World

Weight of change: Kilogram shakeup confuses netizens

A vote by scientists to redefine the kilogram in terms of universal natural constants has brought about confusion online, as people joked about metric system measurements that few seemed to fully understand.

For over 130 years, the kilogram was physically represented by one very special lump of platinum. On Friday, the General Conference on Weights and Measures voted to redefine the unit based on the amount of electric current required to counteract the mass, making the last of the International System (SI) units based on universal constants rather than physical objects.

If this feels like its going a bit over your head… youre not alone.

This means nothing to most Americans. Kilo WHAT?

— Mommy Jones (@abracadabraNY) November 16, 2018

Weight, what?

— Tom Rodgers (@TomRodgersNews) November 16, 2018

While those in the US may be confused by the term kilogram, rest assured, its all part of that pesky metric system used by the entire world (except for the US, Liberia and Myanmar, that is). The US measures for weight – Imperial pounds and ounces – remain entirely unaffected.

The vote to change the kilogram spells the demise of “Le Grand K” (the Great K), a platinum weight that has been kept in a French vault since 1889.

This is something many scientists have long advocated changing in favor of something thats more, well, scientific. So overjoyed were the scientists that a number of people reportedly burst into tears of joy when the unanimous vote came in.

Social media was awash with general weight-related puns as the news broke.

Whoa this is heavy.

— They call me Tony (@TonyNorton) November 16, 2018

How long did it take them to pound out this piece of legislation?

— Jason Ryan ? (@jasonryanradio) November 16, 2018

[insert measured reaction here]

— Matthew Chambers (@MattChambrs) November 16, 2018

Unfortunately, this doesnt mean you can expect to find yourself facing a different number when you step on the weighing scales, or that your luggage allowance will increase. The difference in what makes a kilo a kilo will not be felt by ordinary people, or drug dealers.

It also doesnt mean that theyre coming for our other SI measurements, like the kilometer (we hope). Not that this stopped many social media users from cracking jokes about miles and inches, which – in case metric users around the world are unaware – measure distance, not mass.

They should make it
1 km = 1 mile
just to make it simple.

— Snarkmaster Kush (@kushibo) November 16, 2018

America: Give the world an inch theyll take a mile.

— Ted Glover (@purplebuckeye) November 16, 2018

They're really gonna go the extra mile on this one, eh?

— Briawna Banana? (@BriawnaB) November 16, 2018

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