The metric system is so familiar today that it is easy to forget how radical it once was. Before metres, litres and kilograms, measurement was a confusing patchwork of local customs, regional habits and awkward conversions.

In this episode of Compact History, we trace the story of the metric system from the disorder of old weights and measures to the revolutionary reforms of France, the creation of the metre and kilogram, the slow resistance to metrication, and the rise of international scientific standards. Along the way, we explore why the system spread across much of the world, why some countries still hold on to older units, and why modern science depends on measurements that can be trusted everywhere.

The metric system began as an Enlightenment dream of rational order. Today, it underpins trade, medicine, engineering, space travel, climate science and almost every part of modern technology.

The History of the Metric System, from revolutionary idea to global standard.

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