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Why are there 5,280 feet to a mile?
[ 2006-02-08 08:30 ]
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| Why
are there 5,280 feet to a mile? |
Notes:
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 The measurement known as a mile is a vestige of the
Roman Empire's rule over Britain. At this time, the Romans had
a measurement known as mille pasuum (ME-lay PA-soo-em), or a
thousand paces. A pace comprised five, possibly sandal shod,
Roman feet. Using a simple mathematical calculation, we arrive
at 5,000 feet per mile.
The demise of the Roman Empire left the Britons in a
quandary. They now had a mile, consisting of 5,000 feet, and
their own agricultural measurement, the furlong, used
to measure the farmers' fields for the purpose of property
deeds, etc. Instead of using the Roman foot in calculating the
measure of a furlong, they used the distance a horse could
pull a plow, in a linear fashion, before the nag needed a nap.
They agreed that this measurement consisted 660 feet.
 Now came the dilemma. The British wished to
marry the furlong to the mile, but, as they wanted
a mile to comprise eight furlongs, totaling 5,280 feet,
instead of the Roman 5,000 feet per mile, they had no choice
but to select one of the two. Not surprisingly, they chose
their measurement over the Roman measurement because, as
property deeds at the time were measured in furlongs, or 660
feet, a change to the Roman measurement would short the farmer
or landowner.
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furlong:
弗隆，浪(長度單位，相當于220碼、201米或者1/8英里)
marry to :
結合 | | |
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