1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey everyone, it's Eves and welcome to another 3 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:09,920 Speaker 1: episode of This Day and History Class, a podcast that 4 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:12,720 Speaker 1: brings you a little nugget of history every single day. 5 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: Today is March. The day was March the French National 6 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: Assembly accepted a proposal by the French Academy of Sciences 7 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:35,559 Speaker 1: to define the meter. In the centuries leading up to 8 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:39,159 Speaker 1: this event, many different units of length were used throughout Europe. 9 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 1: The confusion this caused made it clear just how necessary 10 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: it was to have standard units of measurement. The French 11 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 1: Academy in British Royal Society worked together to figure out 12 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: what phenomena they could base standards on. They turned to 13 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: the Earth's meridian and the seconds pendulum, or a pendulum 14 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 1: that takes a second to swing in a one direction 15 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 1: and a second to swing in the other, making its 16 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: period exactly two seconds. Scientists believed that they would soon 17 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: be able to measure the seconds pendulum and the meridian 18 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: accurately enough to base units on them, but that was 19 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:20,119 Speaker 1: not the case. In fact, in eighteenth century France, there 20 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 1: were somewhere around two hundred and fifty thousand different units 21 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,959 Speaker 1: of measurement and use. Those included the point, the line, 22 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:32,119 Speaker 1: the inch, the foot, the fathom, the rod, and too 23 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:37,280 Speaker 1: many other units to list. National and international markets were expanding, 24 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:42,480 Speaker 1: the construction and maintenance of machines required precise measurements, and 25 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: scientists were also having difficulty getting good, consistent measurements because 26 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 1: of the lack of a standard one. Many people in 27 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 1: France were frustrated with their existing systems of measurement and 28 00:01:54,960 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: wanted uniform standards, so in August of seventeen eighty nine, 29 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,240 Speaker 1: line during the French Revolution, a member of the French 30 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 1: Academy proposed petitioning the National Assembly to establish a standard 31 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:12,239 Speaker 1: for weights and measures. They chose charl Maurice the talle 32 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,959 Speaker 1: Iran Perry Gore as the National Assembly member who would 33 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: be a spokesperson for their cause. Tal Iran presented a 34 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: proposal to the National Assembly in seventeen nine. The National 35 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 1: Assembly and King Louis the sixteenth approved his proposal, which 36 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:30,679 Speaker 1: called for the creation of a standard based on an 37 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: quote invariable model found in nature. The king then sent 38 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: tal Iran's proposal to the Academy for consideration. In March 39 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: of sev a committee in the Academy decided that the 40 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: basic unit of length would be one ten million of 41 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: the distance between the north pole and equator along the 42 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,640 Speaker 1: Paris Meridian. The Academy decided on the name meter for 43 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: the basic unit of length. The name came from the 44 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:01,840 Speaker 1: Greek word metron, which meant measure. A decimal system of 45 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:04,880 Speaker 1: length measure would be based on divisions and multiples of 46 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 1: the meter. Capacity units would be based on cubing the 47 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 1: length measure, and weight units would be based on filling 48 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: capacity units with distilled water. Tal Iran presented this plan 49 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: to the National Assembly and on March thirtieth the Assembly 50 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 1: approved it. But this new system required an expedition to 51 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: measure the meridian arc, since the distance of one quadrant 52 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 1: of Earth's meridian was not known the expedition it took 53 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:37,280 Speaker 1: seven years, and even then its results were inaccurate. Still, 54 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: when the expedition ended in sevent a platinum meter bar 55 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 1: was constructed based on calculations done from the expedition. It 56 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: became the official standard of meter measurement and was placed 57 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: in the national archives. It wasn't until eighteen thirty seven 58 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: when France abolished non metric units. After the metric system 59 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: was standardized in France a their countries began to adopt it. Today, 60 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: a meter is defined as the length of the path 61 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: traveled by light and vacuum during a time interval of 62 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:16,279 Speaker 1: one two of a second. I'm Eve Jeff Cote and 63 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,280 Speaker 1: hopefully you know a little more about history today than 64 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:22,400 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. If you want to reach us on 65 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:25,560 Speaker 1: social media, you can hit us up on Facebook, Twitter, 66 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: or Instagram at t d i h C Podcast. You 67 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 1: can also send us an email at this Day at 68 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:37,919 Speaker 1: I heeart media dot com. Thanks again for listening to 69 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:46,040 Speaker 1: the show and we'll see you tomorrow. For more podcasts 70 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: from I Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 71 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:50,760 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.