Arms, feet, local stones and even barleycorn have all played a part in our bid to quantify the world, discovers Ben Lerwill, as he weighs up the stories behind how units of measurement were standardised.
Imagine, for a moment, a world without measurements. No miles or kilometres; no grams or ounces; no inches, litres, fathoms or furlongs. A world where height, weight, depth, volume, area and length are essentially incalculable. The thought seems faintly ludicrous….
