> snipped-for-privacy@rahul.net says...
> [....]
>> > > Hmm, (3,950mi*5280/ft/mi)/10,000,000=2.08ft. Close, but no cigar.
>>
>> > That was the length of some versions of the cubit.
>>
>> Never heard that one. I've always heard the length of the fore-arm,
>> elbow to fingertip. Two feet sound like a rather long arm.
>
> A meter is the distance from the tip of your fingers to the far
> sholder and an inch is the width of the wide part of your thumb. Both
> are good ways to estimate but aren't the offical measure. The same is
> true mut only more so with the cubit because everybody wanted to have
> their own standard and everybody also had there own quick estimate.
>
Reminds me of the story of the farmer who butchered a hog, slung the carcass over his shoulder, and walked about two miles to the market. The shopkeeper says, "OK, 367 pounds..." and the farmer says, "Just leave it up there for a while, it'll get heavier!"
Cheers! Rich