How ironic that French uses base 20 when it was the French who brought us the metric system.,(reply>), I was going to say that. America IS metric, but we cross dress into imperial units and claim not to be metric @w Meuse,(reply>), But it isn’t really base 20.  Everybody has been using base 10 numbers for a long time.  It has become just a quirk of language.,(reply>), @Severity One actually the us system of measurement is defined by the metric system an inch is defined as 2.54 cm, and a gallon is 3.79 liters. These are definition so they are always true. However that doesn't make the us system less confusing.,(reply>), @Jonas D. Atlas Thing is, every country had its own interpretation of a mile, or gallon, or whatever measure they used. That's another strike against the Imperial/customary system. A Russian metre is the same as a Mexican metre, and a Japanese litre is the same as an Angolan litre.,(reply>), @Adrian Baker Also, the US <b>Customary</b> fluid ounce is different to the Imperial fluid ounce.