Definition of kilogram, amp, and kelvin set to change forever

[mklotz]

Speaking of dumb redneck measurements, The fresh fruit packing biz learned me to estimate area pretty quickly: mile(1760yds) X mile =640acres, 1/2(880yds) x mile=320, 1/2 x 1/2=160, 1/2x1/4(440yds)=80, 1/4x1/4=40, 1/8(220yds)x1/4=20, 1/8x1/8=10, 1/16(100yds)x1/8=5, 1/16x1/16=2.5, 1/16x1/32(55yds)=1.25. Thus a redneck's football field is a touch more than an acre.

Kinda big "touch"...

(American) football field = 360 x 160 ft = 57,600 ft^2
Acre = 660 x 66 ft = 43,560 ft^2 = 75% of a football field

For the benefit of readers unfamiliar with ACS (American Customary Units)...

The definition of an acre is a classic example of the nonsense that went into defining ACS. An acre is the amount of land a man can plow in a day. This became standardized to be an area a furlong in length by a chain wide. A furlong is an eighth of a mile (5280 / 8 ft) or ten chains (10 * 66 ft). Thus an acre is ten square chains.

The chain itself is a little bundle of awkwardness. Used in surveying, it became necessary to divide the chain into smaller units. So the chain was divided into 100 links. 66 links might have made a modicum of sense but no, we now have a link that's 0.66 ft = 7.92 in long!