Metric System

We explore the quirky world of units—from the 1999 Mars Orbiter disaster caused by a metric vs. imperial mix-up to the colorful ways we measure everything from chili pepper heat to cotton and paper. You'll learn why U.S. territorial waters were once based on the range of a cannon shot, how Fahrenheit’s scale reflects geometric symmetry, and why a "barrel" of oil isn’t the same as a barrel of beer. With oddball units like skeins, quires, and cords still in use, maybe it’s finally time we all bolted over to metric!

This week on Strange Universe, Bob Berman discusses the metric and imperial systems of measurement.