We all know Don Cherry dresses outlandishly and says outlandish things, but this line from CBC’s coverage of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final was an eyebrow raiser even by the coach’s lofty standards.  While host Ron MacLean was discussing travel distances, Cherry scoffs at his use of kilometers and angrily snarls, “don’t give me any of that commie stuff.”  Oh, boy…

Harrison Mooney over at Puck Daddy actually makes a pretty solid case where Don Cherry may actually get the whole notion of an elaborate Communist conspiracy using the metric system since it was adopted in Canada 40 years ago.  America got The Beatles while our friends north of the border got centimeters, kilograms, and old Communist conspiracies put forward by hockey analysts wearing brightly colored suits.

There is just so much to unpack in this brief clip.  First of all, the metric system was invented by the French, not by communists.  Secondly, the metric system is fairly standard all over the world from industrialized nations to third world countries, democracies, dictatorships, socialists, capitalists, and communists.  The whole point of the metric system is that it can be universally used by everyone.

Thirdly, anyone who has even taken a high school level science class should tell you the metric system is far more simple and practical than this convoluted North American/Imperialistic measurement thing we have going on.  12 inches = 1 foot and 5280 feet = 1 mile?  Whoever thought that was a good idea for standard use?  Oh yea, and freezing temperature is magically 32 degrees instead of a number that makes sense, like oh, let’s say zero.  Please!  You know who uses the Farenheit system in day to day life?  Us and Belize.  That’s it!  That’s the list!  And I love Belize, it’s a beautiful country, but we have to get with the times.  One day we’ll eventually adopt the metric system and our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will wonder why their stubborn ancestors like Don Cherry didn’t embrace it sooner.

(assists to Puck Daddy & jonkit)

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