The USMA mailing list seem to have died in the last few days. May
I be permitted to enlarge the subject to "measurement"
instead of "metric system"?
The Roman mile was "mille passuum" (thousand paces)..
How did it become the English mile of 5280 feet?
The Roman pace was a double pace, the distance travelled between
two landings of the right (or left) foot. The English army pace was 5
feet, so the English mile was 5000 feet. But the Anglo-Saxon furlong
of 220 yards or 660 feet was well established and did not fit into the
5000-foot mile. So Queen Elizabeth I lengthened the mile to 8 furlongs
or 1760 yards or 5280 feet..
--
Joseph B. Reid
17 Glebe Road West
Toronto M5P 1C8
Telephone 416-486-6071
17 Glebe Road West
Toronto M5P 1C8
