Grace Hopper was an amazing lady. She had the nickname "Amazing Grace." You should read the full article on Wikipedia. Besides many notable accomplishments, she is known for her nanoseconds visual aid. People (such as generals and admirals) used to ask her why satellite communication took so long. She started handing out pieces of wire just under one foot long (11.80 inches or 30 cm), the distance light travels in one nanosecond.

To honor her and to aid in the casual use of the metric system, I propose the pseudo unit of the Hopper. A hopper is 30cm long (11.8 inches) or about 1 foot. You use it where the foot would be appropriate. For instance, "He is a big guy - over six hoppers tall." rather than "... over 1.8 meters tall."

Floor tiles are 1x1 or 2x2 hoppers rather than 30x30 or 60x60 cm. Shipping pallets are 4x4 hoppers. Ceilings (at least in the US) are typically 8 Hoppers tall. Ceiling tiles are often 2x4 hoppers. A sheet of paper is about one hopper long.

In summary, a foot and a hopper are interchangeable for most purposes, like a quart and a liter.

So impress your friends, especially the technical types, by introducing the concept of hoppers into your conversations. When they look puzzled, take the opportunity to educate them:

"You know - hoppers, about the same size as a foot but in metric, the distance light can travel in a nanosecond. Named after Grace Hopper."

Before you know it, everyone will be measuring in Hoppers, and more people will be aware of Grace Hopper and the significant contributions she made to the world we live in today.