TREASURE IN MEASURE

The need for measurement arose when land holdings had to be measured after every flooding of the Nile. In time measuring became an accepted norm and different nations devised different units… different measures. These many collections of units had their share of twists and turns. How could, for example, a ‘yard’ be standard if it was the distance between the tip of the King of England’s nose to the end of his outstretched thumb? Or for that matter a ‘foot’ which was actually the size of the King of France’s foot? To avoid this inconsistency and ambiguity, standardization of measures was necessary. The book traces this journey of numbers and units and unveils treasured nuggets of information hidden in the quantified data.