By Eric Ralph

Today, according to the ever-trustworthy Holidays on the Net, is both International Beaver Day and National Beer Day. It doesn’t seem like a good idea to combine these holidays. A bunch of drunk beavers running around is bound to cause talk.

It is also the anniversary of the metric system. I know America gets a lot of guff from others since they have not adopted the metric system universally. Personally I don’t understand why anyone cares what system we use. What’s it to you how I measure out flour when baking?

The alleged benefits of the metric system are largely convertibility. Since

Don’t let this guy drink and drive. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

conversions are multiples of ten, the reasoning goes, that’s easier than remembering there are twelve inches in a foot, and three feet in a yard. Even if that’s true, so what? I’ve invented a metric clock where there are 100 seconds in an hour and 10 hours in a day. No one in their right mind would use it. Why not? Because the cost to switch is too high.

The fact is that when switching is useful, Americans switch. Where it isn’t, we don’t. I don’t think the world is any worse off because we put gallons in our car instead of liters.

Celebrate these holidays with whatever you like, whether a pint of beer or a liter of wine, or a hogshead of whisky. Just don’t let the beaver drive.