--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The most lasting and universal…" description: "\"The most lasting and universal consequence of the French revolution is the metric system\" — Eric Hobsbawm" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc7/eric-hobsbawm-20660_consequence_the-most-lasting-and-universal-consequen_2133779.jpg" --- # The most lasting and universal consequence of the French… ![“The most lasting and universal consequence of the French revolution is the metric system” quote by Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc7/eric-hobsbawm-20660_consequence_the-most-lasting-and-universal-consequen_2133779.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc7/eric-hobsbawm-20660_consequence_the-most-lasting-and-universal-consequen_2133779.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc7/eric-hobsbawm-20660_consequence_the-most-lasting-and-universal-consequen_2133779.jpg) > “The most lasting and universal consequence of the French revolution is the metric system” [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The French Revolution’s biggest lasting impact is the universal metric system. **In simple terms:** Metric system is its biggest legacy. Key Takeaway Recognize enduring reforms. Themes science standardization political change Mood analytical educational Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - education - policy making - international commerce Key Concepts measurement global trade Questions to Reflect On - How do standards affect daily life? - What other revolutions left lasting tools? A Different Perspective Other reforms also reshaped societies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [French revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/french-revolution/) [Metric system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metric-system/) [Metrics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metrics/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) ## Related quotes > [I don't understand why a 40 is a quarter of beer when a 40 is 40 ounces. It's time to embrace the metric system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/i-don-t-understand-why-a-40-is-a-quarter-of-beer-when-a-40-is-40/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [Nobody in the United States knows what either a "meter" or a "kilogram" is. The whole reason why we fought the Cold War was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/nobody-in-the-united-states-knows-what-either-a-meter-or-a-kilogram/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [God invented man, and man invented the metric system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/god-invented-man-and-man-invented-the-metric-system/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [ In the heavens we discover \[stars\] by their light, and by their light alone ... the sole evidence of the existence of these distant… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/in-the-heavens-we-discover-stars-by-their-light-and-by-their-light/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [If God had wanted us to use the metric system, Jesus would have had 10 apostles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-helms/if-god-had-wanted-us-to-use-the-metric-system-jesus-would-have-had-10/) [Jesse Helms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-helms/) > [Of course Evil's afoot. If it had switched to the metric system it'd be up to a meter by now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/of-course-evil-s-afoot-if-it-had-switched-to-the-metric-system-it-d/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [If god had meant us to use the metric system he would have given us ten finger and ten toes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-stone/if-god-had-meant-us-to-use-the-metric-system-he-would-have-given-us/) [Judith Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-stone/) > [The metric system was designed to get people to enter charity runs.Do you think you would go run a 3.1 mile race? No, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/the-metric-system-was-designed-to-get-people-to-enter-charity-runs-do/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [There was a sound like a human yawn, and then the skull turned slightly toward me and asked, "What's up, boss?" "Evil's afoot." 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I'm not sure whether this means the actual women weighed 63 kg or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/the-weightlifting-competition-i-saw-was-the-women-s-63-kg-class-i-m/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [I'm not familiar with the metric system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patton-oswalt/i-m-not-familiar-with-the-metric-system/) [Patton Oswalt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patton-oswalt/) > [“The metric system did not really catch on in the States, unless you count the increasing popularity of the nine-millimeter bullet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/the-metric-system-did-not-really-catch-on-in-the-states-unless-you/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [“Money is just like the metric system: you work more, you earn more and there’s always an extra zero to be added. It’s only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luca-pesaro/money-is-just-like-the-metric-system-you-work-more-you-earn-more-and/) Luca Pesaro ## More by Eric Hobsbawm > [All professionals, whether physicists, economists or musicians, live by and for peer judgment, even when they are being paid by people who cannot tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/all-professionals-whether-physicists-economists-or-musicians-live-by/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [Many years later, another Marxian rephrased this as the choice between socialism and barbarity. Which of these will prevail is a question which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/many-years-later-another-marxian-rephrased-this-as-the-choice-between/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [N. S. Khrushchev established his supremacy in the U.S.S.R. after post-Stalinist alarums and excursions (1958-64). 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And the second rule is this - you are the only one responsible for your own actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/actions-have-consequences-first-rule-of-life-and-the-second-rule-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Cultivate the habit of thinking ahead, and of anticipating the necessary and immediate consequences of all your actions… Likewise in your pleasures, ask yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/cultivate-the-habit-of-thinking-ahead-and-of-anticipating-the/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [There is no silver bullet. 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