Jim, I just read your well-reasoned piece (with the zinger at the end, heh, heh). That forum terrifies me, as nearly all of the other posters kept nattering on about how the EU is either: [1] a satanic plot; [2] a communist conspiracy; [3] a fulfillment of apocalyptic prophecy; [4] a creation of the "Illuminati"; or [5] the "New World Order."
I advise everyone, but especially the non-Americans on this list, to take a look at the forum (simply type in "National Geographic Society" in a search engine; the forum is devoted to the article on the EU in the January 2002 issue). You will get a glimpse of the abysmal ignorance of the American masses. I don't think we can ever persuade these people to go metric. The pressure to metricate must come from outside, from the EU and Japan. -- Jason
