Comments on: The Mickey, the Smoot and Other Unusual Units of Measurement

By: sandie

sandie — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:00:45 +0000

The “mickey” was not coined by scientists first!!! It was coined by drinkers….as in a “mickey of rum”, a small bottle of booze! (14 oz I believe) as opposed to a “26er” or “20 pounder”. Then of course there is the “Texas Mickey” which is much bigger!

By: payrolldude

payrolldude — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:08:52 +0000

Ok, someone beat me to it.

But, “PartiallyDeflected”, you definitely have a scientific mind. My hat’s off to you.

By: payrolldude

payrolldude — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:05:02 +0000

What about a “Milli-Helen”?

A face that could launch a single ship.

By: PartiallyDeflected

PartiallyDeflected — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:02:12 +0000

One millihelen = the amount of beauty required to launch one ship

My favorite unit of measure is still furlongs per fortnight

By: Maureen

Maureen — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:46:36 +0000

I have a picture I took in the Natural History Museum in London that measures the weight of a T. rex in “ten year-old children.” And for anyone who wishes to know, a T. rex apparently weighs about the same as 200 ten year-old children.

By: Jess

Jess — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:57:06 +0000

Down Under, we have a measure for flood volume called the “sydarb”. It’s the volume of water in Sydney Harbour. The usual usage is “the floodwaters are at 4 sydarbs per hour”.

By: Bob Jones, Esq

Bob Jones, Esq — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:56:58 +0000

Julie beat me to it…I cracked up when I read the Texas Monthly article that measured Texas Ranches in Rhode Islands…

Ha!

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:56:05 +0000

Any Rhode Islander, myself included, will proudly tell you that their state is a unit of measurement especially useful in describing the sizes of icebergs or Texan ranches.

By: kate

kate — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:54:24 +0000

Very interesting! I love the Starbuck one–I’ll have to look for chances to describe something one to two blocks away so I can throw that one in there.

And Meghan, I have a breadbox! (I’m not even old either–I’m 23). It’s shiny, and beautiful, and it’s from Target. I got it as a birthday gift–something I never thought about wanting, but have ended up really liking. It keeps my counter looking neat–it’s a good way to hide many things, not just bread.

By: Meghan

Meghan — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:22:48 +0000

What about the good old breadbox measurement? It was always the standard question in 20 Questions: “Is it bigger than a breadbox?” Do people even use breadboxes anymore?