Less Than Kilogram

Radiolab

WNYC Studios

Science, Natural Sciences, History, Society & Culture, Documentary

4.6 • 43.5K Ratings

🗓️ 29 November 2024

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In today’s story, which originally aired in 2014, we meet a very special cylinder. It's the gold standard (or, in this case, the platinum-iridium standard) for measuring mass. For decades it's been coddled and cared for and treated like a tiny king. But, as we learn from writer Andrew Marantz, things change—even things that were specifically designed to stay the same. Special thanks to Ken Alder, Ari Adland, Eric Perlmutter, Terry Quinn and Richard Davis.And to the musical group, His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts, for the use of their song “Horses and Hounds.”We have some exciting news! In the “Zoozve” episode, Radiolab named its first-ever quasi-moon, and now it's your turn! Radiolab has teamed up with The International Astronomical Union to launch a global naming contest for one of Earth’s quasi-moons. This is your chance to make your mark on the heavens. Vote on your favorites soon, check here for details: https://radiolab.org/moonSign-up for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)! Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today. Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected]. Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Listener supported WNYC Studios.
0:08.3	Hey, it's Latif.
0:10.0	This is Radio Lab.
0:11.3	I'm thinking today in the aftermath of American Thanksgiving
0:14.5	about all the people who got together with their families
0:18.3	sat down for a nice little meal,
0:20.6	and then, oh, God, politics
0:23.2	came up somehow, and they found there was just something they couldn't agree on. And you can't
0:30.0	even reckon. Like, how does this other person not even understand the basic facts of the situation?
0:37.7	And so if you're leaving this holiday feeling like you need something concrete, something
0:43.4	apolitical, something objective in this moment, this episode is for you.
0:50.9	It's an episode we originally broadcast in 2014 about a project to make something
0:55.8	everlasting, something that everyone, everywhere could agree to follow. And we actually have a kind of a dramatic update at the end. So stay tuned for that. Here you are, less than kilogram.
1:12.7	Wait, wait, you're listening.
1:14.3	Okay.
1:15.5	All right.
1:16.7	Okay.
1:18.0	All right.
1:19.6	You're listening to Radio Lab.
1:22.5	Radio Lab.
1:23.0	From W-N-Y-C.
1:25.4	See?
	...

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