>From: Alex Ferguson <abf_at_cs.ucc.ie>
>ObGlorantha: I'd guess the Lunars, and when I say Lunars, of course
>I mean really, the Dara Happans, have anally (if not necessarily
>well) organised system of measurements. 111 thingies make a whatsit,
>4 whatsits make a grand ho-ha, etc, etc. How do say the Orlanthi
>measure things? Do we steal from the Irish, and assume they have
>some phrase equivalent to 'a hundred yards' (meaning the thick end
>of a mile) and 'a couple of miles' (who knows how long)?
Surely they would use phrases like 'half a day's walk' or 'a couple of days' ride' for long distances with a fair degree of inaccuracy built in due to weather and the individual concerned. It would take a Dara Happen to count up double paces like the Roman legions did to measure miles. I'm not sure even they would bother working out the equivelent of unrelated measurements such as the standard furrows length (furlong) or hides of land. The obsession with exact equivelents is a relatively modern practice and why it produces awkward numbers. I can even imagine the Orlanthi arguing over who measures cloth - e.g. Issaries short-arm the cloth merchant.
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