Adam Savage Meets an Official Standard Yard!

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Before we departed from our amazing visit to The Royal Society, Library Manager Rupert Baker brings out one final object for Adam to examine: an official copy of the Standard Yard, constructed and recognized in 1853. With Adam's recent obsession with metrology and the science of comparative measurement, he couldn't have been happier to check out and hold this incredible artifact!
Thanks to Brady Haran for bringing us to The Royal Society! You can find his Objectivity videos at / objectivityvideos
Shot and edited by Joey Fameli
Music by Jinglepunks
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Intro bumper by Abe Dieckman
Thanks for watching!

[@tested]

Thanks to Brady Haran for bringing us to The Royal Society! You can find his Objectivity videos at kzbin.info

[@doberski6855]

As of 01/13/2023 one ounce of platinum was going for $1063.00.(U.S. dollars) I sure Adam and Mr. Haran were never tempted.🤣

[@gothnate]

I wish we knew how much the yard weighed.

[@19TheChaosWarrior79]

As someone who lives in England our hybrid way of using metric and imperial is mind blowing. I worked for years selling building materials and the old boys who had young apprentices would still insist in talking feet and inches and hundred weights and yet all the timber and aggregates etc was sold in metric units. I had to convert in my head. When came to fractions on an inch I gave up. I knew plywood came in 3/4 inch which was actually 18mm and so forth but the old boys asking for drill bits in imperial were not entertained. This practice still continues to this day as its been passed on.

[@kyleb9281]

The mint doesn’t standardize the coinage that was don’t by the goldsmiths guild, at the trial of pyx, which is still held annually to this day

[@adamtinweb]

Adam , you need a yard tattoo on your leg...

[@jasonmccall3950]

I think I would genuinely enjoy an episode involving Adam Savage and Tom Scott together. This is very much so something he would educate his crowd about.

[@markw031]

Yes! I’d love to see that too 😃

[@jomogo4644]

I think he already did a video on this but they should definitely meet up.

[@Baaadam]

Yy

[@ausername7470]

Oh it would be a great video just off the duality alone

[@jckatz]

If they haven't done an episode of lateral together they should.

[@zachmoyer1849]

the fact Adam didn't take a tape measure to it blows my mind and the troy lb. of platinum is worth 12,970 usd

[@dorhocyn3]

You’d have to cut a lot of catalytic converters off of cars to get that much. According to my calculations, about 150 …..

[@derpderpin1568]

​@@dorhocyn3 150 doesn't even seem like that many for people these days, at least around here. We're at the point where we need to develop a locking cage to put around them.

[@blindleader42]

I was screaming (in my mind, at least) the whole time: Where's your tape measure, Adam? He could also have rolled up his left sleeve and measured close enough to determining that the standard was the overall length of the bar

[@zachmoyer1849]

@@blindleader42 would have been awesome if the tape measure was off too was my thinking lol

[@tomholroyd7519]

Would have been fun to see a balance scale comparison

[@mikekelly7862]

The fact that it was the curator's first time actually opening it and handling it as well makes this even cooler! Genuine excitement and discovery from both of you.

[@emmajacobs5575]

I wonder if there are instructions for handling it? This didn’t look like that!

[@goffe2282]

Imagine if it had been empty :)

[@philipnoble1429]

I was surprised they didn't have someone who had handled it before, also how near, too near, the edge of the table it was!

[@benwasserman8223]

Adam always looks like a kid in a candy store and we love him for it.

[@terrylong8894]

Adam is like a nine year old with adult money.

[@bigshmoke9653]

I hate him

[@matthewhinton8528]

He’s literally amazing for that

[@terrylong8894]

@@matthewhinton8528 I know, that’s why I love him.

[@christopherdean1326]

I love the genuine enthusiasm he has for...........everything!

[@dteed6282]

Adam's fascination with precision, history and physics explains his entire life trajectory.

[@chrisjohannes179]

And oddly he's not a perfectionist in the traditional sense of the word.

