At the end of the 16th century, the English government were quite fond of the furlong (a measurement based on the daily plowing potential of a group of oxen). To add an extra layer of confusion, the modern mile is 5280 feet long, not 5000 or 4860. Some people attribute this change to increasing foot size over the years, though it could just as well be a margin of error we now have accurate measuring equipment, whilst 2000 years ago people were literally measuring. The Roman mile, the total distance of the left foot hitting the ground 1000 times, was about 4860 feet in today's imperial units, but would have apparently been around 5000 Roman feet back in the day. So your stride is pretty much the same as a Roman's, even if it isn't performed at high speed towards a lion in an Amphitheatre (though charging at the last BLT in Starbucks is also admirable, of course). It's actually a thousand double paces: one stride with the left and right foot. It's not down to their unwieldy, restrictive armour, and it's not because these ancient people took dainty little steps to protect their modesty in skimpy togas. But before you start comparing your own Fitbit stats and wondering what made Roman people's steps so short (because you walk a mile and it shows you about 2000 steps, right?), just hold your horses. "Mille" means a thousand, which gives you a clue about how the Roman measurement of "mille passum" - a thousand paces - was defined. Their love of logistics led to the conception of the classic Roman road, and even the method of measuring it. It's no wonder they gave us concrete, central heating and the Fitbit (though one of those may not be true). The word comes from Latin ("mille"), because the Romans were excellent at organising stuff. The Proclaimers' lesser-sung hit Origins of the mile
0 kommentar(er)
