People from English-speaking countries are sometimes frustrated by the transfer from the American or British system of weights and measures to the metric system.
Israelis will try to convince them that the metric system makes more sense and that it's easier to understand.
Perhaps. However, if you are used to a mile being 5,280 feet then it isn't easier for you.
Furthermore, you can picture the distance of a mile. Your concept may not be precise, but it is meaningful to you. Whether a kilometer makes more sense is irrelevant. It's meaningless. You can't picture 1000 meters, or even one meter, for that matter.
Nonetheless, although Israelis won't admit it, many of them actually do think in terms of feet. So do pilots, but that's the topic for another series of articles.
Of course, Israelis don't use the term "feet." They think they use centimeters. However, many things are not measured in terms of meters or fractions of a meter. Nothing is a quarter of a meter. It may be 30, 60, or 90 centimeters long.
That distance - a multiple of 30 centimeters - is significant. It is the length of a typical ruler for school children. It is also approximately 12 inches, or a foot!
Thus, you will see or hear Israelis talking about floor tiles that are either 20 or 30 centimeters square. They won't admit that those tiles are really 8 or 12 inches square. Similarly, you may be warned about a traffic light or an exit from a freeway that is 300 meters away. Yes, they sometimes use a distance of half a kilometer, but less common.
Why would they write about things in terms of 30, 60, or 90 centimeters? Although Israelis won't admit it, it's because they really do use the system of feet and inches.
But don't tell them our secret.
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