The imperial system is used primarily for informal measurements. Nearly all scientists and engineers (pretty much anyone in a STEM field) uses metric as their primary measurement system. The prevalence of imperial units is due mainly to legacy. Switching measurement systems is not easy when all your streets are in miles and much of your old but still common equipment in feet and inches. No one wants to go through the expense to switch measurement systems when using two is far cheaper and not at all a great burden. Thanks for the sarcasm, though.
According to Alexa, 34% of the Verge’s visitors are from the United States. Not nearly a majority, but enough so that an article regarding a US building should without question include imperial units. That being said, I do think the Verge should include metric as well, as clearly the majority of visits come from outside the US. My argument is that some commenters want imperial units expunged from the Verge altogether, which I think is a disservice to its large base of US readers.
My previous post clearly mentions architecture as a field that commonly uses imperial units in the US. I am not sure how you missed that. Besides, this article is not intended for architects, but for the Verge’s general audience.
cru·el
/ˈkro͞oəl/
Adjective
1. Causing pain or suffering: “I can’t stand people who are cruel to animals”.
2. Having or showing a sadistic disregard for the pain or suffering of others.
It certainly follows the first definition. You know, the one most people intend when they say “cruel.”
“Proper units of measure.” Get off your high horse. SI units may be superior in that they are based on the much more logical decimal system, but imperial units are perfectly usable and not at all improper. Besides, you would find that most engineers and scientists in the US are only taught using metric in college and use it throughout their careers. Imperial is only used informally and perhaps for architecture, generally speaking. It is not at all out of place on a US website with primarily US readers.
