An inch is three barley grains long
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325853)
Rockingham, Australia
March 19, 2024 7:20pm CST
The photo has nothing to do with the discussion but all the dots show where we went in our motor-home in 2015.
A throwaway comment on a TV programme made me hurry off to Google to find out how the length of an inch was determined. It seems that, in the early 14th century, during the reign of Kind Edward II, an inch was defined as “three grains of barley, dry and round, placed end to end lengthwise.”
It’s also been defined as the length of 12 poppyseeds. I’d test this out but I’m not sure how to stop the poppyseeds rolling all over the place. In 1959, the inch was fixed as 2.54 cm.
Just another piece of trivia for you.
15 people like this
13 responses
@LadyDuck (458309)
• Switzerland
21 Mar
@JudyEv I placed the 12 poppyseed on t piece of tape and they do not even reach 1 cm all aligned.
Better NOT to go to Venice or Rome with a large motor-home, the traffic is really bad in both cities and in Venice you cannot bring a motor-home.
Better NOT to go to Venice or Rome with a large motor-home, the traffic is really bad in both cities and in Venice you cannot bring a motor-home.1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (95259)
• Marion, Ohio
20 Mar
That would be fun to try. But I know I don't have the patience
3 people like this
@JudyEv (325853)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Mar
@wolfgirl569 Maybe poppyseeds are smaller than they once were. 
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (45505)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
20 Mar
I seem to recall reading somewhere that an inch was defined as the length of some king's finger joint...
2 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (45505)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
21 Mar
@JudyEv That'd be an awfully big inch... my thumbs are about 2.5-3 inches long, depending on whether I measure from the palm side or the outside. But then, too many men don't know how long 6 inches is.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (170035)
• United States
20 Mar
I guess we all know how thegot the foot, and the ruleof thumb.
2 people like this
@mildredtabitha (16053)
• Nairobi, Kenya
20 Mar
To stop the poppyseed from rolling over, you need to place two 30cm ruler side by side with a small distance left in between. Then place the seeds in that space between the rulers. They won't roll because the ruler is holding them in place.
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@mildredtabitha (16053)
• Nairobi, Kenya
21 Mar
@JudyEv I currently don't have any poppyseed.
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@ptrikha_2 (45511)
• India
25 Mar
Interesting trivia!!
The map signifies that you toured a lot of places!
It would have taken you at least 5 to 6 months?
The maximum areas seem to be in France.
Did you face any language issues then?
May be you can share a few posts about those trips here again?
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (49015)
• United States
22 Mar
That’s a lot of dots. I bet that it was a fun trip.
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@JudyEv (325853)
• Rockingham, Australia
25 Mar
I'm so glad we have that trip to look back on. We were away a total of five months that year. We left the motor-home there and spent another three months in it two years later.
@LindaOHio (156372)
• United States
20 Mar
Interesting. So are the dots on the map. You certainly covered a lot of territory. Hope you and Vince have a good day.
2 people like this
@Beestring (13327)
• Hong Kong
20 Mar
Interesting information.
You had traveled to a lot of places in 2015.
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