-
Whatever Happened to the Metric System?
- How America Kept Its Feet
- Narrated by: Neil Hellegers
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
The American standard system of measurement is a unique and odd thing to behold, with its esoteric, inconsistent standards: 12 inches in a foot, three feet in a yard, 16 ounces in a pound, 100 pennies to the dollar. For something as elemental as counting and estimating the world around us, it seems like a confusing tool to use. So how did we end up with it? Most of the rest of the world is on the metric system, and for a time in the 1970s America appeared ready to make the switch. Yet it never happened, and the reasons for that get to the root of who we think we are, just as the measurements are woven into the ways we think.
John Marciano chronicles the origins of measurement systems, the kaleidoscopic array of standards throughout Europe and the 13 American colonies, the combination of intellect and circumstance that resulted in the metric system's creation in France in the wake of the French Revolution, and America's stubborn adherence to the hybrid United States Customary System ever since. As much as it is a tale of quarters and tenths, it is a human drama, replete with great inventors, visionary presidents, obsessive activists, and science-loving technocrats. Anyone who listens to this inquisitive, engaging story will never read Robert Frost's line "miles to go before I sleep" or eat a foot-long sub again without wondering, "Whatever happened to the metric system?"
Related to this topic
-
A History of the American People
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 48 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Johnson's monumental history of the United States, from the first settlers to the Clinton administration, covers every aspect of American culture: politics, business, art, literature, science, society and customs, complex traditions, and religious beliefs. The story is told in terms of the men and women who shaped and led the nation and the ordinary people who collectively created its unique character.
-
-
A British conservative's view of American history.
- By Mike From Mesa on 06-17-09
By: Paul Johnson
-
Decision in Philadelphia
- The Constitutional Convention of 1787
- By: James Collier, Christopher Collier
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fifty-five men met in Philadelphia in 1787 to write a document that would create a country and change a world: the Constitution. Here is a remarkable rendering of that fateful time, told with humanity and humor. Decision in Philadelphia is the best popular history of the Constitutional Convention; in it, the life and times of 18th-century America not only come alive, but the very human qualities of the men who framed the document are brought provocatively into focus - casting many of the Founding Fathers in a new light.
-
-
excellent book
- By Josh on 09-13-12
By: James Collier, and others
-
How to Hide an Empire
- A History of the Greater United States
- By: Daniel Immerwahr
- Narrated by: Luis Moreno
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We are familiar with maps that outline all 50 states. And we are also familiar with the idea that the United States is an "empire", exercising power around the world. But what about the actual territories - the islands, atolls, and archipelagos - this country has governed and inhabited? In How to Hide an Empire, author Daniel Immerwahr tells the fascinating story of the United States outside the United States. In crackling, fast-paced prose, he reveals forgotten episodes that cast American history in a new light.
-
-
How to beat a straw man to death
- By Susan on 01-25-20
By: Daniel Immerwahr
-
How the Scots Invented the Modern World
- By: Arthur Herman
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 18 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who formed the first literate society? Who invented our modern ideas of democracy and free market capitalism? The Scots. As historian and author Arthur Herman reveals, in the 18th and 19th centuries Scotland made crucial contributions to science, philosophy, literature, education, medicine, commerce, and politics - contributions that have formed and nurtured the modern West ever since. This book is not just about Scotland: it is an exciting account of the origins of the modern world.
-
-
Eagerly Awaited Audiobook
- By Lulu on 09-01-16
By: Arthur Herman
-
American Heritage History of the United States
- By: Douglas Brinkley
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 23 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Douglas Brinkley takes us on the incredible journey of the United States - a nation formed from a vast countryside on whose fringes 13 small British colonies fought for their freedom, then established a democratic nation that spanned the continent and went on to become a world power. This book will be treasured by anyone interested in the story of America.
-
-
Highly recommended!
- By M. Hu on 08-04-17
By: Douglas Brinkley
-
The Unfinished Symphony
- The Clash of the Two Americas, Volume 1
- By: Matthew Ehret, Cynthia Chung
- Narrated by: Hugh Trudeau
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This volume will showcase the international grand design led by Benjamin Franklin that manifested in the establishment of the American republic and trace the next 130 years of world history as the USA was targeted for destruction by oligarchical forces from London and also from within leading up to the assassination of William McKinley in 1901.
