Since 1976, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has marked the week of October 10 as Metric Week (Oct. 10 = 10/10).

This year is especially nice, with the date being 10/10/10.

Once in a great while, we get requests for 8 x 8 thin layer chromatography plates – and that’s when we are reminded that not everyone has adopted the metric system (aka “international system of units” or “SI”).

The whole concept of a decimal-based system of measurements was first proposed in 1585 by Simon Stevin in his book, “The Tenth.”

The idea has been embraced by great minds like Thomas Jefferson, and the U.S. Mint produced the world’s first decimal currency in 1792.

Click Here for more interesting facts surrounding the history of the Metric System.

Click Here for more on Metric Week from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

By the way, we won’t say anything bad about you if you order 8 x 8 plates, just don’t be surprised when you get them and they say “20 x 20” on the side of the box.