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In the early 1800s, the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (the government’s surveying and map-making agency) used meter and kilogram standards brought from France. In 1866, Congress authorized the use of the metric system and supplied each state with a set of standard metric weights and measures.
In 1875, the United States solidified its commitment to the development of the internationally recognized metric system by becoming one of the original seventeen signatory nations to the Metre Convention or the Treaty of the Meter. The signing of this international agreement concluded five years of meetings in which the metric system was reformulated, refining the accuracy of its standards. The Treaty of the Meter established the Bureau international des poids et mesures (BIPM, International Bureau of Weights and Measures) in Sèvres, France, to provide standards of measurement for worldwide use.

The continuing usage of U.S. customary units has been a cause for speculation in fiction set in the future. Many such works of fiction have assumed that the United States and the human race in general will use metric units in the future; however, others have considered the continuing persistence of the US customary system to be more likely. Additionally, writers will sometimes use customary units simply because American readers and watchers will understand the measurements; other times, they are simply used by accident. The 1966 show Star Trek, for instance, initially used U.S. customary units despite multiple Earth national origins and a setting in the 23rd century. Later, starting with “The Changeling”, metric measures were used, albeit inconsistently. Later sequels to the show, such as Star Trek: The Next Generation, used the metric system exclusively.
Both the metric system and attitudes in the U.S. toward the metric system are a target of humorous jabs in shows such as The Simpsons and Futurama.[27]

0 comments Wednesday 18 Feb 2009 | TheWorstMan | Weird Things, blog, politics, random news