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Remember I am the assistant teacher. When you see an
image of me, click on me to hear what I have to say. |
| The cubit was the length of a man's forearm or the distance from
the tip of the elbow to the end of his middle finger. |
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While the cubit is no longer used as a unit
of measurement, there are many measurement still being used that began
in a similar way. The foot actually started out as the length of a
man's foot. Legend has it that this unit was based on the actual measurement
of Hercules' foot. What is now called an inch originally was the width
of a man's thumb. |
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A yard was also a measurement made
using the human body.
Can you think of a length that approximates a yard?
Place your answer in your e-journal.
Remember to save the e-journal to your local drive, and write all
of your answers there. |
In the early days of history, measurements varied in length, because
everyone's arm, hand, foot or thumb were not exactly the same size.
When it was necessary to compare the capacities of containers such as
gourds or clay or metal vessels, they were filled with plant seeds which
were then counted to measure the volumes. When means for weighing were
invented, seeds and stones served as standards. For instance, the "carat,"
still used as a mass unit for gems, was derived from the carob seed.
The Romans measured their pace steps, of about 2.5 feet, 1000 double
paces formed a mile. It was evident that everyone's body was different
sizes. This caused confusion in measurement. The French created a standard
system of measurement called the metric system in 1799. This is
now the international system of units for measurement.
| The rod was a traditional Saxon land measure.
It was originally defined as the total length of the left feet of
the first sixteen men to leave church on Sunday morning. |
| This unit (which is equal to 5 1/2
yards) is still used to measure land today! |
The use of the metric system is widespread in almost all countries of
the world. Of the major countries of the world, only the United States
and Great Britian do not use the metric system regularly. |
