Hi Pat,
I agree with Bill. Here're my specs:
178 cm / 74 kg
Thumbnail thickness: less than 0.5 mm (digital calipers)
Thumbnail width: 16 mm
Pinky nail width: 9 or 10 mm
Hand width across knuckles: 80 mm
Hand width including thumb: 98 mm
Span: 22 cm
Thus, I think of 100 mm as the width of the hand including the thumb.
With a 25 cm span, you should be a pianist!
John
On Monday 03 November 2003 16:41, Pat Naughtin wrote:
> Dear Bill,
>
> At your instigation, I checked my dimensions. I have interspersed my
> results.
>
> on 4/11/03 9:34 AM, Bill Potts at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> > You must have enormous hands, Pat.
>
> I've never thought of them as large, but perhaps they are slightly larger
> than most. On this theme, I remember reading the statistics of a
> heavyweight boxer whose hands were reported here as being 150 mm across the
> knuckles � now that's an impressive fist that I would not like to have
> travelling at high speed towards my nose � check it on your ruler!
>
> > I'm 183 cm tall, normally proportioned,
>
> I'm a little taller than you at 1.85 metres
>
> > with fair-sized hands, yet my thumb
> > nail's thickness is closer to 0.5 mm. As for the other dimensions:
>
> I remeasured both of my thumbnail thicknesses with a sliding vernier scale
> (with a precision to 0.02 millimetres) and they are both about 1.1
> millimetres; the fingernail on my other fingers are nearer to 1 millimetre.
>
> > Thumbnail width = 17 mm
>
> On remeasuring my thumbnail width is also about 17 millimetres � the same
> as yours.
>
> > Hand width across top knuckles = 85 mm
>
> My hands across the top of the knuckles are about 98 millimetres. I round
> this to 100 millimetres. Coincidentally, when I have had occasion to
> measure large numbers of men's hands, their most common reported result is
> 100 mm. Women are more likely to report hand widths of about 85
> millimetres. I regard an 85 millimetre hand as about average for women but
> slender for men.
>
> > Hand span = 205 mm (even if my joints had the flexibility they had in my
> > youth, I still couldn't manage 250 mm)
>
> To span 250 millimetres from thumb to little finger is quite a stretch for
> me; however, I can do this more easily if I use a span from my thumb to my
> third (ring) finger.
>
> By the way, is the forefinger span � from thumb to forefinger used much in
> the USA? For me, without stretching, my forefinger span is about 200
> millimetres.
>
> > My little finger nail and my personal cubit are about the same as yours.
>
> Yep, 10 millimetres for the little finger nail and about 503 millimetres
> for the cubit, which I round down to 500 millimetres.
>
> Thanks for the feedback. I'll ditch the thumbnail width.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Pat Naughtin LCAMS
> Geelong, Australia
>
> Pat Naughtin is the editor of the free online newsletter, 'Metrication
> matters'. You can subscribe by sending an email containing the words
> subscribe Metrication matters to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> --
>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >> Behalf Of Pat Naughtin
> >> Sent: Monday, November 03, 2003 00:23
> >> To: U.S. Metric Association
> >> Subject: [USMA:27409] Re: Presentation Outline
> >>
> >>
> >> Dear Matthew,
> >>
> >> Euric and John offer good ideas. I will try to elaborate on them by
> >> making them more personal to your participants.
> >>
> >> Take several metre sticks. Stick them to the walls and or doors of
> >> the room..
> >>
> >> Put two metre sticks on a wall so that your audience can all find their
> >> height (in metres to the nearest 0.05 say 1.65 metres or 1.70 metres is
> >> best). If you try to do this in millimetres � or even centimetres
> >> � you will
> >> strike all of the problems associated with measurement accuracy.
> >>
> >> Use the metre sticks and other, metric only, rulers to have your
> >> audience measure (the values are mine to give you a guide):
> >>
> >> Thumbnail thickness 1 millimetre
> >> Little finger nail width 10 millimetres
> >> Thumbnail width 20 millimetres
> >> Hand width across knuckles 100 millimetres
> >> Hand span 250 millimetres
> >> Cubit (elbow to tip of long finger) 500 millimetres
> >>
> >> I like to use two cubits by placing my fingertips together, thus making
> >> my elbows 1000 millimetres or 1 metre apart. If your cubit is slightly
> >> less that 500 millimetres then leave an appropriate gap between the ends
> >> of you fingers at the centre of your chest. [My wife's cubit is about
> >> 450 millimetres, so she uses this 'leave-a-gap' trick when she is
> >> measuring the furniture (again) to see where it will move to this time].
