I consider myself pretty conversant in metric units. I know that 20 kilograms is 44 pounds (double it and add 10%) and that five kilometers is a little over three miles (I’ve, uh, run a lot of 5Ks).

The United States is among the last bastions in the world who use the old imperial units for measurements -- be it miles instead of kilometers, pounds instead of kilograms, and of course, temperatures ...