-
-
Timeless overview of world history
- By Greg W. on 07-06-24
By: Matthew Ehret, and others
-
A History of the American People
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 48 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Johnson's monumental history of the United States, from the first settlers to the Clinton administration, covers every aspect of American culture: politics, business, art, literature, science, society and customs, complex traditions, and religious beliefs. The story is told in terms of the men and women who shaped and led the nation and the ordinary people who collectively created its unique character.
-
-
A British conservative's view of American history.
- By Mike From Mesa on 06-17-09
By: Paul Johnson
-
Decision in Philadelphia
- The Constitutional Convention of 1787
- By: James Collier, Christopher Collier
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fifty-five men met in Philadelphia in 1787 to write a document that would create a country and change a world: the Constitution. Here is a remarkable rendering of that fateful time, told with humanity and humor. Decision in Philadelphia is the best popular history of the Constitutional Convention; in it, the life and times of 18th-century America not only come alive, but the very human qualities of the men who framed the document are brought provocatively into focus - casting many of the Founding Fathers in a new light.
-
-
excellent book
- By Josh on 09-13-12
By: James Collier, and others
-
How to Hide an Empire
- A History of the Greater United States
- By: Daniel Immerwahr
- Narrated by: Luis Moreno
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We are familiar with maps that outline all 50 states. And we are also familiar with the idea that the United States is an "empire", exercising power around the world. But what about the actual territories - the islands, atolls, and archipelagos - this country has governed and inhabited? In How to Hide an Empire, author Daniel Immerwahr tells the fascinating story of the United States outside the United States. In crackling, fast-paced prose, he reveals forgotten episodes that cast American history in a new light.
-
-
How to beat a straw man to death
- By Susan on 01-25-20
By: Daniel Immerwahr
-
How the Scots Invented the Modern World
- By: Arthur Herman
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 18 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who formed the first literate society? Who invented our modern ideas of democracy and free market capitalism? The Scots. As historian and author Arthur Herman reveals, in the 18th and 19th centuries Scotland made crucial contributions to science, philosophy, literature, education, medicine, commerce, and politics - contributions that have formed and nurtured the modern West ever since. This book is not just about Scotland: it is an exciting account of the origins of the modern world.
-
-
Eagerly Awaited Audiobook
- By Lulu on 09-01-16
By: Arthur Herman
-
American Heritage History of the United States
- By: Douglas Brinkley
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 23 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Douglas Brinkley takes us on the incredible journey of the United States - a nation formed from a vast countryside on whose fringes 13 small British colonies fought for their freedom, then established a democratic nation that spanned the continent and went on to become a world power. This book will be treasured by anyone interested in the story of America.
-
-
Highly recommended!
- By M. Hu on 08-04-17
By: Douglas Brinkley
-
The Unfinished Symphony
- The Clash of the Two Americas, Volume 1
- By: Matthew Ehret, Cynthia Chung
- Narrated by: Hugh Trudeau
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This volume will showcase the international grand design led by Benjamin Franklin that manifested in the establishment of the American republic and trace the next 130 years of world history as the USA was targeted for destruction by oligarchical forces from London and also from within leading up to the assassination of William McKinley in 1901.
-
-
Timeless overview of world history
- By Greg W. on 07-06-24
By: Matthew Ehret, and others
-
The Forgotten Man
- By: Amity Shlaes
- Narrated by: Terence Aselford
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's difficult today to imagine how America survived the Great Depression. Only through the stories of the common people who struggled during that era can we really understand how the nation endured. In The Forgotten Man, Amity Shlaes offers a striking reinterpretation of the Great Depression. Rejecting the old emphasis on the New Deal, she turns to the neglected and moving stories of individual Americans, and shows how they helped establish the steadfast character we developed as a nation.