[@pvic6959]

explains his entire life trajectory... with perfect precision and accuracy ;)

[@HaloBoy11782]

@@chrisjohannes179 Pretty impressive tbh. Hes able to be fascinated by perfection without obsessing over it. At least openly 😂

[@86fifty]

I love that the title is that Adam "meets" it, like it's a person in its own right! That's a sweet way to refer to objects with so much importance placed on them. It feels more natural when it's the NCC-1701 Enterprise ship model or some costumes/outfits like the Space Suits, which are human-shaped. But to use it for even units of measurement! It's lowkey adorable, i think :)

[@laminatedsamurai]

If I remember correctly, the standard was not the length of the bar, itself, but the distance between two metal studs placed at each end of the bar, which is what those two holes would be for as both a marker and a mounting point.

[@loupgarou-dj3tm]

I make standards and checking fixtures, and that's how we do it now. You use a "tooling ball" which is a dowel pin with a chrome steel ball glued on top, and we put a bolt-on cover over the hole when not in use. That bar's bigger now than before they handled it, too.

[@wobblysauce]

Yep, country v country, then to small divisions of governing to having a scale come by every once and a while to make sure you are in spec.

[@bigfun4212]

What’s in the paper? It’s likely to hold the answer.

[@mangofpv9324]

@@loupgarou-dj3tm bigger? Does taking it out distort it somehow?

[@loupgarou-dj3tm]

@@mangofpv9324 - The heat from their hands makes the metal expand. It sounds stupid, but that sort of thing is measurable. That's why standard lengths are defined by things like multiples of light wavelengths now instead of physical objects. Especially in the days before air conditioning, the standard was constantly changing size.

[@bentleyoakguy]

OK Adam, out of all the things you’ve done this one by far I think is my favorite. The mechanical engineer inside of me is going bananas right now.

[@Outland9000]

I'm with you there. Recently another KZbinr (I forget who) did a video on how very _very_ small things get weighed. It was fascinating. *edit* I remember now. It was 'Veritasium - How To Measure The Tiniest Forces In The Universe'.

[@84com83]

How much does a banana weigh?

[@Outland9000]

@@84com83 About tree-fiddy.

[@Jabberwok28]

So is the carpenter in me.

[@flamekaizer8476]

This is like finding *The* Room for Room temperature

[@cornholeyoursister]

I love how when the standard yard was removed from it's enclosure, a debate took place as to what two points on the block one is supposed to reference from.

[@robertbackhaus8911]

And they didn't pull out a cheap tape measure to make sure [sob']

[@davidcurrie6093]

For those wondering what the two holes are, at 2:04 you can notice Adam take out two circle pieces and put them beside the screws. These would be fit into the two holes at either end and they would then have lines on them and the distance between the two lines is the yard.

[@jjw6342]

David Currie: you may be correct but if your able to slide a pin into a hole then there is a measurable distance between the pin and hole. There for the distance between the lines on the pins would not be a standard length.

[@davidcurrie6093]

@@jjw6342 Depends on the tolerances of the pins. If they fit nearly perfectly (which they probably did) then you still would have a standard length. Yeah it might be slightly changing, but thats the best they could do at the time. If you look at the wiki on it they show the US copy of the British in the second image en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yard

[@Scrizati]

I think the "1th" is actually the symbol "1℔" which is the symbol for "libra pondo" or pounds and is believed to be one of the possible origins for the # symbol also

[@dwarftoad]

yes, like "lb."

[@hollismallory2757]

Damn… cool

[@zukethegooch]

Adam: “It’s heavy as f……….all get out. “ 😂

[@AndrewHadro]

There is a museum in Paris that has dozens of things like this - Musée des Arts et Métiers. Its inside an old abbey and has thousands of early industrial relics, tools, engines.. anyone interested in the history of science and measurement can spend hours there.

[@michaelripley4528]

You NEED to make a perfect yard Adam… with box and everything ! Hope you Got all details from the inside stuff😅!

[@anon_y_mousse]

Yes, he definitely needs to go over the process and demonstrate the precision.

[@elbowache]

Hmm. How long do you reckon it was though.

[@michaelripley4528]

@@elbowache 🤣 36 inches 0.9144 meters 🤷🏼‍♂️ I ment the detalis from the box and stuff inside….

[@Venthe]

And knowing Adam, he would be miraculously off, ranting about measuring twice cutting once

[@subliminalvibes]

Adam's love for standards and high precision analogue devices is brilliant. Rupert was very informative given Keith's absence.

