I've tried to resist jumping into this non-rotary thread but....
I've never understood why a country that fought so hard for it's
independence from imperial rule is one of the last in the world to continue
embracing a measurement system based on a dead English Kings various body
parts, especially when the advantages of the S.I. system are undeniable.
Canada switched over in 1977, so I'm the right age to be comfortable
in both systems, so I don't need to mentally convert when discussing issues
with our American friends. But I really don't get the temp system based on
blood! (F)

Todd (soon to be at 0 degrees, where water should freeze! Not 32)

-----Original Message-----

You are correct on both the foot and the yard.  The inch was derived
from one of the king's thumb joints.  Eventually someone cast a chunk of
metal, and said we'll use this from now on, 'cause they got tired of
having to remeasure the kingdom every time there was an assasination.
In most instances, it was a bureaucrat hidden in the basement of a
corner of the castle, and the casting form was made from scrap material
laying around . . . which is a hyperbolic way of saying, it was a rather
arbitrary process.



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