-
-
a story of forgotten times
- By Debb Robinson on 10-11-07
By: Amity Shlaes
-
The Summit
- Bretton Woods, 1944: J. M. Keynes and the Reshaping of the Global Economy
- By: Ed Conway
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The meeting of world leaders at Bretton Woods in 1944 was the only time countries from around the world agreed to overhaul the structure of the international monetary system. The system they set up presided over the longest, strongest, and most stable period of growth the world economy has ever seen.
-
-
Big insights, crisp and clear
- By Philo on 09-14-16
By: Ed Conway
-
1913: In Search of the World Before the Great War
- By: Charles Emerson
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 19 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Today, 1913 is inevitably viewed through the lens of 1914: as the last year before a war that would shatter the global economic order and tear Europe apart, undermining its global pre-eminence. Our perspectives narrowed by hindsight, the world of that year is reduced to its most frivolous features last summers in grand aristocratic residences or its most destructive ones: the unresolved rivalries of the great European powers, the fear of revolution, violence in the Balkans.
-
-
Good book ruined by bad read
- By GANESHi on 08-02-13
By: Charles Emerson
-
An Empire on the Edge
- How Britain Came to Fight America
- By: Nick Bunker
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 17 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story of the American Revolution told from the unique perspective of British Parliament and the streets of London, rather than that of the Colonies. Here, Nick Bunker explores and illuminates the dramatic chain of events that led to the outbreak of the war-revealing a tale of muddle, mistakes, and misunderstandings by men in London that led to the Boston tea party and then to the decision to send redcoats into action against the minutemen.
-
-
Hard to put down
- By Mike From Mesa on 03-07-15
By: Nick Bunker
-
Kingdom of Characters
- The Language Revolution That Made China Modern
- By: Jing Tsu
- Narrated by: Jing Tsu
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a meteoric rise, China today is one of the world’s most powerful nations. Just a century ago, it was a crumbling empire with literacy reserved for the elite few, as the world underwent a massive technological transformation that threatened to leave them behind. In Kingdom of Characters, Jing Tsu argues that China’s most daunting challenge was a linguistic one: the century-long fight to make the formidable Chinese language accessible to the modern world of global trade and digital technology.
-
-
Missed important information
- By Ms. on 04-01-22
By: Jing Tsu
-
The Return of George Washington: 1783-1789
- By: Edward Larson
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Although Washington is often overlooked in most accounts of the period, this masterful new history from Pulitzer Prize winner Edward J. Larson brilliantly uncovers Washington's vital role in shaping the Convention - and shows how it was only with Washington’s support and his willingness to serve as President that the states were brought together and ratified the Constitution, thereby saving the country.
-
-
A readable history
- By Jean on 10-21-14
By: Edward Larson
-
The Shortest History of Germany
- From Julius Caesar to Angela Merkel: A Retelling for Our Times
- By: James Hawes
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A country both admired and feared, Germany has been the epicenter of world events time and again: the Reformation, both World Wars, the fall of the Berlin Wall. It did not emerge as a modern nation until 1871 - yet today, Germany is the world's fourth-largest economy and a standard-bearer of liberal democracy.
-
-
The narrator can’t pronounce German
- By Vauras Ilmari on 03-22-19
By: James Hawes
-
James Madison
- By: Richard Brookhiser
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eminent historian Richard Brookhiser presents a vivid portrait of James Madison, the “Father of the Constitution” and one of America's greatest statesmen.
-
-
OK book but not a biography
- By Joel Mayer on 08-05-12
-
Empire
- By: Niall Ferguson
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 15 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The British Empire was the largest in all history: the nearest thing to global domination ever achieved. The world we know today is in large measure the product of Britain's age of empire. The global spread of capitalism, telecommunications, the English language, and the institutions of representative government - all these can be traced back to the extraordinary expansion of Britain's economy, population, and culture from the 17th century until the mid-20th. On a vast and vividly colored canvas, Empire shows how the British Empire acted as midwife to modernity.
-
-
Not Balanced till Conclusion
- By Hectoris on 08-13-20
By: Niall Ferguson
-
The World Remade
- America in World War I
- By: G. J. Meyer
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 24 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After years of bitter debate, the United States declared war on Imperial Germany on April 6, 1917, plunging the country into the savage European conflict that would redraw the map of the continent - and the globe. The World Remade is an engrossing chronicle of America's pivotal, still controversial intervention into World War I, encompassing the tumultuous politics and towering historical figures that defined the era and forged the future.
