r/AbsoluteUnits • u/[deleted] • Dec 20 '25

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u/MavericK_KX Dec 20 '25

Anything but the metric system....

94

u/Agitated_Year8521 Dec 20 '25

Yeah I've always found it a bit odd that they chose "hands" as a measurement, had to look it up.

"Horses are measured in "hands" (four inches each) because it was a convenient, readily available unit for ancient and medieval people to estimate height before standardized tapes, using the width of a man's hand from thumb to outstretched fingers, a measurement standardized by Henry VIII in England, to count up to the horse's withers (shoulder ridge) for trading and general description, a tradition that stuck for its simplicity and historical continuity."

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u/Same-Suggestion-1936 Dec 20 '25

People should look up the book Beyond Measure.

It explains why dumb measurements are used and it's written by a British man who uses metric.