|
Length/Distance | Convert from mark twain to goad |
Related Categories:
Common Length Conversions Metric Length Conversions Unit Definition (mark twain) The mark twain or twain is an old word for the number two, derived from the Anglo-Saxon twegen. The American author Samuel Clemens (1835-1910), who had been a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi in his youth, took his literary name from a traditional riverboat phrase "mark twain", meaning "exactly two" fathoms of water. This was the minimum depth needed for the boats to operate safely without running aground. Unit Definition (goad) The goad is a traditional unit of distance sometimes used in measuring cloth. One goad is equal to 54 inches or 1.5 yards (1.3716 meters). A goad was originally a spear; later it was a pointed rod used for prodding animals to get a move on. The unit must have originated as the length of such an instrument.
|
|