[@loganl3746]

Tom Scott has a video about this! It took them that long to make a new one cuz the backup they had written as law was to base the measurement on the amount of swing of a certain pendulum for a certain length of time. They realized some time later that it wasn't as accurate as they initially thought, so they made the new one

[@fewwiggle]

Hmmmm, that seems unlikely -- how could you accurately turn the swing of the pendulum into a length of rod? Or, are you referring to one of the weights?

[@lkruijsw]

@@fewwiggle The period of the pendulum depends on the length of the rod and the gravity, not the weight. So, if you have another way to measure time and gravity is stable (which isn't) you can define the length.

[@fewwiggle]

@@lkruijsw Ahhh, thank you!!! But, certainly the uncertainties of mounting a 'standard' rod as a pendulum must have made that a very iffy way to derive 'true' length. Not to mention, I think you are stuck with the rod you have made as the 'standard' regardless what the pendulum tells you.

[@2adamast]

The original meter 0.997m did beat the second exactly

[@fewwiggle]

@@2adamast But, were all the surfaces/corners of the the rod square? :-) BTW, 3 millimeter from true 1 m (assuming that was the last digit of the pendulum measurement) doesn't scream 'precision' to me.

[@daveco1270]

The containers were impressive. The pound with the little shot glass style cover was cool. I'm sure Adam got a few ideas for future trinket holders. (For him it's all about the presentation.)

[@JFREE360]

I’ve been a fan of Adam’s for a long time and I’ll never tire of his genuine excitement when he encounters a unique treasure like this. It’s like watching a child open a gift on Christmas morning, but better because I don’t like children.

[@gregorysharp]

Videos always end with Adam having won his guest over with his charm and intellect. People always end up looking so happy to have met Adam. ❤

[@zounds010]

If you're in London, the Royal Observatory in Greenwich is worth a visit. In addition to the whole 'prime meridian' story and the history of accurate timekeeping, they have a set of length standards encased in the wall next to the main gate.

[@21jlxi]

I went there in the early 90s (I'm from NZ) and it was so fascinating. So much history all around there, even the first chronometers if I'm not mistaken. I'd go back there in a heart beat and probably spend 3 days wondering around.

[@CosmicBob11]

Saw this on Objectivity a while back. Recognized it in the thumbnail immediately. Great to see Adam appreciating the history of the Royal Society.

[@michaelrabon1189]

Just imagining Adam pitching this idea to the team. "Guys, I want to go to London" "Oh nice! Are you going to talk about the architecture there? Or the history of the castles and their construction?" "No no, you see, there's this yard stick." "Whoa! That's-... wait, yard stick?"

[@SimonAmazingClarke]

On the side of the old police station in Ulverston, Cumbria, UK, there is an old standard measure of a yard. I assume that most towns had one of these. If you compare the standard measure against yours, you can see how fare you are being to your customers. Less short selling with these sorts of measures.

[@marvindebot3264]

Indeed, every town had one. Several secondary standard yards were checked against the one Adam has just inspected and these were in turn used to quantify the yard marker in every town.

[@dh2032]

the where all over the place, mostly in the open, any any one take a section of wood or what ever, and trim it to fit between sticking out pegs, and make their own one yard stick (FREE), you splie the wood, most of the one I've seen, do at least 3 type of measurement, size, one will be foot (12 inches) and something else in-between the two sizes ?

[@fredygump5578]

I'm wondering of "Scotland Yard" was originally a weights and measures outfit...

[@petergamache5368]

@@fredygump5578 No - rather than putting one in each police yard, the thrifty Scots made due with one standard for the whole country!

[@robertbackhaus8911]

@@fredygump5578 No, 'yard' is another term for a street or 'square', similar to 'courtyard'. "Scotland Yard' was the place in London where the investigative branch of the police forces were set up.

[@milk-it]

This stuff is mental. I've seen a few episodes of yours on metrology, and this goes right to the heart of it. Someone, at sometime sat down and said: "This is a yard." and: "This is a pound". Awesome stuff!

[@dcallan812]

I worked for a company in London the calibrated equipment for anyone who wanted (and could afford)something calibrated to a specific range. In the building was a big mostly glass box that was kept at the same temperature and humidity 24x7 365. Really was interesting what went into keeping the standards in the physical condition they were calibrated in. Nice video 2x👍

[@TheVagolfer]

Rupert has a wonderful voice.

