James Vincent

So it was... It was originally one ten millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the equator. The motivation for that is that they wanted a unit that was going to be defined by something unchanging and something that was accessible to everyone.

So it was... It was originally one ten millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the equator. The motivation for that is that they wanted a unit that was going to be defined by something unchanging and something that was accessible to everyone.

So they thought if we measure the Earth, that is sort of humanity's shared heritage, that anyone would then therefore be able to recreate this measurement by taking measurements of the Earth again in the future. And so you said that there is a physical meter. You mean like there's a stick? There was. There was. Yeah. So they came up with this. They made this measurement.

So they thought if we measure the Earth, that is sort of humanity's shared heritage, that anyone would then therefore be able to recreate this measurement by taking measurements of the Earth again in the future. And so you said that there is a physical meter. You mean like there's a stick? There was. There was. Yeah. So they came up with this. They made this measurement.

So they thought if we measure the Earth, that is sort of humanity's shared heritage, that anyone would then therefore be able to recreate this measurement by taking measurements of the Earth again in the future. And so you said that there is a physical meter. You mean like there's a stick? There was. There was. Yeah. So they came up with this. They made this measurement.

They took these measurements by traveling across Europe, a pair of astronomers, and they came up with this measurement, one ten millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the equator. And then they realized, okay, great, we've got this, but how is everyone else going to copy this? So they turned it into a physical meter standard.

They took these measurements by traveling across Europe, a pair of astronomers, and they came up with this measurement, one ten millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the equator. And then they realized, okay, great, we've got this, but how is everyone else going to copy this? So they turned it into a physical meter standard.

They took these measurements by traveling across Europe, a pair of astronomers, and they came up with this measurement, one ten millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the equator. And then they realized, okay, great, we've got this, but how is everyone else going to copy this? So they turned it into a physical meter standard.

And the first meter and the first kilogram, which are known as the meter and kilogram in the archives, were unveiled in 1799. And so for a while, every meter was a copy of that meter stick. And is that meter stick still around? No. It is. I've seen it. I've seen it. It is in the National Archives in Paris, in the Hôtel de Subban, if my memory is correct. Yeah, it's still there.

And the first meter and the first kilogram, which are known as the meter and kilogram in the archives, were unveiled in 1799. And so for a while, every meter was a copy of that meter stick. And is that meter stick still around? No. It is. I've seen it. I've seen it. It is in the National Archives in Paris, in the Hôtel de Subban, if my memory is correct. Yeah, it's still there.

And the first meter and the first kilogram, which are known as the meter and kilogram in the archives, were unveiled in 1799. And so for a while, every meter was a copy of that meter stick. And is that meter stick still around? No. It is. I've seen it. I've seen it. It is in the National Archives in Paris, in the Hôtel de Subban, if my memory is correct. Yeah, it's still there.

It's a beautiful thing. It's kept in this iron vault in the center of the archive.

It's a beautiful thing. It's kept in this iron vault in the center of the archive.

It's a beautiful thing. It's kept in this iron vault in the center of the archive.

So they decided when they were making the metric system that they wanted all the units to be interconnected. So once they had the meter, they then turned that into a cube, which is a decimeter on each side. That's a tenth of a meter. And then... That would be the capacity measure, that cube. And then they filled that with water and then they made the weight of that water the kilogram.

So they decided when they were making the metric system that they wanted all the units to be interconnected. So once they had the meter, they then turned that into a cube, which is a decimeter on each side. That's a tenth of a meter. And then... That would be the capacity measure, that cube. And then they filled that with water and then they made the weight of that water the kilogram.

So they decided when they were making the metric system that they wanted all the units to be interconnected. So once they had the meter, they then turned that into a cube, which is a decimeter on each side. That's a tenth of a meter. And then... That would be the capacity measure, that cube. And then they filled that with water and then they made the weight of that water the kilogram.

So that's where the kilogram comes from. And then you divide that into thousands to get your grams. But again, this is something that, okay, so that sounds like it's really easy to work out. You make the cube, you fill it with water, you weigh it, that's your kilogram.

So that's where the kilogram comes from. And then you divide that into thousands to get your grams. But again, this is something that, okay, so that sounds like it's really easy to work out. You make the cube, you fill it with water, you weigh it, that's your kilogram.

So that's where the kilogram comes from. And then you divide that into thousands to get your grams. But again, this is something that, okay, so that sounds like it's really easy to work out. You make the cube, you fill it with water, you weigh it, that's your kilogram.