ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Great Trigonometric Survey

Imagine you have a big piece of paper, and you want to draw a map. But you don't want to just draw any map - you want to draw a super accurate map that shows exactly where everything is located. That's what the Great Trigonometric Survey was all about!

A long time ago in India, a group of people decided they wanted to make a really accurate map of the country. They knew that in order to do this, they would need to measure things really carefully. They decided to use something called trigonometry, which is a fancy way of measuring angles.

So they took big sticks called theodolites and pointed them at tall landmarks, like mountains and trees. They used the theodolites to measure the angles between the ground and the tops of these landmarks.

Then they used special math equations to figure out how far away these landmarks were. They did this by comparing the angles they measured with other angles that they could figure out based on the shape of the Earth.

They did this over and over again, all over India, for many years. Eventually, they had measured so many angles and distances that they could draw a really accurate map of the whole country!

The Great Trigonometric Survey was a big deal because it helped people better understand the shape and size of the Earth. It also helped them make more accurate maps and charts, which was really important for things like navigation and trade.