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Article: Metre reading.(France celebrates the 200th anniversary of the creation of the meter and metric system)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- January 22, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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DESPITE some French-inspired rumours to the contrary, the metre is not a divine creation. It was created by man, by Frenchmen to be precise, just 200 years ago. And France is celebrating the fact.
The diaries of Jean-Baptiste Delambre and Pierre Mechain, two late 18th-century astronomers who spent seven years trekking across France in order to measure the first metre, are the inspiration for a new play by Jean-Claude Bastos. "Les Mots du Metre" will be playing in Paris, Barcelona and a number of other towns from March this year. Meanwhile, the route that the two men followed is being opened up to hikers. New trails are being created and existing ones re-routed.
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