View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-the-metric-system-matters-matt-anticole
For the majority of recorded human history, units like the weight of a grain or the length of a hand weren’t exact and varied from place to place. Now, consistent measurements are such an integral part of our daily lives that it’s hard to appreciate what a major accomplishment for humanity they’ve been. Matt Anticole traces the wild history of the metric system.
Lesson by Matt Anticole, animation by Globizco.