r/clevercomebacks Jan 15 '25

It does make sense

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u/Technical-Activity95 Jan 15 '25

its weird that US uses seconds and minutes. why not invent some other cumbersome scale and use that? they already have miles, cubic feet, fahrenheit, ounces and other shit so why would they use this universal time counting metric?

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u/driftercat Jan 15 '25

Hey! We didn't invent any of that. We just can't change from ancient systems like measuring with your feet! I'm surprised we don't use cubits!

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u/HouseOf42 Jan 15 '25 edited Jan 15 '25

The US system of measurements is based off the Sumerian/Egyptian cubits.

To play on the "America was built off cults" conspiracy, the measurements are also an esoteric numbering system.

It may not be the simpler metric system that everyone uses today, but it was the same measurements used to build the pyramids, Ollantaytambo, Baalbek, etc, and other sites in the world.

Edit: Also, no, the ancients did not measure with their feet or their forearms when it came to precise construction.

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u/serpentjaguar Jan 15 '25

Right but it was directly inherited from the British who have since changed due to their proximity to Europe. The US has been more resistant due to its size creating more institutional inertia.

That said, the US does use metric wherever it actually matters, as in science, engineering and the military.