• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

How Long Is a Rod and Where Did the Unit of Measurement Come From?

By Karen Hill

The rod is still used as a unit of measurement for portaging in recreational canoeing, possibly because a rod is about the same length as a canoe.

A rod was established to be the combined total length of the left feet of the first sixteen men to leave church on Sunday.

The distance was standardized in 1607 as 5 yards, or 16.5 feet.

An acre is 40 rods by 4 rods, or the area a man and an ox could work in one day.

A rod is the same length as a perch and a pole.

Related

  • How Long is a Furlong, What Does it Mean, and How Did the Unit of Measurement Originate?
  • What Is a Parsec, How Long Is a Parsec, and Who Invented the Parsec As a Unit of Measurement?
  • What Is an Astronomical Unit and How Is the Astronomical Unit Used To Measure Distances In Space?
  • How Far Is a League and Where Did the Unit of Measurement Come From?
  • Who Invented the Yard and How Did the Unit of Measurement Originate?
  • Why Is the Hand Used As a Unit of Measurement to Measure the Height of a Horse?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Accomplishments Animals Culture Finance Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Law Mythology Odds People Plants Religion Science Space The World Universe Your Body

About · Privacy · Contact
Copyright © 2019 Zippy Facts