[@Sumaleth]

Question for your next Q&A video: have you seen any projects from Jamie's shop since Mythbusters ended that inspired you or that you thought were cool?

[@CrowArchLane]

Damn Adam's really moving into Objectivity's thing! It's great to have more RS content

[@alwaysfallingshort]

Adam I'm just so happy you and Tested found eachother. No one else feels right in my wheelhouse with content. I watch almost every video on this channel. Nobody else would go into just as much but not more detail than I'd like. What a treat this video, and all of your videos are.

[@ZachsMind]

I clicked on this one out of boredom and then caught myself NOT ACTUALLY BREATHING at least three times while watching it. Fascinating in such a mundane way. This is history staring back at us. An attempt to make a variable constant for humanity's purposes. In the universal scheme of things where we deal with the micro world and the astronomical, one would think this is unimportant, but we take these forms of measurement so for granted every day and there IS a place on Earth where our species agreed upon standards are housed and protected. Fascinating.

[@tested]

Thanks for the kind comment. So glad it delivered for you!

[@LoralCrowned]

1:18 Yes! Thank you, good sir. I will be watching.

[@Squids97]

so wholesome seeing Adam so fascinated by what is essentially just a stick

[@tvctun111]

Adam I love that your desire to learn understand new and old is equal to your desire to create. Thanks for entertaining and more importantly educating us for all these years.

[@larrystrayer8336]

The progression of our measuring and weighing system’s history is absolutely fascinating. This is such a treat for me to see and the date it was set as the standard. Thanks Adam.

[@MoZz..]

i could listen to this for hours, its so calming and relaxed sounds and just the white gloves and light touches makes me sleepy, i love it :D

[@Trying2show]

ASMR at its finest lol

[@MrDavidlfields]

Working in n weights & measures is interesting. It is sometimes frustrating that society, at large, have no idea the function they play in commerce. Every time you weight an apple in the store, the scale has been calibrated using standards that are calibrated against official standards like the ones in this clip.

[@Digital-Dan]

Fortunately for us, the yard is now determined as some fraction of a meter, which is determined from physical properties of nature. These devices are no longer part of the official measurement chain, so handling them as museum objects is appropriate.

[@dstrome]

@@Digital-Dan Interestingly enough, length and mass are no longer defined by physical objects but by calculations on natural physical constants such as the speed of light, the Plank constant, wavelength of radiation, etc. They found that the replicas of the reference kilogram when brought together were varying over time and they didn't actually know the correct weight anymore.

[@MrDavidlfields]

@@Digital-Dan Mass and volume standards are absolutely used in part of the official measurement chain. Internationally and within the United States, physical standards are used for the calibration of Fule delivery systems and commercial scales. In the US, the National Institue of Standards and Technology (NIST) still requires metrology labs use physical standards. Even with Mass being tied to a constant, a physical standard is used for the day-to-day determination of compliance with commercial weights and measures laws. States still use a known standard for calibrating their inspector's tape measures. Thes historic models are amazing artifacts but the concepts they represent are fard from anacronistic.

[@1pcfred]

Traceable standards are relatively rare. Close enough is good enough in most circumstances.

[@MrDavidlfields]

@@1pcfred every grocery store in the United States that sells produce or meat by weight must be calibrated using physical standards that have been calibrated against standards in a certified lab. Railroads, trucking companies, gas stations, and many more places are calibrated using traceable standards which are routinely calibrated in state labs against physical standards. Technicians must have a certification for That calibration system f challenged by a state weights and measures inspector. Far less rare than one might thing. And “close enough” is a great way to have state inspectors condemn a device and issue a fine.

[@sodabru1764]

These short format videos are actually really great! Thanks Adam, this was some fun learning in 7min.

[@phyenthesky430]

I love the bowing of the book shelves in the background

[@aggonzalezdc]

You asked what they were used for, my understanding was that these standards were used to create other standards, which could then be taken out to test scales or other measuring devices to test or calibrate them, much like they are today, but I don't have a source for that.

