Re: How long is a Chain?

["DON JORDAN" <donjor@nomail.melbpc.org.au>]

At the risk of prolonging this thread to boring lengths, and wondering
whether anyone will have read this far anyway, it has surprised me that
no-one has asked how the chain and link units of measurements got their
names.  Chains were in use for accurate surveying and civil engineering
measurement long before the existence of flexible measuring tapes - either
the wire-reinforced cloth variety or the steel variety.  A chain consisted
of 100 links, and the links were made of short lengths of cast iron or metal
wire with a loop at each end which were interlinked with the link on either
side.  I don't know when these measuring instruments were invented (but I
bet they've been in use for centuries and maybe millennia) nor do I know
when their length was standardised in the Imperial system of units.  'Nuff
said!

Don Jordan