Many critics and movie fans alike name 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark as one of the best films of all time. But watching the movie as a 12-year-old, I didn’t realize that it has what some consider to be a major flaw, pointed out in a 2013 episode of The Big Bang Theory. 

As the argument goes, Indiana Jones, the main character, made no difference in the outcome of the film. With or without him, the movie would have played out the same: The Nazis would have found the Ark of the Covenant and opened it, triggering their demise. 

While Indy’s effect on the plot has now become the subject of endless internet debate (what hasn’t?), I can still hold onto one fact as a proud employee of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Measurements play a key role in the plot—with one inaccurate measurement nearly killing Indy.

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