Skip to main content

Up Next

Back to Show
It's Okay to Be Smart

How the Meter Became The Meter

Season 5 Episode 6

The meter is the world’s ultimate measure, but how did it become “the” meter? What is this measurement based on? The story of this revolution in measurement traces its roots to the French Revolution. Scientists decided that an equal and united people should have equal and united measures. So they sent a pair of young astronomers out to measure the world, and invent the meter.

Only Available with Passport Starting
Support Provided By
Season
Why You Can’t Smell Yourself?
19:10
There's an absolutely weird, but surprisingly common phenomenon called sensory adaptation.
Making a Hurricane Indoors (For Science)
11:50
Scientists in Florida can recreate a Category 5 hurricane in a box the size of a bedroom.
Are Humans Still Evolving?
10:41
Are humans still evolving? And how have our technological advances affected the process?
How Illusions Can Explain Reality
19:07
Illusions teach us how our brain constructs a three-dimensional reality using 2-D images.
Can Life Really Be Explained By Physics?
22:18
Joe talks biology with science communicator extraordinaire Prof. Brian Cox.
Why Don't Big Animals Get More Cancer?
9:42
We explore why animals like whales, elephants, and other large animals not get cancer.
What’s Actually on the Other Side of a Mirror?
10:16
The real magic of mirrors is far stranger and more interesting, as you’re about to learn.
The Unbelievable Science of How We Read
16:14
We take a look at how amazing the ability to read is.
The Weird Way That Movies Trick Your Brain
17:56
Neuroscientist David Eagleman talks about illusions that make the moving picture possible.
Here's What I Learned…
16:20
Here's what I've learned about the possible end of this pandemic.
Can We Actually Clean Up the Plastic Pollution Problem?
15:15
We explore what we can actually do about pollution.
Why Do We Dream?
14:29
We explore why we dream.
Active loading indicator