Pirates of the Metric System

Looking to blame someone for America’s metric system woes? Well! Look no further than Joseph Dombey, whose sole mission was to bring the meter and the kilogram to Thomas Jefferson 228 years ago. Unfortunately, on March 21, 1794, this unlucky Frenchman was caught by pirates. The first of many ill-fated events that led to our confusing and silly Imperial system of measurements. This episode originally aired March 23, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices