by Judy Perin

Have you ever contacted a relative in Europe for a long time family recipe, only to have them mail it to you and the measurements are in metric equivalents? Ever search the internet for a long lost recipe, find it, but the ingredients come in milliliters and liters? Need to send a recipe to someone in Europe, but you have to convert it to metric first? There's no need to fear, help with metric conversions is here.

But first some facts. The metric system was first introduced in France in late 1700's during the French Revolution as a simple and easy way to use weights and measures. Thomas Jefferson introduced the metric system to the United States as a Plan for establishing uniformity in the Coinage, Weights, and Measures of the United States, but it wasn't until 1866 when Congress legalized the use of the metric system. In 1893 the former Office of Weights and Measures, now known as the National Institute of Standards and Technology, legally changed the values of the United States yard to 0.9144 meter and the pound as 0.45359237 kilogram.

Doing research for this article I discovered that it is easier to understand the metric system now then when I was in school. I also found that there are many surprising facts about the Metric System. Here are just a few of the interesting facts I discovered:

• Doctors write their presciptions in metric
• Pharmacists fill prescriptions in metric
• The United States coins are made to metric standards
• Diamonds are weighed in metric, for example, 200 milligrams equals one carat
• The United States Army measures it's weapons in millimeters
• Electric usage is in kilowatt hours
• Photographers use film in 8, 16, or 35 millimeter sizes
• Track and field events are measured in meters and kilometers

So the next time you want to use a recipe that is only available in metric measures don't shy away. There are many conversion charts out on the internet for you to use, I have charted some of the ones I use the most below. If you are interested in one of the individual charts click on the heading and go directly to that chart and print it off for those times when you want to impress your family and friends by making a dessert that reads only in metric measurements. You can impress them with the ease it takes to convert milliliters to cups, liters to gallons, and kilograms to pounds along with your endless facts about the metric sytem.

Approximate Conversion Tables, U.S to Metric
Approximate Equivalents of U.S. to Metric Measures
Baking Pan Conversions
Oven Temperature Equivalents