ON PREVIOUS DAYS:
- YESTERDAY:Let's Catch A Steam Train
- DAY BEFORE:
Yves Rossy: Rocketman - DAY BEFORE THAT:
Thank You For Not Smoking - DAY BEFORE BEFORE THAT:
Welcome to Downing St
ON THIS DAY
Let's Get Metric
Rerun. Feet, inches, palms, cubits, rods… all were SWEPT ASIDE on 28th September, 1889, when the first General Conference of the Weights and Measures Commission met in Sèvres, France to refine a definition for the NEW universal measurement of distance: the metre.
The calculation was painstakingly made by measuring a quarter of the meridian of the Earth – running from the North Pole to the Equator – and then dividing it into 10 million parts. Metal bars measuring exactly one metre were then distributed to attendees of the Conference.
In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether this scientific method of calculating distance was *really* any better than barleycorns and man-size hugs; ask why the USA still hasn’t got on-board with the metric system; and explain why Napoleon might not have been as short as we think he was…
Further Reading:
• ‘Galileo, Krypton, and How the Metric Standard Came to Be’ (WIRED, 2018): https://www.wired.com/story/book-excerpt-the-perfectionists-history-meter/
• ‘How France created the metric system’ (BBC Travel, 2018): https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180923-how-france-created-the-metric-system
• ‘Who Invented the Meter?’ (It’s Okay To Be Smart, 2017):
‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is ‘Throwback Thursday’ on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we’ll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors
ON THIS DAY
Let's Get Metric
Rerun. Feet, inches, palms, cubits, rods… all were SWEPT ASIDE on 28th September, 1889, when the first General Conference of the Weights and Measures Commission met in Sèvres, France to refine a definition for the NEW universal measurement of distance: the metre.
The calculation was painstakingly made by measuring a quarter of the meridian of the Earth – running from the North Pole to the Equator – and then dividing it into 10 million parts. Metal bars measuring exactly one metre were then distributed to attendees of the Conference.
In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether this scientific method of calculating distance was *really* any better than barleycorns and man-size hugs; ask why the USA still hasn’t got on-board with the metric system; and explain why Napoleon might not have been as short as we think he was…
Further Reading:
• ‘Galileo, Krypton, and How the Metric Standard Came to Be’ (WIRED, 2018): https://www.wired.com/story/book-excerpt-the-perfectionists-history-meter/
• ‘How France created the metric system’ (BBC Travel, 2018): https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180923-how-france-created-the-metric-system
• ‘Who Invented the Meter?’ (It’s Okay To Be Smart, 2017):
‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is ‘Throwback Thursday’ on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we’ll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors
ON PREVIOUS DAYS:
- YESTERDAY:Let's Catch A Steam Train
- DAY BEFORE:
Yves Rossy: Rocketman - DAY BEFORE THAT:
Thank You For Not Smoking - DAY BEFORE BEFORE THAT:
Welcome to Downing St
Join Club Retrospectors
Ditch the ads and get an exclusive Sunday episode every week – all when you join Club Retrospectors on Apple Podcasts.
On our Patreon, there’s three tiers to choose from, each with their own wonderful perks, from ad-free versions to BIRTHDAY SURPRISES.
OLLY MANN
Olly Mann made his name with another trivia-wielding podcast, Answer Me This! with Helen Zaltzman – and now presents The Modern Mann, The Week Unwrapped, and Four Thought for BBC Radio Four. He also has an A-Level in History, so Dan Snow beware.
REBECCA MESSINA
Rebecca got a passion for podcasting working at The Week magazine and a passion for trivia appearing on University Challenge in 2011, making The Retrospectors her natural home.
ARION MCNICOLL
Arion started out in satirical news in Australia, then moved to the UK to work for ostensibly serious publications including The Times, CNN, and The Week… before realising that since around 2016 the news has all been satire really.
Do you have a day of note that we should cover? Or would you or your business like to support the podcast? Get in touch!
