If national preference is determined by a referendum, that's real, otherwise it's not like 200 million people have made any other choice than than to abide by the dictum "If it's not broke, don't fix it."In how many countries Guy Gardener, do the average people actually use the metric system in their daily lives?
I like your idea of starting from "scratch," but your implementation is wildly off. We could use about seven billion people fewer so those things would not be necessary. We continue to breed as if the worldwide population were in the thousands or millions and resources were unlimited. From "scratch" would be placing a higher value on natural, community and multi-generational household living than bulldozing the planet in favor of concrete and asphalt to support our addiction to growth.^How would that work with wall some want to errect along the USA/Canadian border, though I suspect it's less about keeping Canadians out but Americans in.![]()
Who needs to be a wall, when there won't even be a need for a border. Then we can use the money saved towards something more important, like a high speed rail system.
Our roads and highways could also use some work. Then again, I'd like nothing better than for us to just start again from scratch, and rebuild our highways based off the systems used in Germany and Italy. Speeding down large stretches of highways at 100+ MPH in American muscle cars, in America (and I guess Mexico and Canada should get them too)!
We'll also need all the money we can save for that hyperloop system.
Everyone uses the metric system in Britain.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to have a pint to cool me down because the temperature is way up in the 90's.
Hang on.
Tempatrue more often or not is talked about in celsius, though once again it's an age thing the older generation might use F.
Once upon a time you didn't need a passport to cross the border
[Once upon a time you didn't need a passport to cross the border
Really? I thought that passports were always necessary to cross any national border - even the US/Canada one. Got any links?
Tempatrue more often or not is talked about in celsius, though once again it's an age thing the older generation might use F.
Actually, most people in Britain use Celsius when it's cold (crikey, it's minus three!) and Fahrenheit when it's hot (Christ on a bike it's hot...85 degrees you know).
Our love of hyperbole.
Here, we're apt to say that a place is 2 hours away, an 8-hour drive, or something like "I'm 5 minutes away."Ask somoene how far away X is from them and if they'll likely say miles unless it's very close where depending on age they might say 100 metres or 100 yards.
-3C is not cold. In fact, as winter temperatures go, it's downright balmy. It's not even real winter coat weather.Tempatrue more often or not is talked about in celsius, though once again it's an age thing the older generation might use F.
Actually, most people in Britain use Celsius when it's cold (crikey, it's minus three!) and Fahrenheit when it's hot (Christ on a bike it's hot...85 degrees you know).
Our love of hyperbole.
I'm speaking from personal experience. The first few times I crossed the border into the States, the only thing I worried about was getting health insurance. No ID was necessary. The last time there were rumblings about photo ID, so that's when I got my ALCB card (most places don't accept that anymore, since privatization of liquor sales went into effect in my province), but some places still accept it as legitimate government-issued photo ID that's got my photo, name, birth date, and signature on it. Even though it was issued in 1987, I still look like my photo.Really?Once upon a time you didn't need a passport to cross the borderI thought that passports were always necessary to cross any national border - even the US/Canada one. Got any links?
Yes, and yes. People generally had more trouble with not being allowed to bring snacks across the border (my aunt told us about one time when she'd been eating potato chips and they wouldn't let her bring the half-finished bag across the border; so she finished eating them, and after that she was allowed to cross).That's interesting. I had no idea it was ever that easy.
And 9/11 was the tipping point?
[Once upon a time you didn't need a passport to cross the border
Really? I thought that passports were always necessary to cross any national border - even the US/Canada one. Got any links?
I did it twice. Both times were in the 1970s. Not one person in our parties had a passport.
One time, a mom and a car full of kids crossing in Detroit (her child and the child's friends, I was one of the friends), no one had to show any picture ID at all. She just explained to the border guard that she was taking her kid and his friends over to visit Canada for a couple of hours.![]()
I'm speaking from personal experience. The first few times I crossed the border into the States, the only thing I worried about was getting health insurance. No ID was necessary. The last time there were rumblings about photo ID, so that's when I got my ALCB card (most places don't accept that anymore, since privatization of liquor sales went into effect in my province), but some places still accept it as legitimate government-issued photo ID that's got my photo, name, birth date, and signature on it. Even though it was issued in 1987, I still look like my photo.Really?I thought that passports were always necessary to cross any national border - even the US/Canada one. Got any links?
I haven't been back to the States since then, and don't expect I ever will.
I don't drive, so this isn't anything I ever needed to know.Although now Ontario has something called an Enhanced Driver's Licence, which can apparently be used instead of a passport for land or sea crossings. (Air still requires a passport.) If I ever find myself needing to back to the States, I'd probably go this route. I don't know if other provinces have these or not.
Who said it was a problem? I just said you didn't used to need a passport, which is a statement of fact, not a complaint.
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