Check out 10 of the biggest miscalculations made by experts

In this life, everyone makes mistakes. They are often imperceptible slips that do not affect anyone's life, but there are also cases where any misplaced detail can end up influencing the lives of dozens of people.

But things don't always go as we planned, and that's exactly what happened with each of the BBC-selected items you check out on this list. You will notice that often the main factor that triggered the miscalculations was the use of different metric systems, but there are also cases where lack of attention was decisive. Check out!

1. The rail network in France

The state-owned train company in France - called SNCF - found last month that the two thousand new trains it had bought were too large for many of the network's existing platforms. In all, the new fleet cost 15 billion euros. But this account only tends to increase, as stations will undergo renovations to fit the new trains. According to SNCF, the mistake was made by the national operator - known as RFF - in passing the wrong measures to the company.

2. The Climatic Orbiter of Mars

Designed to be the first climate satellite on the red planet, the Mars Climate Orbiter was lost in 1999. The mistake? The NASA team used units of the decimal system while satellite builders relied on the imperial system. The $ 125 million spacecraft is believed to have come too close to Mars in its attempt to orbit and was destroyed by the planet's atmosphere. One investigation pointed out that the main cause of the loss was “the misinterpretation of English units to decimal units” in equipment that controlled the Earth's satellite.

3. The vessel Vasa

In 1628, the Swedish population watched in horror at the collapse of the battleship Vasa shortly after leaving on its maiden voyage. One consequence was the death of 30 people on board. The vessel was armed with 64 bronze cannons and was considered by some to be the most powerful warship in the world.

After the wreckage was removed from the sea in 1961, experts said the vessel was asymmetrical, heavier on the port side than on the starboard side. One of the reasons for this tragedy may have been that the workers involved in the construction of the ship used different measurement systems. Archaeologists have found four rulers used by the contractors - two of them working on Swedish feet (which measured about 30.5 centimeters each), while the other two carried the feet measurement used in Amsterdam (which corresponded to almost 28 centimeters each).

4. The Gimli Glider

In 1983, one of Air Canada's flights ran out of fuel in Gimli, a rural municipality in Manitoba Province, Canada. A few years earlier, in 1970, the country had adopted the decimal system and this would be the company's first aircraft to use metric units. Because the aircraft had a fuel gauge defect, the crew used a tube to check the amount of fuel in the tank. The miscalculation occurred when converting the measured volume to weight. Account holders got the number right, but they missed it and ended up confusing pounds with pounds. Lastly, the aircraft ended up with only half of the expected fuel. Luckily, the pilot managed to land safely at Gimli Industrial Aeropark.

5. The Hubble Space Telescope

In addition to helping us discover more details about space, Hubble allows us to see the universe differently with the amazing images it can produce. But it was not always so. The first images sent by the telescope were not clear because its main mirror was very flat. Well, not much, since the difference was 2.2 microns - as much as 1/50 the thickness of a hair - but that's enough to put the project at risk. It is believed that the error was caused by an ink splash on one of the equipment used to test the equipment, which eventually distorted the measurements. To reverse the problem, the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (Costar) system - consisting of two fault compensation mirrors - was installed in 1993.

6. Big Ben

In 1857, the famous Big Ben - bell installed in the London Parliament - cracked and was cast so that it could be molded again. In 1859, the new bell took three days to lift in the correct position, and yet it cracked again. It was then that discussions began to find out whose fault it was. One theory was that the pendulum was too heavy for a bell made of a 7 part tin alloy to 22 parts copper. Those responsible for casting the object had already warned that the material was fragile. Interestingly, the second bell has not been replaced - and it is cracked to this day! - having just been turned slightly and gained a lighter pendulum.

7. The Laufenburg Bridge

Sea levels vary around the world and each country chooses a point to determine its measurement. Germany sets sea level from the North Sea, while Switzerland prefers to determine this based on the Mediterranean Sea. This seemingly irrelevant difference eventually caused a problem in the construction of the Laufenberg bridge, a city located between Germany and Switzerland.

In 2003, as construction on both ends of the bridge progressed toward the middle, it was clear that even though both sides were “at sea level”, one side was 54 centimeters higher than the other. Those responsible knew that there was a difference of 27 centimeters between the two sea level conventions, but it is not known why the measure was doubled instead of compensating for the higher side. Finally, the calculations were redone and the German side was reduced so that the bridge could be completed.

8. Scott's Diet

Explorer Robert Falcon Scott made a fatal miscalculation in determining the amount of food needed for his team during a two-year (1910-1912) expedition to the South Pole. Explorers were given meals totaling 4, 500 calories a day. You know that it is not enough for people who need sledding, especially at considerable elevations. According to Dr. Mike Strous, a polar exploration veteran and nutrition expert, team members were getting 3, 000 fewer calories a day than their bodies needed. As a result, they lost about 25 pounds before they reached their intended destination and began the journey back. Today, Scott and his team are believed to have starved to death.

9. The Sochi Biathlon Track

A day before the opening of the Sochi Olympics, the biathlon track - which was supposed to be around 2.5 kilometers long - was found to be 40 meters short. This meant that the 7.5-kilometer athletes would end up only 7.4 kilometers, while the 12.5-kilometer athletes would complete a 12.3-kilometer course. Rushed repairs ensured that the track had the correct measurement for the first event, which would take place three days after opening.

10. The Millennium Bridge

To mark the arrival of the new millennium, the English capital gained a bridge linking the south bank of the River Thames with the north side of St. Paul's Cathedral in 2000. But it was not long before the population noticed that the structure of 350 meters in length swayed worryingly as he walked over it. One of the most important points when designing a pedestrian bridge is the so-called “synchronized stride effect”, which is when people begin to adjust their pace to the pace of the wavering structure, which further intensifies the bridge swing. In this case, the engineers considered the synchronization of the steps from top to bottom, but did not rely on side-to-side movement. The bridge was immediately banned and underwent a series of changes until it was reopened in 2002.