Did Pirates Really Ruin the US Dream of the Metric System?
Why is the United States so culturally opposed to the metric system? According to a popular legend, this conundrum dates back to the late 1700s, when a French polymath named Joseph Dombey sailed to Thomas Jefferson with two crucial artifacts: a rod measuring exactly one meter, and a copper cylinder weighing one kilogram, set to bring the new nation a system of rational measurement. As the story goes, British privateers waylaid Dombey. Stole his artifacts, unsuccessfully ransomed him, and the poor nerd died in captivity without ever meeting Jefferson. As a result, the US remains metric-shy in…
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