There were also momentous scientific efforts unleashed to try to create more objective and pristine measures, including the expedition that provides the origin story of the meter. The calculation was to be based on one ten-millionth of the distance between the North Pole and the Equator through Paris. Two scientists spent six years on the project. When they triumphantly returned with their calculated length, it was enshrined in a length of pure platinum, a measure we still use today.