[@greggv8]

That is exactly what they were used for, to ensure that the lengths and weights of various rules and balance scale weights used by businesses to measure things like fabric yardage and pounds of meat were accurate so buyers weren't getting shorted. It also ensured that buildings would be built accurately when carpenters, stonemasons, and bricklayers were all using identically accurate measuring tools. The standards were kept as close as could be to 68.1F or 20C when using them to gauge the accuracy of the secondary versions used to test and calibrate the ones actually made for use by businesses and people. A company making wooden yardsticks likely had a yard standard rod that was made to match one of the copies directly compared to one of the Standard Yards. A company that made precision measuring instruments or manufacturing machinery and tooling would might own a set of standards that were directly compared to The Standards. Others have commented that many cities and villages had a set of length standards mounted somewhere in or near their market square or business district so that if anyone had a complaint about the yardsticks and rulers used by a store they could be compared to the public standards. One could also use them to cut a stick to accurate enough length to measure out feet or yards of things like fabric or rope.

[@leemclemore4370]

Very cool! I would love to see more videos like this!

[@denisemcdougal6445]

Me too

[@danielingraham7880]

I deeply adore this. The Royal Society has been a fascination of mine for a long while and this is basically an ideal mashup.

[@drumphil21]

That was awesome! I am also fascinated by these!! Thank you for sharing this with us!

[@OakHollowGarage]

Roughly $12,800 for the platinum. Also, I love how Adam is more impressed by the boxes than the actual standard measurements.

[@PhthaloType]

I get that... I totally have a "thing" for Victorian-era design and craftsmanship.

[@glockparaastra]

Need to stretch that out ever so slightly to 1m!!

[@Vormulac1]

I just love a video that features such glorious, beautiful and historic *things*. Wonderful.

[@Eluderatnight]

Manual metrology is a nerdy pleasure of mine. Its amazing how many decimal places we can measure to with the right tool. Flatness and roundness are two things we literally take for granted.

[@andybrown4284]

The material its made from I think would have been picked to ensure the least amount of expansion and contraction from variations in temperature since it will predate the temperature controlled rooms we have today. For an example when Guy Martin machined a part for a vulcan bomber restoration simply by handling it the bolt expanded beyond the diameter of the hole but was actually ok. Similar reason for the glass over and under the weights and in a material that's not likely to lose or gain weight from reacting to the environment that its in. Weights and measures were being standardised back before the roman empire, although almost certainly not the modern pounds or kilos.

[@tomtheplummer7322]

....also corrosion resistance. 😉👍🏻👌🏻🤔🧐

[@bigsarge2085]

Incredible experience!

[@dannyjepp985]

I enjoyed that it was both their first time opening such a wonderful object. There's something lovely about two people who sincerely appreciate the history of objects sharing in an experience for the first time.

[@ianyboo]

The genuine discovery of something new is definitely cool to watch, I just wish there had been a third person there who was an expert that could have answered the questions with a little more certainty.

[@willowmoon7]

The elaborate storage for these is so fascinating to me

[@user-tb5ns7hc5i]

I would have instantly pulled out a tape measure to check it. Lol.

[@aserta]

So... are you going to replicate this or not? Because this is such an YOU item to have in your collection.

[@donaldasayers]

If you support the bar in the middle the ends will sag and if you support it at the ends the middle will sag, in both cases of course the distance between the ends changes but worse the ends are no longer parallel to be used to gauge against. George Biddle Airy calculated the best places to support the bar to minimise the change in length due to sag and so that any sag leaves the ends still parallel. These two points are called Airy points. There are good reasons why two point suspension is a good idea. These points are also good places to put two brackets for a book shelf, though Bessel and others would argue otherwise. See Wiki for Airy points.

[@mph8200]

I love how Rupert buzzed off how much you dug the stuff as much as you buzzed off diggin the stuff. Nice. Makes me smiley :D Ty

[@mog398]

I love that as a planet we've decided that Adam Savage has done enough for humanity that he's perfectly welcome to touch all of our historical googahs and nicknacks

[@bojow8102]

"It's heavy as F...., all get out." 😆😆😆😆

[@petat13]

That was absolutely fascinating! Thank you for showing us the true “yardstick”.

[@markstanden202]

Standardization is fascinating once you start to delve. I have a copper Hydrometer from my dad's estate; used for measuring alcohol by volume in liquors and spirits. It came with a complex look up table, which I have somewhere.. beautiful thing to look at... :)

[@marvintpandroid2213]

The platinum in that standard pound is worth £10,676 or $12,083 as of time of posting.

[@tripwire76]

quite an expensive paperweight

[@marvindebot3264]

@@tripwire76 One very cool paperweight tho!

[@RyanConnell5150]

Platinum is measured in troy ounces not standard ounces. The current rate is $1,063 per troy ounce. There are 12 troy ounces in a troy pound. $1,063 × 12 =$12,576 (£10,451.76)

[@marvintpandroid2213]

@@RyanConnell5150 That was a standard bound, not a troy pound but our prices are close enough as to make no significant difference because of the fluctuations in the value of platinum.

[@tomhorsley6566]

Next one day build: Adam builds his own Kibble Balance for measuring standard mass precisely :-).

[@CarbsLVR]

He could team up with the ElectoBoom guy.

[@Cipirano]

2:50 you can hear the soft F clearly, I love it how Adam saves it clean :D

[@tommygun83]

2:50 "it's heavy as ffff... all get out" Adam nearly had a Freudian slip 😳🤣🤣🤣

[@chiefsilverback]

I've really liked the stark contrast between the Adam's videos from the Smithsonian where he isn't allowed to touch anything even though the subjects of his videos are sometimes less than 50 years old vs the Royal Society where artefacts are getting on for 200 years old or more and he's allowed to pick them up, inspect them etc...

[@RC-1290]

Missed opportunity to call it: Adam Savage unboxes an Official Standard Yard!

[@1pcfred]

That's not a standard yard. Standard would not come into being for another 60 years. That's an Imperial yard. We do not use Imperial length measures today. Today we use standard. If an inch is precisely 2.54 cm then it is a standard inch. The old Imperial inch was slightly shorter than that. Not enough that you'd notice. Which is why people confuse standard with Imperial now.

[@brennyn]

@@1pcfred Adam Savage unboxes a non-standard standard

[@harrier331]

@@1pcfred It is not the standard for "standard" it is the standard for an imperial yard, he was correct in his comment.

[@1pcfred]

@@harrier331 right. It is, "a standard" but not a, "Standard standard".

[@1pcfred]

@@brennyn it is an Imperial standard. Or most of one.

[@allglorytogod12]

I normally hate unboxing videos but this is a type I can appreciate.

[@appalachianunderground8474]

This is outstanding…a really special video that you have shared with us , thank you so very much. I enjoy your channel as a whole but WOW ! This really stands out.

[@GIBBO4182]

You should try and find, and drink if you dare, a yard of ale!

[@zachmoyer1849]

mate not a problem

[@alanlansdell7533]

For the purposes of record breaking Guinness list it as only 2.5 pints. That's not even a warm up drink 🙂

[@freman]

Ah now these people are smart, they know Adam is tactile and will touch everything, they gave him gloves right off the bat - prop store should pay attention :D

[@peckenstein]

This was fasinating! Holding them would have be so cool.

[@glennmorganfan9411]

The milling, and shaping, and containments on all these things is just so wonderful and a delight to see even for my NON engineering heart.

[@TheStockwell]

So, the nation which went metric in 1965 preserves the defining artifacts of the imperial system the US is still stuck with? There's your daily dose of irony, folks! 😸

[@TwatMcGee]

actually, the us system is defined by metric measurements.1 pounds is officially 0.45359237 kg

[@Normal1855]

Stuck with? We're not stuck with it.

[@chubbysumo2230]

You have to remember, at least in the case of the standard yard and the troy pound, the UK has used miles, which is officially 1760 yards. The troy pound is still used today, to measure precious metals, more commonly in ounces, but the troy pound could be useful to calibrate your Oz measurement, as there is 12oz to a troy pound. We still use both of these measurements today, even in Europe where they have the metric system as standard, may still use miles and ounces.

[@bgezal]

Veritasium at NIST 2017 kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZ62e4t5a8Skh5o

[@owensparks5013]

Viewing America as a country seems strange. On one hand, there are reusable spaceships. On the other hand, there are units of measurement from the steam age.

[@gilliansheppard5383]

I love this style of video ! I would like to see see more old shenanigans and old stuff like that.

[@TheRealDoctorBonkus]

Go watch Brady Haran's objectivity!

[@tinjoesstation]

Amazing! Such a treat to see!

[@jbrnds]

He needs to come to the tyler museum in Haarlem The Netherlands. He will feel in absolute heaven.

[@lkruijsw]

Teylers

[@PhaseFroZen]

Adam is so awesome! i am honored to meet him at a comic con! truly an experience!

[@OnceShy_TwiceBitten]

I love it being more of a discovery makes this a much more fun video.

[@markholub97]

I look forward to you building a similar box Adam. Every build is an adventure with you.

[@chucknorris277]

Most ridiculously over complicated box ever lmfao

[@danfogarty5114]

As someone who works in metrology, this is fantastic

[@joseesparza4133]

Precision is an absolutely amazing thing.

[@stewartross1233]

Excellent video and subject, more please!

[@martinmolloy3544]

The original Yard Stick. Love it

[@lorenmars5244]

Really not a super exciting subject to most people but, I share Adam's enthusiasm for anything curated and curious.

[@nareik8017]

It's usefulness to value ratio is amazing

[@rauna47]

To see a successful adult geeking out on mundane stuff is actually very entertaining. Because of their appreciation of said mundane object.

[@Eragon7331]

For your question about the usecase: They are used to verify other standard units of lesser quality. The ones used by merchants were quite inaccurate, but did not require much care. They were calibrated by a set of higher quality ones used by the goverment, which in turn were verified by even better ones used for high precision meassurements for science and regulations, which were verified by even better ones, and so on until you reach the ultimate primary yard/pound showed in this clip. The many steps were needed, because the weights were drifting quite a lot if used even rarely. These ones are probably quite off from the modern definition because they degrade, but also the imperial system is now a derivative of the metric system. We also now use constants of nature to define our base units, so we luckily no longer have to deal with these Standard Units. Nonetheless super interisting topic and nice to see them. Also no one realy knows exactly why these Standard Units drift so much.

[@KOna115]

Adam Savage nerding out on a metal rod is probably my new favorite thing

[@highpath4776]

have you visited "The Kirkaldy Testing Museum in Southwark, south London, England, in David Kirkaldy's former testing works. It houses Kirkaldy's huge testing machine, and many smaller more modern machines. It is open on the first Sunday of each month. The building at 99 Southwark Street became a listed building in 1971, and was promoted to Grade II* in June 2014."

[@Paul-blart42345]

In some places in the UK there’s a monument usually in a town square where there are public references for the yard and so on. Some are still around to this day. They probably made the yard stick/block. And went around copying it to public spaces so the masses could copy it for themselves and make measurements for everyone much much easier. Kinda world changing stuff I can’t lie

[@brsnow225]

Geeked out to this for sure…hand crafted box, multi point articulated roller cradle just for storage……..nom nom nom

[@JohnMiller-te4ov]

About 14000 worth of platinum. Priceless in reality

[@Melikefire18]

Totally geeked over this.

[@boriss.861]

Adam Thank you and to the Royal Society for this incite into those hollowed portals!

[@DouglasLambert]

I can't wait for Objectivity's One Day Build

[@timothy4664]

I love those official standards and weights.

[@Ivan-dk2uf]

Rupert is the kind of man id want to see in a library. Seems like he has an absolute wealth of knowledge

[@jeromethiel4323]

Extremely accurate measurements are all referenced back to a prime standard. So if you want to check the inch measurement of a ruler, for example, you'd check it against a reference inch, and that reference inch would compare back to another reference, and so on until you get to the prime measurement. And the prime standard is engineered to be something that is very hard to change. Which is why a lot of prime standards are based on things that are intrinsic and as immutable as we can get. Fascinating subject.

[@hullinstruments]

Please please please for the love of God.....more information and documentation regarding the containers/fixtures that hold the primary sources. I have a small business and humble laboratory focused on component-level board repair, troubleshooting, and I specialize in metrology and test equipment related work. So I've seen and been around some incredibly interesting primary sources and built up a pretty good "source library" in my own lab. The incredible amount of thought and engineering that went into these containers shown in your video is just absolutely incredible. Would love to see someone make reproductions of not only the check sources themselves... But also the containers and fixtures.

[@jeffreyhaines]

Fascinating!