32nd of an Inch Bolts - History & Lore

Today we're digging in to the history of US bolt & nut standards, to try and figure out where those weird /32nd size sockets came from.

Genius xx/32nd Sockets on Amazon:
https://amzn.to/4kpBAxs

Further Reading:
https://www.sizes.com/tools/thread_history.htm
https://progress-is-fine.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-evolution-of-standard-wrench-sizes.html

1864 Franklin Institute Proposal:
https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-the-franklin-institute_1864-05_47_5/page/344/mode/2up

1949 Franklin institute Article:
https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-the-franklin-institute_1949-02_247_2/page/n13/mode/2up

1910 Screw Threads & Gages:
https://archive.org/details/screwthreadtools00oberrich/page/16/mode/2up

1915 Machinery's Handbook:
https://books.google.com/books?id=VkEYAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover

1924 Machinery's Handbook:
https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/9-XCPSOFMVgC?gbpv=1