# The Curious History of Weights & Measures - Hardcover

by **Claire Cock-Starkey** (Author)

**A fascinating miscellany of the stories behind our weights and measures.**

How long is an ell? How big is the largest champagne bottle? How do you measure the heat of a chili pepper? Why is the depth of water measured in fathoms? And what, exactly, is a cubit?

_The Curious History of Weights & Measures_ tells the story of how we have come to quantify the world around us. Looking at everything from carats, pecks, and pennyweights, to firkins, baker's dozens, and modern science-based standards such as kilograms and kilometers, this book considers both what sparked the creation of measures and why there were so many efforts to usher in standardization. Full of handy conversion charts and beautiful illustrations, _The Curious History of Weights & Measures_ is a treasure trove of fun facts and intriguing stories about the calculations we use every day.

### Author Biography

**Claire Cock-Starkey** is a writer and editor. Her recent books include _Hyphens and Hashtags_, _A Museum Miscellany_, and _The Real McCoy and 149 Other Eponyms_.

**Number of Pages:** 200

**Dimensions:** 1 x 7.4 x 5 IN

**Publication Date:** May 18, 2023

## Details

- **Price:** 25.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 25.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- The Curious History of Weights & Measures - Hardcover

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