(MONEY Magazine) – Great ideas whose time didn't come: Metric system (1975-?) The federal government spent 12 years and an estimated $20 million trying to persuade the American populace to convert to the metric system. Result: liquor and soft drinks come in liter bottles, but little else does. Some 58% of the public oppose metric conversion, the same percentage as in 1977. Susan B. Anthony dollar (1979-1980) For only one year, the Treasury Department minted the Susan B. Anthony dollar, a coin named for the 19th- century suffragist leader. But many Americans shunned the Susie B. on the grounds that it was too easily confused with the quarter. About 60% of the coins remain stored in government vaults. Home banking (1980-?) Banc One Corp. of Columbus, Ohio broke ground in 1980 by enabling customers to do their banking from home, using their television sets, telephones and a special adapter. Some high-tech consultants said 8 million households would be banking from home by 1990, but as of now, fewer than 90,000 do. Financial supermarkets (1981-?) In 1981 it was a truth universally acknowledged that any man or woman in possession of even a modest fortune must be in want of a financial supermarket. Mammoth financial companies merged in eager anticipation: Shearson linked up with American Express, Prudential with Bache, Sears with Dean Witter. But demand for one-stop financial shopping has not materialized, and many would-be financial supermarkets have scaled back. Penney's, for instance, which initially hawked investments, loans and insurance from booths on some of its department store sales floors, now offers only insurance. Libra mutual funds (1984-1985) Billed as the first mutual funds for women, the Libra funds, a money-market fund and a stock fund, were offered through pink prospectuses. Their 24-hour phone banks were staffed exclusively by women. The equity fund's stock picks, however, were in no way geared toward female interests, and the stock picker was a man. The equity fund, which returned only 9% annually compared with about 13.5% for similar funds in that period, was dissolved in 1985. The money fund still exists. It is currently known as Money Market Fund Inc. and is marketed to both sexes.