We’re all familiar with methods of measurement–be it miles, gallons, and degrees Fahrenheit, or perhaps the more orderly metric system and degrees Celsius. And actually, as mundane as it seems, this is something I think about often as an author: which measurements should my characters use? Should I go serious high-fantasy, and make up my own? What would make the most sense for the story I’m trying to tell?

Because my mysteries are meant to be, well, mysteries, and not treatises on possible systems of science, Red and her friends use familiar measurements. This has always been in the back of my mind as a blog topic . . . and then, lo and behold, last week when I was talking about Endangered Species Day, it was World Metrology Day, too!

Really, isn’t anyone organizing these world holidays? 😉

Metrology is the science of measurement. And if you want to dive into that holiday that I missed (oops!), you can check out its website here. In the spirit of celebration, though, here are a few fun facts from the history of metrology:

  • Forget about aliens–the Egyptians built the pyramids in part because they were really good at measuring stuff, and especially measuring stuff precisely. Fitting stones together precisely means they’re sturdy enough to stack tall and last a long time.
  • For long stretches of human history, measurement was tied to power. Kings and warlords and anyone else people would listen to would often try to unify a people (or distinguish their people from someone else’s) using their own preferred system of measurement.
  • The system of measurement that the US uses today is called the “US customary system” (as opposed to the metric system). It comes from the old British imperial system. Basically, it’s a hodgepodge of different historical measurements (for example, an “inch” is thought to have come from Anglo-Saxon England as a measurement of three barley grains lying end to end, and later the width of a man’s thumb).

For more (including some notes about measurements that often get confused, like weight and mass) check out this article from the International Journal of Metrology and Quality Engineering.

And in the meantime, just think–everything we use today without even thinking about it, like the distance of a foot (standardized by English kings, perhaps?) or the weight of a pound (first used in ancient Rome), has a history . . . and a future, too. 🙂