-
-
"100% America" - a disturbing place to be
- By DPM on 04-01-17
By: G. J. Meyer
-
The Victorian Internet
- The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-line Pioneers
- By: Tom Standage
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Victorian Internet tells the colorful story of the telegraph's creation and remarkable impact and of the visionaries, oddballs, and eccentrics who pioneered it, from eighteenth-century French scientist Jean-Antoine Nollet to Samuel F. B. Morse and Thomas Edison. The electric telegraph nullified distance and shrank the world quicker and further than ever before or since, and its story mirrors and predicts that of the Internet in numerous ways.
-
-
Very nice audiobook
- By David on 05-23-16
By: Tom Standage
-
The American Experiment
- By: James MacGregor Burns
- Narrated by: Mark Ashby
- Length: 88 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
James MacGregor Burns’s stunning trilogy of American history, spanning the birth of the Constitution to the final days of the Cold War. In these three volumes, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner James MacGregor Burns chronicles with depth and narrative panache the most significant cultural, economic, and political events of American history.
-
-
American History ABCs
- By Michael on 06-16-15
What listeners say about Whatever Happened to the Metric System?
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Johan du Pisanie
- 09-20-23
Fascinating read
Lovely read (listen) with great facts and interesting history woven in. Made me think about how we do everyday things.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kevin Hudson
- 02-06-15
Incredibly informative. Superbly written & spoken.
What made the experience of listening to Whatever Happened to the Metric System? the most enjoyable?
This is a far-reaching, exhaustively researched book that not only covers every aspect of the modern world's struggle to unify measures, but also deftly paints the historical backgrounds against which each episode is set and to which each is tied. The narrator expertly captures the author's subtle shuttling from academics to wry humor and back again. I cannot recommend this book too highly.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Curious Reader
- 01-13-16
not what I expected
I really enjoyed this book. I enjoy how the story of measures decimals science was interwoven with history. from the title of the book and the information provided within the story I did not expect the conclusion the author presents. for a potentially extremely dull subject I found myself listening to chapter after chapter. I would recommend this book to any fan of science.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- S. Marshall Priddy
- 01-27-24
Great book - Don't let the title fool you
The scope of this book is actually far wider than the question of why America retains old units. This goes all the way back to the Founding and describes the parallel developments in both the US and Europe. It also talks about the decimals we now take for granted.
And surprisingly, it even changed my mind to a significant degree. I highly recommend this.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Elie Harriett
- 01-07-24
A lot more than I expected
This book is very engaging especially if you have interest in both the American and French Revolutions. I was not expecting that to be so intrinsically linked to the metric system but it was. Highly recommend this to students of history.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Trey Darley
- 10-19-15
Great book!
As a long-term advocate for the US embracing the metric system and a student of history, this provided some much appreciated context for why things are as they are. Still haven't changed my views but the wider context the author provided made it an invaluable investment of time.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Crystal Forbes
- 10-30-23
Riveting
I was not expecting the exhaustive history of world events laid out in this text, but I loved every minute of nerdy history! I was regaling my French partner, himself a lover of measuring tapes in both metric and imperial units, with interesting points about the French Revolution and Napoleon and the Bourbons and more for days on end while enjoying this book. As an IT process designer, I do have a bias towards standardization, but this book challenged that thinking.
Excellent read - would highly recommend to any history geek!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Fabi
- 10-24-20
A very well researched and presented narrative about the metric system. Full of great historical facts.
The facts and figures regarding the metric system are chronologically laid out in perfect detail. The book also doubles as a Old and New World history lesson relative to 18th and 19 Century. Well done.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- HT
- 12-24-18
Not What I Expected
I thought this book, based on the title, would be about measurement, the history of it, and why the United States never did switch to the metric system. The book was more about the measure of money, with some parts of the book about measurement and the standardization of measurement. I lost interest in the book about halfway through and ended up not finishing it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Will
- 01-13-15
Great book!
Very informative on learning why we measure the way we do. I had no idea that the push for metric in the US went back into the 1800's.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful