Just as the writing of the Constitution of the young United States of America was being completed, the French were undertaking the planning and implementation of the metric system (International System of Units—ISU). The young nation has had more than a 230-year romance with this system of measures but the marriage has never been fully consummated as the United States remains one of only three nations in the world (with Liberia and Burma [Myanmar]) that has not made the use of the metric system mandatory. This history is filled with good intentions, miscalculations, national and international politics, names from history that you heard in grade school, missed opportunities, inertia, bad intention, mendacity, and delays. Mammalogists today never consider not using the metric system in their research, but in the 19th century this was an issue to be considered. Let us explore that history.

中文翻译：

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改变哺乳动物学的创新：计量化

正当年轻的美利坚合众国的宪法起草完成之际，法国人正在着手进行公制（International System of Units-ISU）的规划和实施。这个年轻的国家已经与这种措施系统进行了 230 多年的恋情，但这种婚姻从未完全完成，因为美国仍然是世界上仅有的三个国家之一（利比里亚和缅甸 [缅甸]）没有强制使用公制。这段历史充满了善意、误判、国家和国际政治、你在小学听到的历史名字、错失的机会、惰性、恶意、谎言和拖延。今天的哺乳动物学家从不考虑在他们的研究中不使用公制，但在 19 世纪，这是一个需要考虑的问题。让我们探索这段历史。