Linda Anderman

STAFF REPORT

Almost 40 years ago, the U.S. Metric Board’s funding was pulled under the Reagan administration. In 1975, the metric system legislation failed and later the Government Accountability Office reported that basically implementing the metric system wasn’t necessary but voluntary.

So, people moved on. However, there are public figures and individuals who are working to keep the need for the metric system in people’s awareness. Los Alamos resident Linda Anderman is one of those individuals.

She has worked for 10 years to get a discussion at the federal level going regarding the metric system and the need to implement fully in the U.S. Recently, she decided to honor those who also have championed the metric system by sending them awards, which Anderman titled “More Than 1.6 kilometers Ahead”.

The recipients are Stephen Colbert and staff of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and the production staff of The Simpsons.

“After working on this project for more than a decade I realized that the countless mentions these shows have made will continue to be part of our public history on this topic,” Anderman told the Los Alamos Daily Post. “And, given that I’m giving this project until 2023 to get some attention, it might be my only opportunity to say ‘Thanks’ for what these folks have done to bring attention to our ridiculousness.”

For instance, The Simpsons created a little ditty in its season 6, episode 12, titled “Homer the Great”.

The song goes:

Who controls the British Crown?
Who keeps the metric system down?
We do, we do
Who keeps Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the Martians under wraps?
We do, we do…

Stephen Colbert also has referenced the metric system in his shows from his Comedy Central days, right up to the present.

While it is uncertain whether the metric system will ever earn a discussion on the national level, Anderman said she wanted to pay tribute to those who have helped keep the metric system in the spotlight.

To learn more about Anderman’s efforts with the metric system, visit her blog, More Than A Mile Behind: America and the Metric System

Los Alamos resident Linda Anderman commissioned two plaques to be given to the teams behind The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Simpsons to honor their work promoting the metric system. Courtesy photo