Learn about the time pirates stopped the US from switching to the metric system; and new learnings about Mars’ interior. The US once tried switching to the metric system, but got stopped by pirates by Steffie Drucker How Pirates Of The Caribbean Hijacked America’s Metric System. (2017, December 28). NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/12/28/574044232/how-pirates-of-the-caribbean-hijacked-americas-metric-system Kaplan, S. (2017). Pirates Are to Blame For Why The US Doesn’t Use The Metric System. ScienceAlert. https://www.sciencealert.com/pirates-are-to-blame-for-why-the-us-doesn-t-use-the-metric-system Esser, M. (2017, September 19). Pirates of the Caribbean (Metric Edition). NIST. https://www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/pirates-caribbean-metric-edition Materese, R. (2016, December 23). Busting Myths about the Metric System. NIST. https://www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/busting-myths-about-metric-system We just learned a ton about the interior of Mars by Briana Brownell The anatomy of a planet. (2021, July 22). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/612165 Hays, B. (2021, July 23). Insight data offers clues to Mars’ deep interior, formation in solar system. UPI; UPI. https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2021/07/23/marsquakes-insight-lander/9331627055442/ NASA’s InSight Reveals the Deep Interior of Mars. (2021, July 22). Nasa.gov. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-insight-reveals-the-deep-interior-of-mars “Felt” Earthquakes = Ones That People Feel. (2018). Usgs.gov. https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hawaiian-volcano-observatory/felt-earthquakes Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day withCody Gough andAshley Hamer. Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.
Learn about the time pirates stopped the US from switching to the metric system; and new learnings about Mars’ interior.
The US once tried switching to the metric system, but got stopped by pirates by Steffie Drucker
We just learned a ton about the interior of Mars by Briana Brownell
Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.
Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/pirates-plundered-the-metric-system-what-marsquakes-teach-us
CODY: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from curiosity-dot-com. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about one of the weirdest reasons why the US doesn’t use the metric system; and what marsquakes have helped us learn about the interior of Mars.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
You might have heard that the United States is one of three countries that doesn’t use the metric system. Well, first of all, your liter of cola would like to have a word. And second, even if we do use the metric system less than other countries do, you shouldn’t blame us. You should blame PIRATES! That’s right: if it weren’t for pirates, Americans might be measuring everything in metric.
First, some myth busting: Americans do use the metric system for tons of stuff besides chemistry class. Think about it: You buy wine in 750 milliliter bottles and take medicine dosed in milligrams. All nations have adopted the metric system to some degree. It’d be more accurate to say that its use is more optional in America: the United States officially adopted the metric system in 1893, but never required anyone to use it.
But in the early days, America used a hodgepodge of measurements, which made interstate commerce chaotic. So, in the first-ever State of the Union address in 1790, George Washington tasked Congress with adopting a standard measurement system.
Then-Secretary-of-State Thomas Jefferson was a fan of France and thought they had the system the U.S. needed. So in 1794, scientist Joseph Dombey set sail from France to bring America the metric system. He brought along a meter stick and a copper cylinder called a “grave” [like “grab” with a v], which was later renamed as the kilogram.
Dombey seemed like a great messenger since he’d sailed the Atlantic before. But he was super unlucky. On previous trips to collect plant samples in South America, his collections had been seized by various governments. But this voyage turned out to be his worst. A storm knocked him off course from Philadelphia all the way down to the Caribbean — and into the clutches of British privateers, pirates employed by Great Britain to plunder enemy ships.
Dombey’s mission to bring the grave to America sent him to an early grave: He died in prison on the British-controlled island of Montserrat [MONT-sir-AT]. His ship’s contents were auctioned off and eventually reached America. But by then, Jefferson was no longer Secretary of State, and his successor didn’t have the same passion for the project.
The grave eventually fell into the hands of land surveyor Andrew Ellicott. He’s the guy who completed the design of Washington D.C. His family passed it down until 1952, when a descendant donated it to a museum. So now, the grave is finally surrounded by people who appreciate its worth. But universal adoption of the metric system in the US? Thanks to pirates, that pretty much ended up dead in the water.
NASA’s InSight mission has given scientists a treasure trove of data about Mars since it began in 2018, and that’s led to a flurry of new discoveries. One of the most recent? Some unanticipated new findings about the interior of the Red Planet — all thanks to marsquakes.
That’s right — earthquakes on Mars. One tool the InSight lander brought along to Mars was a very sensitive seismometer, which it used to collect data from over 700 marsquakes.
Marsquakes are a little different from earthquakes, though. On Earth, quakes are created by our planet’s seven large tectonic plates moving in relation to one another. But Mars has only one plate. It turns out that one plate is all it takes to make a quake.
You see, Mars is gradually losing its heat to space. As it cools, the plate shrinks, and as it shrinks, it deforms and cracks. That sends seismic shockwaves rippling through the planet.
Marsquakes are much weaker than Earth’s quakes. Most are less than magnitude 4.0 — barely enough to rattle your dishes. But even these small seismic events can give us a lot of information. That’s because as seismic waves travel through a planet, their speed and shape can help scientists figure out what the different parts of the planet are made of.
The analysis focuses on about 35 marsquakes between magnitudes 3.0 and 4.0. Using this data, scientists could reconstruct the planet’s current composition as well as its geological evolution.
The results showed a few unexpected characteristics about our neighbor planet.
Earth has a solid crust and a molten mantle, which surround an iron and nickel core. Mars has these layers too, and each of them were the subject of a deep analysis. Here’s what scientists found.
While the outer part of Earth’s core is liquid, the inner core is solid. But Mars has a completely liquid core, and it’s much larger than scientists expected. The core extends over halfway from the center. It contains nickel and iron like our core, but also lighter elements like hydrogen and oxygen. Those lighter elements are what scientists think keeps the core liquid.
Because of the relatively large size of the core, Mars has much less mantle, the liquid-rock layer between the crust and the core.
The crust is thinner than expected too. It also appears to have some additional internal structure, possibly two or three layers.
But aside from its current geology, one of the most important questions that InSight set out to settle was to understand the planet’s geological evolution. Scientists believe that Mars was completely molten at one point, but then eventually cooled into the three-part structure it now has.
Until now, we only knew about the internal structure of Earth and the Moon. But thanks to research like this, we know more about terrestrial planets. Now we can apply that knowledge to the rest of our solar system — and beyond.
Let’s recap today’s takeaways
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ASHLEY: Today’s writers were Steffie Drucker and Briana Brownell.
CODY: Our managing editor is Ashley Hamer.
ASHLEY: Our producer and audio editor is Cody Gough.
CODY: [AD LIB SOMETHING FUNNY] Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!