Claim: In the 1790s, piracy of a ship carrying metric standards intended for then-U.S. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson played a role in America's decision to not adopt the metric system.
Fact-check: Are Pirates Who Hijacked Measuring Tools Intended for Thomas Jefferson the Reason US Isn't Metric?
Verdict: false
Organisation: Snopes
Author: Alex Kasprak
Date published: 2023-08-06T15:00:01