English/metric measurement error in the Mars Climate Orbiter

[Jon]

The Mars Climate Orbiter was not the only ship to wreck due to a measurement system error during construction.

The Vasa was a 64-gun Swedish warship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628. It was raised largely intact in 1961 and restored. It's now displayed in the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. One of the reasons it was thought to sink was the use of different measurement systems by the ship's carpenters.

No wonder the ship tipped to the port side when the winds hit. But why was the ship so lopsided? While examining the ship, Hocker discovered four rulers the workmen had used. Those rulers were based on different standards of measurement at the time. Two were in Swedish feet, which were divided into twelve inches. The other two were in Amsterdam feet, which had eleven inches in a foot. So each carpenter had used his own system of measurement.

Click on each image for the fullsize:








More:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(...ses_of_sinking
https://www.pri.org/stories/2012-02-...dish-shipwreck