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The American Human Development Report is a biennial report on human well-being in the United States produced by Measure of America. It follows the human development concept, which is the process of expanding the well-being of individuals to develop their full potential, by increasing opportunities in the arenas of health, education, and income.
Most of the units of measure have been adapted in one way or another since the Norman Conquest (1066). The units of linear measure have changed the least – the yard (which replaced the ell) and the chain were measures derived in England. The foot used by craftsmen supplanted the longer foot used in agriculture.
For example, U.S. diabetes mellitus patients measure their blood sugar levels in milligrams per deciliter (as with cholesterol and other blood concentrations), whereas most other countries use millimoles per liter. American blood glucose meters have the ability to switch between the two. Blood and urine samples are taken by the milliliter. [89]
Both systems are derived from English units, a system which had evolved over the millennia before American independence, and which had its roots in both Roman and Anglo-Saxon units. The customary system was championed by the U.S.-based International Institute for Preserving and Perfecting Weights and Measures in the late 19th century.
The Winchester measure was made obsolete in the British Empire but remained in use in the US. [c] The Winchester bushel was replaced with an imperial bushel of eight imperial gallons. The subdivisions of the bushel were maintained. As with US dry measures, the imperial system divides the bushel into 4 pecks, 8 gallons, 32 quarts or 64 pints.
An obsolete Dutch measurement, originally used for a small cask of wine or brandy. It was brought to the New World by the former Dutch colony of Nieuw Amsterdam (renamed to New York City by the English in 1664). It was adopted by Colonial New York and New Jersey as a standard measure and was retained by America after independence.
Under the Harappan linear measures, Indus cities during the Bronze Age used a foot of 13.2 inches (335 mm) and a cubit of 20.8 inches (528 mm). [11] The Egyptian equivalent of the foot—a measure of four palms or 16 digits—was known as the djeser and has been reconstructed as about 30 cm (11.8 in).
The Metric Conversion Act of 1975 is an Act of Congress that was signed into law by U.S. President Gerald Ford on December 23, 1975. [1] It declared the metric system "the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce", but permitted the use of United States customary units in all activities.