In 1821, Secretary of State and the future president, John Quincy Adams released a report on weights and measures to congress. He had labored over the report ob

In 1821, Secretary of State and the future president, John Quincy Adams released a report on weights and measures to congress. He had labored over the report obsessively for more than 3 years as he was absolutely fascinated by the metric system. Adams expected the report to catch fire and result in the adoption of the metric system. In actuality, it was a dud, and congress did nothing about it. His wife however noted in her diary “Thank God we hear no more of Weights and Measures.” Society not caring about this issue is nearly as old as the country itself. But I can imagine John Quincy Adams, if alive today, would probably be just the type of person posting an “Ask HN” question on the US adoption of the metric system.