Response to "Response to 'Ramen, Beans, and Potatoes, Oh My!'"

Dear editors,

Many in the lab know me as the congenial Canadian, and I’ve always been happy to play the role of the friendly neighbour from up north. Did I ride polar bears to and from school? Yes, but only when the family moose wasn’t available. Do I love Tim Hortons¹? About as much as Seattlites love getting a cup of coffee at the Starbucks in Pike Place. You must love maple syrup and hockey, right? I’m actually not a huge fan of maple syrup. Hockey? I’m from Vancouver. We suffer from collective amnesia about about hockey except when the Canucks claw their way to the playoffs only to lose, causing the city to embarrass itself time and time again.

All this is to say that I do not count myself among those for whom their nationality comprise a significant part of their personality. So, imagine my surprise when I read the response to my lighthearted record of our lab’s austerity measures, which read more like a hawkish, chest-thumping lambasting of my Canadian nationality (which makes no sense, since most of the world uses the metric system) rather than a measured response to my critique of the imperial system.

I’m not upset, just a bit disappointed.

I will admit, perhaps I had displayed my disdain for the imperial system of measurements too strongly and had misled the reader into the assumption that it was somehow tied to my nationality: “As a Canadian, I’m baffled by inches in general. It would be easier if the US converted to the metric system.” For that, I am sorry. It was not my intent to conflate my citizenship with my disdain for an antiquated, confusing system of measurements that is best left in the past. In fact, as the author carefully and correctly points out, Canada itself uses a mixed metric-imperial system. A source of national shame and irony that is not lost on me.

However, I will stand by what I wrote because I believe it to be true: it would be easier if the US, a beacon of progress and innovation, adopted the metric system and its simplicity.

The continued use of the imperial system in the US is not without its consequences. There are examples from history that exemplify the costs-both monetary and human-of the confusion caused by its use.

Air Canada Flight 143

Here’s a story from Canada, showing that the scourge of imperial units transcends national borders. July 23, 1983. Air Canada Flight 143 was en route from Montreal to Edmonton when it completely ran out of fuel mid-flight. The pilot had miscalculated the amount of fuel loaded onto the aircraft due to a misconversion from imperial units to the metric system. The aircraft was carrying only 45% of the fuel needed for its journey. No lives were lost and the plane, now known as the Gimli Glider², landed safely on a racetrack.

Mars Climate Orbiter

$327.6 million ($632.1 million in 2025 dollars).

That’s how much money NASA lost on September 23, 1999, when the Mars Climate Orbiter hurtled through the Martian atmosphere onto the face of the red planet. Why? A root cause investigation revealed a mismatch between SI (i.e., metric) and imperial units in the software built by Lockheed Martin, the contractor hired by NASA to help develop the spacecraft and its software.

Korean Air MD-11

The same year in 1999, a Korean Air flight crashed after takeoff from Shanghai to Seoul. 8 lives were lost and 37 people sustained injuries. The crash occurred in the confusion in interpreting an order given for the aircraft to ascend to 1,500 meters, which the crew interpreted as 1,500 feet. The pilot lost control of the aircraft in implementing a rapid descent, believing they were flying at much too high of an altitude.

A Roller-coaster Derailment

Disneyland is known as the happiest place on Earth for many people, but on one fateful day in 2003, it was the place of a roller-coaster derailment. December 5, 2003: Tokyo Disneyland’s Space Mountain roller-coaster derailed due to a part being ordered for roller-coaster from an outdated specification that mixed imperial and metric units. No casualties or injuries were publicly reported, but the Mouse does not forgive nor forget.

A Plea for Common Sense

Common sense was what the US advocated for in its hard-fought and won war for independence in 1776, and it is common sense that the US should adopt the metric system today in 2025, on the eve of its 150th birthday.