Dear John and All, We all know the barley corn very well. We feel its results every time we pull on our shoes or our boots. A length of one barley corn, chosen from the middle of the ear � full and round, is the length difference between any two shoe size numbers. For example, a size 9 shoe is one barley corn length longer than a size 8 shoe. And this has been the preferred method of shoe construction since about 1324 (following the Magna Carta of 1215).
The metric equivalent is the Mondopoint system where you measure the length of your foot in millimetres (wearing the socks that you will wear with those shoes). This millimetre value is then rounded to the next highest 5�millimetres. Your shoe width is done the same way leading to a Mondopoint size that looks (for me) like 310/95. The fact that our shoes often hurt � because of the 'good old' barley corn sizes � is a constant reminder to me of the inefficiencies of another of our 'good old' measuring systems. Cheers, Pat Naughtin CAMS Geelong, Australia on 2002-10-11 08.32, John Nichols at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >> Dear All: > > Well teaching metric to 260 students in the College of Architecture is > interesting at TAMU. I have watched the US go metric slowly over the last > 20 years. I finally knew it was a winner when I observed that one can not > buy Jack Daniels in anything but metric. > > ASTM are just about to take all reo metric. > > Let me see: How many of you know the unit called the barley corn. It is a > Imperial unit and the last time I saw it published was in an engineering > text written in about 1996. > > Anyway back to work. > > John Nichols BE, Ph.D. (Newcastle), MIE (Aust) > Assistant Professor > Texas A&M University > Department of Construction Science > Langford AC > Rm: A414 MD 3137 > College Station, TX 77843-3137 > > Electronic mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Telephone: 979 845 6541 > Facsimile: 979 862 1572 > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > Magna res est vocis et silentii temperamentum > > The greatest thing is to know when to speak > and when to keep quiet > Seneca the Younger (attributed) > ----------------------------------------------------------------- >
