The Metric Marvels facts for kids
The Metric Marvels was a series of seven animated short films made in 1978 and 1979. These short cartoons featured fun songs about meters, liters, Celsius, and grams. Their main goal was to help American children learn how to use the metric system of measurement.
The same company, Newall & Yohe, that created the popular Schoolhouse Rock! series for ABC also produced The Metric Marvels. These shorts first appeared on the NBC television network in September 1978. They were shown three times every Saturday morning during the children's cartoon block throughout the 1978-79 TV season. Famous voice actors like Lynn Ahrens, Bob Dorough, Bob Kaliban, and Paul Winchell lent their voices to the characters.
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Why the Metric Marvels Were Created
In 1975, President Gerald Ford signed a law called the Metric Conversion Act. This law officially allowed the United States to start using the metric system. Before this, the U.S. mainly used its own system, called U.S. Customary units.
President Jimmy Carter, who followed Ford, began to put this law into action. He helped create the U.S. Metric Board. This group's job was to figure out how and when the U.S. would switch to metric. They suggested that the change should be voluntary and happen slowly, over at least ten years.
Helping Americans Learn Metric
As part of this slow change, the U.S. Metric Board sponsored many public service announcements (PSAs). These PSAs were shown on radio and TV to help people learn. The Metric Marvels was one of these TV PSAs. It aired during NBC's Saturday morning cartoons.
The shorts featured four animated metric superheroes:
- Meter Man
- Liter Leader
- Super Celsius
- Wonder Gram
Each superhero sang songs to teach children about the differences between the old English system and the new metric system.
What Each Episode Taught
There were seven episodes in The Metric Marvels series. Each one focused on a different part of the metric system.
- "Meet Meter Man"
- Meter Man helped people understand length and distance in metric terms.
- "Mara-Mara-Marathon"
- This episode explained the difference between miles and kilometers.
- "I'm Your Liter Leader"
- Liter Leader taught about the difference between gallons and liters.
- "Eeny, Meeny, Miney Milliliters"
- Liter Leader used recipes to explain smaller liquid amounts, like milliliters.
- "Super Celsius"
- Super Celsius explained how the Celsius temperature scale works.
- "Wonder Gram"
- Wonder Gram showed how to measure weight in grams.
- "Wonder Baby"
- A younger Wonder Gram learned how to change pounds into kilograms.
Why the Series Ended
The Metric Marvels had a similar animation style, song quality, and even some of the same voice actors as the very popular Schoolhouse Rock! on the rival network, ABC. The new president of NBC, Fred Silverman, who used to work at ABC, might have wanted to copy the success of Schoolhouse Rock!. He also brought another short cartoon series, Time for Timer, from ABC in 1978.
However, The Metric Marvels was taken off the air after just one season with seven episodes. Unlike Schoolhouse Rock!, it wasn't shown in reruns. Also, at that time, NBC was the third most-watched TV network.
Ultimately, Americans did not fully switch to the metric system. Governments did not require the metric system for things like road signs. This might have made people less likely to adopt it. The United States Metric Board was closed down in 1982 by President Ronald Reagan. Using the metric system wasn't a big government priority again until 1991.
Images for kids
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The Metric Marvels, from left to right: Meter Man, Liter Leader, Wonder Gram and Super Celsius
