May 20 is Weights and Measures Day
The BIPM (Bureau international des poids et mesures) was created on 20 May 1875, when 17 countries signedThe Treaty of the Metre. The treaty also set up an institute for the purpose of coordinating international metrology and for coordinating the development of the metric system.
The French government gifted the BIMP the Pavillon de Bretuil a 2.52 ha (6.2 acres) tract of land near Paris, where it enjoys extraterritorial status. Housed in the Pavillon you will find the international standard kilogram and the international standard meter which is defined as the distance traveled by light in a vacuum in a vacuum in 1/299 792 458 seconds.
The BIPM logo is a faithful photographic reproduction of public domain work of art.
365 Holidays a Year 