The U.S. often gets heat for being one of the few countries in the world that does not rely on the metric system for everyday use.
According to one history buff on TikTok, however, there is one group of people Americans can blame for that: British pirates.
In a recent TikTok video, creator @of_the_wasteland retells the story of Joseph Dombey’s failed 1793 mission to bring the metric system to Philadelphia for then-Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson.
Had this not happened, according to the TikToker, American cups might never have seen the light of day.
“Americans will use anything but the metric system,” the creator begins, mocking the usual criticism. “You know why? Because the pirates stole it.”
Did Pirates Really Take The Metric System From The U.S.?
She then retells George Washington’s first State of the Union address. During this time, the new country was still dealing with inconsistent measurements.
“A foot is longer in New York than it is in New Jersey,” she says, explaining how messy measurements were at the time. “We gotta figure this stuff out because we can’t trade for s—.”
According to her retelling, Thomas Jefferson then proposed something similar to the dollar system, where everything could be divided by 10.
“What if I told you we could do that with measurement?” she says as Jefferson.
The problem was that the system was French, she explains.
Jefferson contacted Joseph Dombey, a French scientist, to bring over the physical standards America would need. Dombey set sail with a meter and a “grave,” an early version of the kilogram.
But then, according to the TikToker, a storm forced Dombey’s ship off course into the Caribbean.
“All the sailors are like, ‘Well, I hope there aren’t any pirates here,’” she says. “Then the pirates show up.”
The TikToker then explains how Dombey tried to disguise himself as a sailor, but the pirates noticed his French accent when he spoke Spanish. Once they realized who he was, they took him prisoner and stole his cargo.
“They’re like, ‘We don’t know what that is, but we see that it’s copper and bronze, so good for us,’” the creator says.
Dombey never made it to Philadelphia.
“Your meter and grave were stolen by pirates,” she says, pretending to read the message Jefferson received. “And also your friend Joe is dead.”
“They took our metric system,” she says. “And could Jefferson have implemented it when he was president? I guess, but the pirates gave him time to think about it, and he decided, no, thanks.”
Did This Really Happen?
Yes, the story is true.
According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Dombey was a French physician and botanist traveling to Philadelphia to meet Jefferson.
He was supposed to negotiate grain exports and deliver two French measurement standards: the meter and the “grave,” which would later be renamed the kilogram.
However, storms pushed Dombey’s ship off course into the Caribbean. British privateers captured the ship, discovered Dombey’s identity, and imprisoned him on Montserrat. He died before the French could ransom him, and the measurement standards never reached Jefferson.
However, saying that pirates are the only reason the U.S. never adopted the metric system is an oversimplification. Countless other attempts have been made to get Americans to adapt to the metric system over the years.
For example, in 1866, the Metric Act legalized use of the metric system in America. Later, Congress declared the metric system the preferred system of weights and measures for U.S. trade and commerce. NIST says U.S. law now permits use of both the International System of Units and the U.S. customary measurement system.
The U.S. was also one of the original 17 countries that signed the Metre Convention in 1875, the international treaty that created the permanent institutions responsible for maintaining and improving the metric system.
The real list of reasons Americans still use inches, feet, pounds, gallons, cups, and tablespoons in everyday life is longer and more complex.
According to historian Stephen Mihm, writing in the peer-reviewed Business History Review, it could have something to do with conversion costs, weak legislation, and voluntary adoption. Additionally, the fact that by the nineteenth century American factories, machine tools, railroads, construction practices, land records, and commercial standards were already relying on U.S. customary units also played a role.
People Are Mad After Learning The Story
In the comments, viewers were both entertained and annoyed by the story.
“This and the library of Alexandria make me mad at least once a week,” one commenter wrote.
Another viewer defended at least one American measurement.
“All criticism of American measurements are valid, EXCEPT Fahrenheit,” they wrote. “As a system to judge weather or not I need a jacket, it’s perfect and I can never see ‘35 degrees’ and think it’s hot, that’s just absurd.”
They then joked that the rest of the world should get on board because “climate change would be taken more seriously if they weren’t trying to convince everybody that 35 is somehow a high number for something.”
Another commenter pointed out that Congress did try again much later.
“Congress passed a law in 1975 that we would convert to metric to make trade with the rest of the world easier,” they wrote. “Schools tried teaching it to us, but parents had a fit and…”
@of_the_wasteland Thinking bout the pirates who took the metric system today #history #historytok #storytime #pirates #thomasjefferson
BroBible has reached out to @of_the_wasteland via TikTok messages for comment.