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  1. Is there an institution or organisation somewhere whose explicit goal is to constantly run unit tests on basic physical phenomena, just in case, say, the gravitational constant suddenly changes or something?

  5. SVG of the week eternity: English Unit Lengths:

    MARVEL AT OUR CULTURE

    Edit: more information about Ramsden’s Chains and Gunter’s chains on ramsden.info, “the gateway to all things Ramsden”

    Edits! Iceland-specific info about Ells and hand measurement diagram

    1. Shaftment (palm and extended thumb) about 2 palms or 6 inches
    2. Hand (In English, a “Hand” or “Handbreadth” is commonly used to represent the width of the palm, sometimes including the thumb when closed against the palm.) about 4 inches
    3. Palm (In English, a "Palm" is commonly used to represent four fingers held together, which is slightly less than the true width of the palm at the knuckles.) about 3 inches or 4 fingers
    4. Span (from little finger tip to thumb tip) about 3 palms, 9 inches or 12 fingers
    5. Finger (or fingerbreadth) about 3/4 inch or 1/16 foot
    6. Digit (In English, “digit” and “finger” are used to represent the width of a finger. However, the value of the digit is slightly less than the value of the finger.)
    7. Thumb (not indicated) about 1 inch or 1/12 foot