Hello and welcome to Morales with me, Lizzie McNeil.

This week we're going to start off with a question.

Shout out if you know the answer.

Why would you have to travel more leagues from Bus to Povance,

than from Povance to Bus in medieval France?

Did you get the answer?

Well, it's because at that time France did not have a unified system of measurement,

which meant that places like Bus measured a league as 3.2 kilometres,

whereas Povance said a league equaled 5.8 kilometres.

This wasn't just limited to distance,

and some experts estimate that at the start of the French Revolution,

there were up to a quarter of a million different units of measurements

being used across France with varying levels of accuracy.

In the late 18th century, a group of French scientists

led by Antoine Laurent La Boissier,

were commissioned to create a unified and defined set of measurements,

included in these was the kilogram.

Defined as equal to the mass of 1 liter of water at maximum density,

that's a liter of water chilled to 4 Celsius.

In 1795, the court goldsmith made a cylinder out of platinum

that was equal to this mass.

By now, the French Revolution was in full swing.

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