Foot equals 12 inches

Posted by Bruce Kahl on November 24, 1999

In Reply to: Foot equals 12 inches posted by Mark Abramo on November 24, 1999

: Can anyone tell me where or how one foot equaled 12 inches came from ?

Our modern measurement of 12 inches equaling 1 foot actually comes from a king's arm. Or, to be more precise, one-third of a king's arm. According to Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts, the arm under discussion is that of King Henry I (1068-1135) of England, who had a thirty-six inch long arm and decreed that the standard "foot" should be one-third of that length.

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