December 23, 2025, marks the 50th anniversary of the Metric Conversion Act, designed to bring US weights and measures in line ...

Ever wondered what happened to our country’s conversion to the metric system? I did too. So, I did some digging and turned up some dead bodies in the process. Advertisement Article continues below ...

Most Americans believe the country rejected the metric system decades ago. In reality, US measurements like feet, pounds, and gallons are officially defined using metric units behind the scenes. The ...

Expats and tourists from the United States come to Costa Rica with a handicap. While most of the rest of the world, including Costa Rica, is using the metric system, the U.S., despite several efforts ...

Announcing his quirky run for the White House on Wednesday, Lincoln Chafee may have inadvertently touched one of the more obscure third rails of American politics: conversion to the metric system, or ...

When former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee announced he was joining the 2016 Democratic primary race, some people scratched their heads when he said switching to the metric system would be one of ...

Here’s a good trivia question: What are the only 3 countries in the world that do not use the metric system? Everybody knows the good ol’ hard headed USA is in there, but the other two? How about ...

May is a month full of celebrations—everything from May Day and Cinco de Mayo to Mother’s Day and Memorial Day. Largely forgotten in the cornucopia of May celebrations, however, is National Metric ...

Atlas Obscura on Slate is a blog about the world’s hidden wonders. Like us on Facebook and Tumblr, or follow us on Twitter. For better or worse, the United States remains one of only three countries ...

The U.S. Metric Program may be the loneliest office in Washington. Located about 30 minutes from the White House, its headquarters is in the much larger—and better funded—“measurement standards ...

On April 19, 1973, Wilson Riles, superintendent of public instruction for California. called to announce that beginning in 1976 the metric system would be taught in California. The reaction from the ...