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The US Replaces Its Foot with the International One
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The US Replaces Its Foot with the International One

The U.S. currently has two measurement systems for what equates to a foot, but it has now decided to drop its own one and adopt the international foot.

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The U.S. is letting go of its definition of the foot used to measure large scale things and will be joining the rest of the world by taking on the international foot measuring system.

There have been two different measuring systems in the U.S. until now, both of which depict the 12-inch (30 cm) measurement known as the foot.

For day to day use in households and whatnot, it won't be such a big deal. It will, however, change a lot in the construction business, or during any long and big distance and scale surveying.

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The international foot is the smaller one, which adds roughly an eighth of an inch when measuring a mile. This is a big difference when looking into building long bridges, tunnels, or airport runways.

So why are there two foot measurements in the U.S.?

In 1959, the federal government stated that everyone should use the international foot measurement system, but allowed for a transition period for surveyors to get on board. That transition period has lasted 60 years, but will end in 2022, as per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology's statement.

Even within the U.S. different states have been using the two foot measuring systems differently: 40 states and territories still use the U.S. foot, while the others already use the international one.