Kilometre

Kilometres are the runt of the distance world, being somewhat shorter and punier than the more robust imperial mile. Kilometres fell out of use during the fifth century when the Roman Empire collapsed but were rediscovered during the Renaissance along with Art and Science. Kilometres were enthusiastically adopted by the French who were soon counting everything in units of 10. This eventually resulted in the French Revolution when the lower orders revolted when Queen Marie Antoinette suggested that people should use pounds and ounces rather than kilograms when measuring their cake ingredients.