Buzz
Throughout the ages, we've invented all sorts of ways to measure almost everything. And why not? A universal system to quantify our surroundings is undeniably useful. Yet, some of these methods have turned out to be truly bizarre.
We've previously explored some unusual units of measurement, but now we've discovered ten more incredible ways people have quantified things. From reindeer urine to death and even Big Macs, these measurements are as real as they are strange. Keep reading to uncover more truly outlandish yet genuine units of measure.
10. Horse’s Body
The 'horse length' is a familiar measurement in horse racing, often abbreviated simply as 'length.' It originates from the average length of a horse, typically about 2.4 meters (8 feet). In horse races, this unit is used to describe the distance between competing horses, such as when Seabiscuit triumphed over War Admiral by four lengths in their legendary 1938 race.
In British horse racing, the situation is a bit more nuanced. The gap between two horses is calculated based on lengths per second, with the calculation varying depending on the surface type. Typically, the maximum number of lengths that can be used to describe a race is 99, and anything beyond this is simply noted as '99+'. For extremely close finishes, specific body parts of the horse, such as 'neck,' 'head,' or even 'nose,' are used to describe the difference. A 'nose' (or 'short head') is the smallest measurable distance by which a horse can win!
9. Poronkusema
Finland boasts one of the most unique (and yet completely logical) outdated units of measurement: the poronkusema. This unit measures distance, approximately 7.5 kilometers (4.7 miles), based on the distance a reindeer can travel before needing to stop for a bathroom break. Some sources suggest a distance closer to 9.6 kilometers (6 miles). The literal translation of 'poronkusema' is 'the distance a reindeer can travel before taking a break.'
Finland's dense forested landscape (with 78 percent covered by woodland) makes traveling through it a challenge. As a result, early explorers came up with their own unit of distance measurement. It's said that reindeer can't walk and urinate at the same time, so they need to pause regularly. Reindeer herding is mainly practiced by the indigenous Sami people of Finland, a group who also inhabit parts of Sweden, Norway, and Russia's Kola Peninsula.
8. Big Mac
The Big Mac Index, named after McDonald's famous burger, is published by The Economist as a method of measuring purchasing power parity (PPP) between various currencies worldwide. First introduced in 1986, the index is updated annually. The concept is straightforward: theoretically, when the exchange rate between two currencies changes, the cost of a specific item should remain the same in both currencies, despite the rate shift. To test this, the Big Mac Index compares the cost of a Big Mac in two countries, dividing the price in Country A by the price in Country B, and the result is compared to the exchange rate.
If the resulting value is higher, then Country A’s currency is considered overvalued, while if it is lower, Country A’s currency is seen as undervalued. Although the Big Mac Index offers a simple way to illustrate PPP, it doesn't take into account the full range of local production costs, demand for the product in each country, or the availability of McDonald's locations. If you’re curious about the country with the priciest Big Mac, it was Switzerland in 2018.
7. Morgen
The morgen was a unit of land measurement used in Europe and South Africa. Despite its name, meaning 'morning' in German, it wasn’t associated with time but rather with the amount of land that one man could till in the morning hours with an ox or horse pulling a single-bladed plow. The size of a morgen typically ranges between 0.5 and 2.5 acres.
It appears that the use of the morgen was more common in Germany than anywhere else, with some areas having larger morgens due to their flatter terrain. In South Africa, the morgen remained the official unit for measuring land until the 1970s. In 2007, the South African Law Society developed a formula to convert morgens into hectares, where 1 morgen equals 0.856 hectares.
6. Waffle House
The Waffle House Index is a measurement tool used by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assess the impact of storms on communities and their ability to recover. The index helps FEMA predict the likelihood of requiring assistance during a disaster. Waffle House is selected for this index due to its tradition of remaining open during severe storms in the US.
