Like you I grew up with the imperial system. Then in 1966 (when I was 16) Australia changed to metric currency (dollars and cents), and if there’s one excellent illustration of the superiority of the metric system it’s currency. Even though I’d known pounds, shillings and pence all my life, I (like most others) saw the immediate appeal of dealing in something where the base unit was 10. Like any conversion there was short term pain but if you look past that to the long term benefits then I think most Australians will agree it was worth it.
Now we’ve just got to get you guys to drive on the “correct” side of the road 🙂
Good luck with that, Tony! I don’t think Americans are ready for that. They can be quite stubborn to change! I’m speaking from experience, of course 😉 – Y
Hey, I like your cheat sheet! 🙂 Of course, no one uses decimeters here… but nice to know.
Like you I grew up with the imperial system. Then in 1966 (when I was 16) Australia changed to metric currency (dollars and cents), and if there’s one excellent illustration of the superiority of the metric system it’s currency. Even though I’d known pounds, shillings and pence all my life, I (like most others) saw the immediate appeal of dealing in something where the base unit was 10. Like any conversion there was short term pain but if you look past that to the long term benefits then I think most Australians will agree it was worth it.
Now we’ve just got to get you guys to drive on the “correct” side of the road 🙂
Good luck with that, Tony! I don’t think Americans are ready for that. They can be quite stubborn to change! I’m speaking from experience, of course 😉 – Y