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How Pirates Thwarted America’s Plan to Go Metric (psnaudus.medium.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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In the late 1700s, Thomas Jefferson wanted the United States to adopt a unified system of measurement and saw the metric system as the best solution. However, a pirate attack in the Caribbean disrupted these plans. Joseph Dombey, a French scientist carrying a kilogram and meter stick to demonstrate the metric system, was captured by pirates. By the time France sent another scientist to explain the system to the Americans, Jefferson was no longer in office, and plans to go metric were disregarded.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

Is there a non-paywalled link? The archive.org link doesn't seem to work

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That’s weird I can read it on iOS and I’m definitely not a subscriber

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

It does say member-only story for me, but I can still read it

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