-long">Completely with you soglans and I share the view of the author of the article and totally agree with the fact that the adoption of the metric system in the United States is inevitable. Many achievements still happening slowly but surely.</div>
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<span class="nist-comment__author"><span lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Jim McClellan</span></span>
on
<span class="nist-comment__date">August 11, 2020 8:34 AM</span>
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<div class="text-long"><p>Yes, United States of America - Everything in your world is metric, but all measures are converted for you to keep you &quot;safe&quot;. Can we please stop being the worlds&#039; special needs nation and use our brainpower for a moment? Don&#039;t fear the metre, America.</p>
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