Shoe sizes
I really must write more about our historic weights and measures as they are attacked.
One of the most historic is Shoe sizing
Edward II originated shoe sizes in 1324.
"He decreed that 3 barley corns, placed end to end, equaled one inch. 36 barleycorns, end to end, were the actual length of his own foot. Each barleycorn was one third on an inch, which added up to 12 inches or one "foot." The longest normal foot measured 39 barleycorns, or 13 inches, and was called size 13. Smaller sizes were graded down from this number, each by a third of an inch."
Buit is that right?
History of sizes has a different take on it -
The system is as follows:
"First, no one can have a foot smaller than a baby. So size zero will be the size of a baby's foot: I measured one earlier. It was four inches long.
Second, we will measure up from size zero using the precision measure of the English Standard Barleycorn for each size increment (of course, the barleycorn shall be round and dry and taken from the middle of the plant, three equalling one inch).
And there you have it. The English Standard shoe size measure for all shoes.
"Idiot. My foot is longer than all your barleycorns!"
Fortunately, we are able to add to the size scale.
"But you don't have any more barleycorns. Fool!"
"Er... no worries, your Majesty: I take the first barleycorn in the row (the size one barleycorn) and place it beyond the thirteenth, thus repeating size one again, then I take the second and make another size two - and your Majesty will have already realized that we can add another size three, four and five, right up to a second thirteen!"