> >>
> >> Take as many bathroom scales as you need that read in kilograms only �
> >> do not use dual scales unless you have to. I have been known to take
> >> bathroom scales to pieces to white-out the pounds on a dual scale.
> >>
> >> Prepare a chart to show how to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI). Provide
> >> calculators for this purpose.
> >>
> >> Have Celsius only thermometers placed in highly visible positions.
> >>
> >> Mark out a ten metre 'pacing line' so that your audience can check how
> >> many of their own paces are ten metres. Also have them measure the
> >> length of their feet, for measuring smaller horizontal lengths. As
> >> examples, my feet with shoes are 330 millimetres long and this means
> >> that three feet to me is quite close to 1 metre. Later, mark out an
> >> unknown length (of
> >> about 12 or 13
> >> metres, and get your audience to guess how long it is by using their own
> >> paces.
> >>
> >> Cut out a square metre from carpet or vinyl off-cuts. Find out how many
> >> people can stand on a square metre? How many people can be stacked on a
> >> square metre? If you can't find carpet or vinyl, then use stout paper.
> >>
> >> Make four square metres from some light material (I use oxy welding
> >> rods) � these four square metres can be tied together to make a cubic
> >> metre. However, this type of construction is not robust enough to fill
> >> with people � you need better construction for this. I can't begin to
> >> tell you the power
> >> of this single cubic metre as a learning aid. After all most people have
> >> never seen a cubic yard either.
> >>
> >> Anyway that should be enough to get you started. The key features are:
> >>
> >> With these steps you are using visual, audio, and kinaesthetic
> >> influences to
> >> allow your audience come to terms with metric measures at their own
> >> pace.
> >>
> >> Focus on becoming familiar with the 'new' metric units.
> >> It is not necessary to mention old units at all.
> >> Don't convert any old units to metric units or vice versa, and don't get
> >> involved in discussions about conversions, simply say that your goal is
> >> to provide your audience with metric experiences that will parallel
> >> their knowledge of old units � not to replace them � and not to convert
> >> between them.
> >>
> >> Finally, construct your talk to discuss all of your audiences
> >> newly acquired
> >> experiences with metric measures. By the time you have steered your
> >> participants through the measuring exercises, your talk will be much
> >> better because your know a little about your audience members and how
> >> they will react to your talk.
> >>
> >> Good luck with your efforts.
> >>
> >> Cheers,
> >>
> >> Pat Naughtin LCAMS
> >> Geelong, Australia
> >>
> >> Pat Naughtin is the editor of the free online newsletter, 'Metrication
> >> matters'. You can subscribe by sending an email containing the words
> >> subscribe Metrication matters to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >> --
> >>
> >> on 3/11/03 10:20 AM, Matthew Zotter at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> >>> 2003 NOV 02 SUN
> >>>
> >>> I'm just gathering general ideas. I have no invitation to
> >>
> >> speak; but when I
> >>
> >>> do, I'd like a plan of attack. I know that this forum has plenty of
> >>> good idea.
> >>>
> >>>> Could you let me have some more details about the audience?
> >>>
> >>> Possible elementary, middle, high school, or college; or
> >>
> >> engineering society
> >>
> >>> meeting.
> >>>
> >>>> What is the occasion?
> >>>
> >>> Metric week, invitation, etc.
> >>>
> >>>> Why were you invited?
> >>>
> >>> N/A
> >>>
> >>>> Were you specifically invited to talk about metrication?
> >>>
> >>> Let's say "yes"
> >>> If I said "no", how would I weave in metrication
> >>>
> >>>> How many people?
> >>>
> >>> 5 to 10
> >>> or
> >>> 20 to 100
> >>>
> >>>> What is their background?
> >>>
> >>> Situation dependent
> >>>
> >>>> How much time do you have for preparation?
> >>>
> >>> Let's say, 30 minutes
> >>> or
> >>> 1 to 2 hours
> >>>
> >>>> Is there space at the venue to do physical things such as pacing fifty
> >>>> metres?
> >>>
> >>> Maybe
> >>>
> >>> Please share all ideas. Thank you for your time and information.
> >>>
> >>> Sincerely,
> >>> Matthew Zotter
> >>> SC, USA
