From Robert Checchio, Dunellen, New Jersey, US
Regarding Chris Stokel-Walker’s review of Beyond Measure, opposition to the metric system hasn’t been limited to the UK (18 June, p 34).
Back in the 1970s, the US Congress passed the Metric Conversion Act, which declared metric as the preferred system, and the country soon began a programme of testing road signs marked in kilometres, a first step towards helping citizens to accept the metric system.
But action by Charles Grassley, a Republican congressman, killed that effort. “Forcing the American people to convert to the metric system goes against our democratic principles,” he said.
Apparently, retaining a system that hinders the ability to interact with an increasingly globalised marketplace was seen by politicians as a measure of US exceptionalism. It still is.
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