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Mile (US Survey)


The US survey mile is a unit of length used in land surveying in the United States. It is defined as exactly 5,280 survey feet, with one survey foot equal to 1200/3937 meters (approximately 0.3048006096 meters). This makes the US survey mile equal to about 1,609.3472 meters, slightly longer than the international (statute) mile, which is exactly 1,609.344 meters.


The US survey mile was established to maintain consistency with older land measurement systems based on the Mendenhall Order of 1893. It was commonly used in mapping, legal land descriptions, and public land surveys.


Although the difference between the survey and statute mile is very small (about 3.2 millimeters), it can be significant over large distances. As of 2023, the U.S. has officially retired the survey foot (and survey mile) for most applications, favoring the international foot and mile to standardize measurements.


Nail (Cloth)


A nail is a traditional unit of length used in cloth measurement, equal to 2ΒΌ inches or approximately 5.715 centimeters. It was commonly used by tailors and fabric merchants in England to measure small lengths of fabric.


The term β€œnail” likely originates from the practice of marking lengths on a measuring stick with notches or nails, making it easy to measure fabric quickly. The nail was a convenient subdivision of the yard, with 1 yard = 16 nails.


Though obsolete today, the nail remains an interesting part of historical textile measurement systems.


Summary:



  • 1 nail = 2ΒΌ inches (5.715 cm)



  • 1 yard = 16 nails



  • Used historically in tailoring and fabric trade



  • Originates from notches or nails on measuring sticks






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