The Waffle House Index was introduced in 2011 after a tornado incident where two Waffle House locations stayed open. The index uses three levels: Green (full menu) indicates that a restaurant has power and minimal or no damage; Yellow (limited menu) suggests that the restaurant is operating on generator power and has limited supplies; and Red signifies that the restaurant is closed. As recently as 2018, during Hurricane Michael in Florida, the Waffle House Index hit Level Red when up to 30 restaurants were closed due to the storm.
5. League
A league is a length measurement often depicted in historical and fantasy films or TV series. It represents the distance a person can walk in an hour, but the exact distance varies depending on the country or terrain. The term originated in ancient Rome, where it was defined as 1.5 Roman miles, or about 2.2 kilometers (1.4 miles) in modern measurements. Today, a league is commonly defined as 4.8 kilometers (3 miles), as used in England and Spain.
In France, the famous author Jules Verne used the league in his novel *Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea*, where it was defined as 4 kilometers (2.5 miles). In the Nordic countries, a league is equivalent to the Scandinavian mile, which measures 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). The term is also tied to the mythological ‘seven-league boots,’ which supposedly allowed the wearer to cover seven leagues in a single stride, enhancing their speed.
4. Miner’s Inch
The miner’s inch is a unit used primarily by miners in the United States and Canada to measure water flow. It is based on the amount of water passing through a sluice at a given rate, though the size of the sluice can vary. Miners use this unit to calculate the necessary water supply for their operations. The flow is measured by how much water passes through a specific opening per second, but the actual amount differs depending on the country and sluice configuration.
There can be significant variation in the miner’s inch. For example, in New Zealand, it represents 472 milliliters per second, while in Colorado, it is 745 milliliters per second. Before the 20th century, there was no standardized definition for water flow, but in 1905, California’s government set the official measure. This unit is still in use by miners in the United States today.
3. Parsec
For Star Wars enthusiasts, you might associate the term 'parsec' with the time unit mentioned in the context of the Kessel Run. While it’s a tempting link to the iconic movie, the parsec is indeed a real unit. It is employed by astronomers to measure vast distances beyond our solar system, especially in relation to celestial objects and their proximity to one another.
For example, the distance between the Sun and its nearest star, Proxima Centauri, is about 1.3 parsecs. To put it into perspective, one parsec equals 30.8 trillion kilometers (or 19.1 trillion miles), and it's often compared to light-years, where 1 parsec equals approximately 3.26 light-years. The term was introduced in 1913 by astronomer Frank Watson Dyson. In astronomical terms, parsecs can scale up to even larger units, such as kiloparsecs, megaparsecs, and gigaparsecs.
2. Nibble
A 'nibble' is a familiar term in the computing world, representing half of a byte. Since a byte consists of eight bits, a nibble is composed of four bits. Programmers use nibbles to break down data for easier debugging, splitting the standard 8-bit byte into smaller, manageable units for more efficient analysis and handling.
At times, the term 'nibble' can refer to something other than a standard 4-bit byte, as was the case in 1980 with the Apple II, where an 8-bit nibble was used. Although this usage has become rare, the term now predominantly denotes the usual 4 bits. The word 'byte' was first coined by Werner Buchholz in 1956 during the development of the IBM Stretch—one of the fastest computers of the 1960s. Buchholz intentionally misspelled the term to avoid confusion with the word 'bit,' thereby giving rise to the byte.
1. Micromort
A micromort represents a unit used to quantify risk, specifically the chance of death, with a value of one in a million. Its purpose is to measure the relative risks of different activities. The micromort was introduced by Ronald A. Howard in 1980. To provide a context for this unit, 'baseline' micromorts help compare risks across activities. For instance, in the US, the risk of being murdered is estimated at 48 micromorts annually, whereas climbing Mount Everest, known for its high danger, is associated with 40,000 micromorts per climb!
Micromorts also serve as a tool for local authorities in evaluating the cost-effectiveness of public safety expenditures. In the UK, for example, the value of one statistical life is priced at £1.6 million for road safety improvements. This figure signifies that the government assigns a cost of £1.60 for reducing one micromort, with the assumption that enhancing road safety lowers risk for many individuals.
