Certain businesses will always attempt to capitalize on confusion or ignorance that might be caused by a change in circumstance. If Government is doing its job properly, then it is up to them to ensure a smooth change-over and to minimize the risk of profiteering.
I saw a good example of this when I compared South Africa's and the United Kingdom's coinage decimalization programs. South Africa made very sure that there was no profiteering, while in the UK the Post Office led the way with massive increases on postage rate on the day that decimalization took effect. Why was it then that the South African public trusted their government with metrication (OK the race issue was a different matter), but the UK public did not trust their government on the same issue. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Remek Kocz Sent: 27 November 2007 02:29 To: U.S. Metric Association Cc: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:39789] Re: Burma still using English units, it seems Package size reductions happen all the time, but BWMA, given their nature, will only emphasize when something like that happens during a metric switch. There will always be unethical companies that will take advantage of confusion resulting from a unit switch, but that will be a vast minority. If you look at a relatively recent event of similar magnitude, the adoption of the Euro in a number of EU countries, it was a smooth transition, with very little fraud. There was a lot of upfront preparation and consumer education, which ultimately made for a successful switch. If only we could accomplish that with metric here. Remek On Nov 26, 2007 8:26 PM, Carleton MacDonald <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > The BWMA claims that metrication will lead to package size reductions > without a reduction in price; the ice cream makers seem to have done that > nicely all by themselves with no attempt at changing the units of measure. > > Carleton > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf > Of Remek Kocz > Sent: Monday, November 26, 2007 20:06 > To: U.S. Metric Association > > Cc: U.S. Metric Association > Subject: [USMA:39787] Re: Burma still using English units, it seems > > I'd venture a guess that the US dairy industry is a major source of > resistance to metrication. Outside the occasional attempts at 3 L > milks, all sizes of milk and related products have stubbornly been > sized in customary measures. The recent size reduction of ice-cream > is a perfect example: from 2 quarts to 1.75 quarts. It could have > just gone to a metric amount, like 1.6 or 1.5 L. > > BTW, from what I've seen in Canada, dairy is predominantly metric, > with 1 L, 0.5 L, and 250 mL milk containers. > > Remek > > On Nov 26, 2007 4:30 PM, Paul Trusten <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > But, have we "got metric milk?" I need to push more for quarts of milk > in > > the U.S. to be changed to liters, which, after all, are a bit larger--54 > mL > > larger, to be exact. Half-gallons could become 2-liter sizes. Anyone who > has > > ever bought 2 L of soft drink without incident shouldn't be miffed by 2 L > of > > milk. And, larger sizes? I guess 3 L and 4 L could be around the corner. > > Attached is a picture from an Aldi grocery store near Sydney, Australia, > > showing some milk sizes. > > > > > > > > Nat Hager III wrote: > > > > Same with me. In terms of liquid measure the US is pretty much > metricated. > > I buy 2-Liter soda, Liter-and-a-half of wine, 700 mL water, half-liter > > mouthwash, 750 mL shampoo, 1.75 L OJ, 3-Liter detergent (never mind its > only > > 2.95L), 1.65 L ice cream (never mind its also labeled 1.75 Qt), etc, etc. > > > > Also toilets are 6L/flush, which I notice this morning they're reducing to > > 5L (never mind the AP reports as 1.3 Gal) > > > > Nat > > > > > > Countless experiments have shown that people tend to see what they are > > looking for. Let's imagine tourists in Burma who are trying to fend for > > their needs. They are going to be on the lookout for something that > > seems familiar and that speaks to them in a language they understand. If > > they are typical American tourists they can tell you of the many places > > where they saw familiar units being used and that they don't recall any > > other units. If they are tourists from almost any other country, they > > will assure you that they saw zillions of metric indications and few, if > > any, non-metric units. > > > > We see this often in the U.S. I've had folks swear up and down that they > > never see metric units used anywhere and then I have them read the > > contents indication on their can of pop or the nutrition information on > > their snack package. Indeed, sometimes I've asked people to read me what > > the label claims to be on the 500 mL bottle of water and they just read > > me the number of pints and floozies shown in parentheses, skipping right > > over the "500 mL" that appears first. Yes, they realize that those > > "other" units are metric. However they didn't "see" them until then and > > if they had seen them earlier it didn't register long enough to create a > > memory of that. > > > > I've had beginning students in Physics who, during our first lab which > > is on metric unit familiarization, would wave their rulers in the air > > and proudly tell us that the college bookstore sells only "inch rulers". > > I would ask them to tell me what's on the other edge of that ruler and > > they are amazed at what suddenly appears there--namely centimeters. They > > truly had not "noticed" the metric scale on those rulers. > > > > I'm on the lookout for metric usage, so I see it quite often in the U.S. > > Pat Naughtin has seen them here quite often as well, but he's a "metric > > tourist" over here, so his eye gravitates to units with which he's > > familiar. Non-metric people who live here rarely "see" what we see. > > Actually they do see those metric units, but they don't notice them and > > the experience does not register. > > > > Jim > > > > Ezra Steinberg wrote: > > > > > > Well, I would certainly take your direct observations as gold, Michael. > > > > I guess I don't undestand why the folks who posted replies to my query > > on the Thorn Tree site would say otherwise. > > Since it's a site for world travelers to help each other with questions > > and issues, I assumed the posters were recent travelers to Burma, > > themselves. > > > > Ah, well ... let the confusion begin! ;-) > > > > Cheers, > > Ezra > > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Payne" > > > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > > > To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> > > Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2007 8:09 AM > > Subject: [USMA:39765] Re: Burma still using English units, it seems > > > > > > > > > > This contradicts my direct observation while I visited Burma in 1997, > > speedometers in cars I drove in were km/h and speed limits were > > (according to my driver) km/h but written in the local Burmese > > numerical script which was undecipherable to me, I asked out driver > > what the speed limit was, he told me the answer as ** km/h. I did see > > a Gas (Petrol) station with very old pumps that displayed in Imperial > > Gallons. The Burmese just seem to accept what's thrown at them, I > > doubt they import vehicles exclusively from the US, we have sanctions, > > so they come from neighboring countries which are exclusively metric, > > would not do much good to have mph speed limits when every car in the > > last 30 years has only km/h on the speedometer. If some piece of > > equipment comes from the US despite sanctions, they'll probably accept > > it as is. Fact is sanctions by the US against Burma are probably > > leading to less US units being seen there on any equipment. > > > > Michael Payne > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ezra Steinberg" > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> > > Sent: Sunday, 25 November 2007 06:15 > > Subject: [USMA:39764] Burma still using English units, it seems > > > > > > USMA folks: > > > > I posted a couple of queries on a well-known travel site (Thorn Tree) > > that seems to get a lot of traffic from Europeans. > > I asked about the metric vs. Imperial situation in Burma (Myanmar) and > > Liberia, the two countries often cited aside from the USA as still > > using mostly Imperial. > > > > No replies about Liberia (and I may not get any), but I got several > > quick replies about Burma. These confirm that on road signs and in the > > street Imperial is used exclusively. > > > > Not earth-shattering news, to be sure, but at least it's up-to-date > > first-hand information from recent visitors there. > > > > Ezra > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
