I'm Mr. Beat
In 2010, my brother and I took a road trip to Alaska.
As soon as we crossed the border into Canada, we had to figure out how many liters were in a gallon when we filled up the gas tank and how many kilometers were in a mile when we read speed limit signs.
It was a minor inconvenience, and we got used to it pretty quickly.
o me, the metric system, the measuring system of the meter, liter, and gram, based on units of 10, is ridiculously easy compared to the standard, or imperial measuring system the United States uses.
But throughout its history, the United States has stubbornly resisted the metric system.
And yet, the metric system is by far the most common way to measure stuff around the world.
Only three countries- the United States, Myanmar, and Liberia, have yet to adopt it.
So why can’t they get on board?
Well let’s start with the history of the metric system.
The story of the metric system begins in Belgium, where this dude, Simon Stevin came up with the idea.
The British philosopher John Wilkins expanded on Stevin’s idea and helped promote it further, but it wasn’t until the French Revolution that it became a reality.
The revolutionaries who overthrew the French monarchy decided the time was right to get everybody on the same measuring system.
Before this, it’s estimated that around a quarter of a million different units of measure were used in France.
Dang dude
The idea was, that if everyone was on the same page, less people would be ripped off and everything would be more efficient.
The French philosopher Marquis de Condorcet (con door say) famously proclaimed the metric system to be “for all people for all time.”
And yet, it was hard for the new French government to enforce this new system.
People were resistant to change, and old units were sometimes used locally.
After Napoleon took over, the metric system expanded as the French Empire expanded across the continent.
After Napoleon fell, many European countries decided to keep it because they kind of liked it, and it made trade easier.
Eventually, as these European countries started colonizing the rest of the world, the metric system spread across the globe.
But not to the United States.
After the French first established the metric system, Americans thought about doing the same.
Thomas Jefferson, the secretary of state at the time, straight up rejected the metric system, saying it was too French.
And here TJ was a France fan.
I should note that he actually was cool with a different standardized decimal system that used traditional names for units.
Regardless, even as the metric system spread, this precedent set by Jefferson held.
Sure, there were still plenty of attempts to adopt it later on in the United States.
Congress even passed The Metric Act of 1866, in uh, 1866 to legalize use of the metric system in the United States.
In the early 1900s, famous people like Alexander Graham Bell testified before Congress, urging them to adopt it.
In 1927, Americans sent over 100,000 petitions to Congress begging them to officially adopt it.
That year, those countries who had officially adopted the metric system were still in the minority.
But most Americans resisted, calling metric system proponents elitist and thinking the rest of the world should follow them, not the other way around.
And besides, the United Kingdom used the imperial system, too, so nah nah nah nah nah nah.
But in a shocking turn of events, in 1973 the UK officially required the country to use the metric system to help their economy.
Partially in response to this, President Gerald Ford signed the Metric Conversion Act into law in 1975.
This law declared the metric system the best for trade and commerce and set up the United States Metric Board to help transition the country into the metric system.
And yet, because the law was voluntary, the United States has yet to fully implement it, which is why there is only one random highway in Arizona that has all metric road signs.
Surprisingly, by some estimates, half the country does use the metric system in some form or another.
Think about it.
That 2-liter bottle of Dr. Thunder you bought the other day.
That 5k race you participated in the day after to burn off all those calories you gained from the Dr. Thunder.
So why don’t all Americans get on the same page?
Basically because the transition would be a pain in the butt.
It would cost a lot and take a lot of time to transfer everything over, and the infrastructure and many industries within the country rely on the imperial system.
Momentum is a hard thing to reverse.
And because the United States remains the top superpower of the world, it has the luxury of pointing its middle finger at those who look down on it for not adopting the metric system.
The American government hasn’t really even brought up the metric system since the Carter administration.
So that’s why the United States doesn’t use the metric system.
I’m sorry, I forgot about Myanmar and Liberia.
Myanmar and Liberia are tiny countries that you would think would benefit greatly from converting to the metric system.
So that is why they do already use the metric system.
Ok, I probably should explain here.
The governments haven’t officially declared the metric system to be official, but if you go there, most people are using the metric system already.
Myanmar resisted the metric system and used more traditional forms of measurement for so long due to their isolation.
After they declared their independence from British rule in 1948, they cut themselves off from the rest of the world, and thus didn’t have a need to adopt the metric system.
Now that they are more open, that's changing.
What about Liberia?
Well, Liberia was founded by Americans, yo.
It’s constitution, modeled after the U.S. Constitution, was drafted in Washington, D.C., and its capital, Monrovia, was named after U.S. President James Monroe.
It was settled by thousands of free African Americans during the 1800s, and they brought American culture and traditions with them, including the imperial measuring system.
In both Myanmar and Liberia, the government is in the process of making the metric system official.
In fact, by the time you watch this video, the United States might be the only metric system holdout left.
I have a confession to make.
The title of this video “Why don’t the United States, Myanmar, and Liberia use the metric system”, is a bit misleading.
If you go to these countries, a lot of people there are using the metric system.
It’s just that it’s not official...yet.
As matter of fact, in countries like Guatemala and Belize, where it is official, you’ll see plenty of people NOT using the metric system.
Regardless, when someone asks you why the U.S. will likely be the last country to officially adopt the metric system, just tell them it’s Thomas Jefferson’s fault.
Freaking Thomas Jefferson.
What did he ever do for the United States?
Thanks for watching. I'll be back next week with another episode of Supreme Court Briefs.