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Origins of Measurements
In
ancient times, the body ruled when it came to measuring. The length of a foot,
the width of a finger, and the distance of a step were all accepted
measurements.
Inch: At first an inch was the width of a man's thumb. In
the 14th century, King Edward II of England ruled that 1 inch equal 3 grains of
barley placed end to end lengthwise.
Hand: A hand was approximately 5 inches or 5 digits
(fingers) across. Today, a hand is 4 inches and is used to measure horses (from
the ground to the horse's withers, or shoulder).
Span: A span was the length of the hand stretched
out, about 9 inches.
Foot: In ancient times, the foot was
111/42 inches. Today it is 12 inches, the length of the average
man's foot.
Yard: A yard was originally the length of a man's
belt or girdle, as it was called. In the 12th century, King Henry I of England
fixed the yard as the distance from his nose to the thumb of his out-stretched
arm. Today it is 36 inches, about the distance from nose to out-stretched arm
of a man.
Cubit: In ancient Egypt, a cubit was the distance
from the elbow to the fingertips. Today a cubit is 18 inches.
Lick: A Lick was used by the Greeks to measure the
distance from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the index finger.
Pace: The ancient Roman soldiers marched in paces,
which were the length of a double step, about 5 feet; 1,000 paces was a mile.
Today, a pace is the length of one step, 21/2 to 3
feet.
Measurements
- Inch = 0.083 feet
- Foot = 12 inches
- Yard = 3 feet or 36 inches
- Mile = 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards
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Near and Far
- Around the earth (at the
equator): 24,901 miles
- Across the continental
U.S.: 3,000 miles
- From the earth to the
moon: 238,854 miles
- From the earth to the
sun: 93,000,000 miles
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