Measurement of the gravitational quantities g and G: How ideas for precision measurement experiments come about

I will talk about g and G whose determinations go back to some of the earliest measurements in the history of metrology. Although today's measurement accuracy for g, the free-fall acceleration due to the Earth's gravity, has improved by nearly nine orders of magnitude, the measurement accuracy of G, the Newtonian Constant of Gravitation, has improved by only two orders of magnitude over its 300 year measurement history. I will discuss what has driven (and impeded) this progress, and how ideas for improvements in these measurements have helped advance the frontiers of measurement science. Finally, I will point out the interconnectedness of all precision measurement experiments.