The standardization of screws in the United States began with Herbert Hoover, who would later become president of the country. Hoover dreamed of an equal thread for everyone, and this dream became reality in the 1920s, when the United States faced a chaos of incompatible standards in industry.
The BBC highlighted this story in the series "A History of the United States in 100 Objects," in a May episode of its podcast. The British broadcaster dramatized how an apparently simple object like a screw changed the entire balance of world power.
The decision of the United States to standardize screws had a global impact, establishing standards that would be adopted internationally. This standardization in industry contributed significantly to the expansion of American economic and technological power.
