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Category: Weights & measures

By The Generalist Posted on April 21, 2022April 21, 2022

February 30th

The calendar date February 30th has happened just once in history: in Sweden in 1712.

Categories: Astronomy, Early modern history, Europe, Weights & measures
By The Generalist Posted on April 6, 2022January 25, 2023

The doomsday algorithm

Want to work out what day of the week for any date? Just use the doomsday algorithm.

Categories: Mathematics & statistics, Weights & measures
By The Generalist Posted on November 12, 2021January 25, 2023

Cosmic sound

According to our understanding of the Big Bang, “cosmic sound” is older than neutral hydrogen. We can still spot its echoes today.

Categories: Astronomy, Weights & measures
By The Generalist Posted on November 3, 2021January 25, 2023

Daylight robbery

New Zealand entomologist George Hudson proposed modern daylight saving time so that he could catch more bugs.

Categories: 19th century history, Oceania, Weights & measures
By The Generalist Posted on September 28, 2021September 27, 2021

Long Hindu time

One of the longest measurements of time appears in ancient Hindu scriptures: the mahā-kalpa, equal to 311.04 trillion years.

Categories: Religion & belief, South Asia, Weights & measures
By The Generalist Posted on September 10, 2021September 8, 2021

Cosmic ladder (Part 2)

To measure distances in deep space, you need to look for candles in the darkness. [2 of 2]

Categories: 20th century history, Astronomy, Mathematics & statistics, North & Central America, Weights & measures
By The Generalist Posted on September 9, 2021January 25, 2023

Cosmic ladder (Part 1)

It’s a lot more difficult to measure distances in space than you might think. [1 of 2]

Categories: Astronomy, Mathematics & statistics, Weights & measures
By The Generalist Posted on June 9, 2021June 8, 2021

The Year 2038 problem

The Y2K problem threatened to bring down computers worldwide twenty-one years ago. In another seventeen years, the Year 2038 problem may do the same.

Categories: 21st century history, Computer science, Weights & measures
By The Generalist Posted on June 3, 2021January 25, 2023

Farthest mountain

The summit of Chimborazo, a volcano in Ecuador, is two kilometres farther from the Earth’s centre than Mount Everest.

Categories: Earth science, Oceania, South America, Weights & measures
By The Generalist Posted on April 24, 2021January 25, 2023

Long mile

The Scandinavian mile is 10 kilometres long. It used to be longer still.

Categories: Europe, Weights & measures
By The Generalist Posted on April 18, 2021April 15, 2021

Kiln cones

In a kiln, a set of three drooping cones can monitor the effects of temperature on the pottery items being fired.

Categories: Arts & recreation, Fashion & design, Sciences, Technology, Weights & measures
By The Generalist Posted on April 12, 2021April 8, 2021

Natural units (Part 2)

Whereas most units of measurement are arbitrary and human, Planck units are based only on four fundamental physical constants. [2 of 2]

Categories: Physics & chemistry, Sciences, Weights & measures
By The Generalist Posted on April 11, 2021January 25, 2023

Natural units (Part 1)

Most units of measurement are based on specific physical qualities or tangible reference objects. But they don’t have to be. [1 of 2]

Categories: Physics & chemistry, Sciences, Weights & measures
By The Generalist Posted on March 31, 2021January 25, 2023

Time zone tripoints

At several points around the world, three time zones meet.

Categories: East Asia, Europe, North & Central America, North & Central Asia, Oceania, Places, Sciences, Weights & measures
By The Generalist Posted on March 7, 2021March 6, 2021

Mathematical coincidence

A billionth of a century is approximately pi seconds. The diameter of the Earth is roughly half a billion inches.

Categories: Mathematics & statistics, Sciences, Weights & measures
By The Generalist Posted on January 29, 2021January 25, 2023

Akan goldweights

From the 15th to the 19th century CE, the Akan used sets of ornate statues as a measurement system for weighing gold dust, but also encoding and reinforcing cultural knowledge at the same time.

Categories: Africa, Art, Arts & recreation, Early modern history, Economics & business, History, Places, Sciences, Weights & measures

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