SNAFU with Ed Helms Jake Johnson and the Metric Pirates
Feb 18, 2026
Jake Johnson, actor and comedian known for New Girl and voice work in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, brings off-the-cuff banter and anecdotes. The conversation dives into the Joseph Dombey Affair: a lost meter and kilogram at sea, Caribbean privateers, and how a dramatic voyage nearly derailed early U.S. metrication. Sharp, funny, and oddly suspenseful historical storytelling.
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Nature-Based Decimal Standard
- The French metric system was built on a nature-based, decimal standard intended to outlast politics and wars.
- This made it simpler and more universally consistent than patchwork local measures like feet or stones.
Dombey's Doomed Transatlantic Mission
- Joseph Dombey sailed to America carrying a standard meter rod and kilogram and suffered shipwrecks, illness, and capture.
- British privateers seized the ship and Dombey later died in captivity, while the standards vanished for a time.
Disguise, Capture, And Death In The Caribbean
- Dombey tried to hide from privateers by disguising himself as a Spanish sailor but was quickly recognized.
- He was taken to Montserrat, fell ill in custody, and died before any ransom or rescue could save him.
