Brett Robson wrote:
[inaccurate stuff undermining a sound point]

You might try referring your detractors to the Mendenhall Order of 1893,
which did legally redefine the yard and the pound to be derived from
metric equivalents, and all derived units, by extension, to have precise
metric equivalents. It was revised in 1959, but all units of measure in
the US have been legally based on the metric system for 110 years.

http://www.sizes.com/units/yard.htm gives a good summary.

KWW