These estimates are just that. The width of your own palm the length of your own foot and so on.

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Advantages of using body parts in measurement. 2011 08 09 032310 2011 08 09 032310. Use fingers to measure inches. Hand hand fingers thumb the cubit was just one of numerous units of measurement based on the typical size of body parts. What an interesting post. There are no advantages of using. At best you can approximate lengths in some non standard units.
Related to the last point the french word for inch is pouce which also. There are virtually no advantages. Skinfold calipers are very affordable and measurements can be taken. They were in fact used till a few centuries ago. Another measurement that i use is an inch made by bending my ring finger into a tabletop shape. 10 responses to body parts as tools of measurement chris on january 21 2009 136 am.
Although its a nonstandard unit of measurement its conveniently with you all the time. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using body parts as unit of measure. Devin johnston on january 21 2009 259 am. The romans used this measurement and so can you. Before using any new measuring instrument one needs to calibrate it by comparing it with something else something of known measure. The important thing is consistency using them the same way each time.
Then wherever you are youll have a pretty accurate ruler very close by. Knowing the approximate length of my arm is surprisingly handy because its extremely easy to use for rough measurements. Measurements done using your body will not be completely accurate and serve only as a rough guide for obvious reasons. Mooredu telugu elbow to the finger tips about 18 jaanedu stretch the palm and the distance between the thumb and the little finger. Your body can be used as a measuring tool when you dont have a measuring tape conveniently with you. Before we had precise standardized units of measure such as meters and feet lengths and even ocasionally volumes were reckoned based on the average dimensions of human body parts.
All the words below are telugu words and are still in use. Feel free to use other measures or to modify these like using little finger rather than middle finger. In body based units of measurement at interesting thing of the day i listed a few such historical units of measure which can still come in handy for rough. A more accurate way use your body parts to estimate length is to know your own measurements. For a 7 site measurement in men the areas near the armpit and beneath the shoulder blade are also measured.