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Length/Distance | Convert from story to shackle |
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Common Length Conversions Metric Length Conversions Unit Definition (story) The story is an informal unit of distance equal to the average distance between floors of a building. In British English the spelling is "storey" and the plural is "storeys"; Americans write "story" and "stories." Typically a story equals 10 to 12 feet (3.0-3.6 meters). The origin of this use of the word "story" is not entirely clear, but in medieval times a tier of sculptures or stained glass windows on the front of a cathedral was called a stor(e)y because it usually told a story, and the number of stories was a measure of the size of the building. Unit Definition (shackle) The shackle is a traditional unit of length used for measuring the lengths of nautical cables and chains, especially anchor chains. Anchor chains are formed by using shackles to join short lengths of chain. When the anchor is dropped and the chain runs out, a seaman counting the number of shackles can report the total length of chain deployed. The size of the unit therefore varied somewhat, depending on the length of the short chains used. In Britain, the unit became standardized in the 16th century at 12.5 fathoms (75 feet or 22.86 meters). In 1949, the Royal Navy adopted a length of 15 fathoms, which is 90 feet or 27.432 meters; this brought the British shackle in line with the U.S. unit, which is usually called the shot.
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