GM> JE> I never could understand why Great Britain stayed on the
GM> JE> pound/shilling/pence bit for so terribly long.

GM>Same reason the US has stayed on miles/yards/feet/inches... pure
GM>cussedness and resistance to change 

GM>Meanwhile, I offer this for your perusal......

ROTFLMAO!!!  Tis good and I have saved it!!!
Uncut so others that may have missed this message can get a
second chance at it.

 Jay

GM>  THE IMPERIAL RULER   or   "Every Inch A King, Every Foot A Ruler"
GM>  =================================================================
GM>Amongst the multitude of precision tool users, there are obviously many
GM>who - coming from parts of the world where people toil at the
GM>complexities of the Metric system - are not aware of the simplicity, the
GM>stark beauty, nor the crystal clear efficiency of the Imperial Measuring
GM>Method.

GM>We propose spreading the message of British Measurement by bringing to
GM>you the derivation of some of the more commonly used units of length.

GM>The base measurement is the yard. this unit was very sensibly defined as
GM>the distance between the fingertips and nose of a King looking straight
GM>ahead with his arms outstretched. It is believed that a platinum-iridium
GM>replica of the original King is now used, as after a long and useful
GM>life of holding his arms outstretched and looking straight ahead, the
GM>original King suffered some distortion in the embalming process.

GM>Now obviously the yard is too big to use in measuring all things. For
GM>example, the maximum permissible extension of a recalcitrant serf on the
GM>rack was only a small part of a yard if he was to retain his service and
GM>work ability. So the unit was divided into 36 sub-units called inches.
GM>Thirty six was chosen as the King was just 36 days from being 44 years
GM>old at the time. Had he acted a day earlier, the intrinsic tidiness of
GM>the whole system would have been jeopardized.

GM>Unfortunately, the inch proved impracticable for some purposes. The
GM>Royal Throne Maker would have been extended by several yards had he
GM>worked only to this tolerance in his craft. So the inch was further
GM>subdivided into 64 parts. Sixty-four was chosen because this was, in
GM>fact, one year before the age at which the King was to be superannuated,
GM>and because he liked this number better than 73 anyway.

GM>Historians differ on this point, and some say 64 was chosen because this
GM>made 1/64 of an inch around one 2304th of the distance between the
GM>King's nose and his fingertips - 2304 being the number of weekly
GM>tourneys held under the King's Standard (he had celebrated his 44th
GM>birthday only 57 days previously).

GM>However, in applications like filing a small amount of gold from the
GM>edge of a sovereign before making payment on the National Debt, 1/2304
GM>of a yard proved to be too gross a unit, and so the inch was further
GM>subdivided into one thousand parts. This introduction of one thousand
GM>into the system detracts from the romance of the British measurement,
GM>besides introducing a measurement which is smaller by a factor of 15 5/8
GM>than the next greater one, but fortunately it is now used only by
GM>artisans in the Metal trade. Gentlemen, Men of Commerce and Workers in
GM>Wood sensibly shun this unit with its decimal overtones, and properly
GM>talk in sixty-fourths.

GM>There still existed a need for a unit between the inch and the yard for
GM>measuring such things as the drop of a well-constructed gallows, and so
GM>the foot was devised. This unit was called a foot to confuse industrial
GM>spies from European gallows manufacturing concerns, who of course though
GM>that it was the length of the King's foot - which was actually only ten
GM>and 39/64 inches. As a result, European gallows made to those pirated
GM>specifications never really worked well, and many criminals escaped
GM>because they only dropped 679 / 768 ths of the proper distance.

GM>Now there were many larger measurements to be made, even in a Small
GM>Kingdom. The proper width of a moat, for example, was much more than a
GM>yard and so the rod was created. This is 5 1/2 yards because that was
GM>exactly the King's size in crowns. Fortunately, the King did not take a
GM>5 3/4 in crowns because then the rod would not have equalled 198 inches,
GM>not 16 1/2 feet, nor for that matter 12,672 sixty-fourths.

GM>Many people think that the most important unit of length in the whole
GM>British system, the chain, was made exactly one cricket pitch long
GM>because the King was a promising off-spin bowler. They are wrong -  this
GM>is purely coincidental. Twenty two yards was chosen as the length of the
GM>chain because that was the maximum range at which the King had ever
GM>felled a vassal with a pewter between August and December. And so once
GM>again we see Providence and Britannia in collusion. A larger vassal, a
GM>heavier pewter, and a chain may not have equalled 352 nails, nor 792
GM>inches, nor even 50,688 sixty-fourths.

GM>There were still other length measurements to be made: the distance
GM>covered in one day by a deserting serf pursued by dogs; the ground put
GM>between the King's army in retreat and the enemy between Matins and
(Continued to next message)
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