In 1901, there were as many as eight different standard gallons. Brooklyn, NY, recognized four different legal measures of the foot. About 50% of tested food scales were wrong, usually favoring the grocer. Firehoses from neighboring cities did not fit together, causing tragedies like a 1904 Baltimore fire that razed 70 city blocks. Today, thanks in part to NIST, most consumers take it for granted that weights and measures are accurate and that products will fit together.