• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Odds / What Does a Furlong Have To Do with a Plow?

What Does a Furlong Have To Do with a Plow?

March 1, 2020 by Karen Hill

The word furlong, a length of 220 yards traveled in a horse race, comes from the word furrow, which is a groove in the ground made by a plow.

The 220-yard furlong was once thought to be the best length for a plow furrow. Ten furlongs were equal to one mile, which in medieval England was equal to 6,600 feet.

Two other length measures that are not used as often as they once were are the league and the fathom. A league was different in various places and in various times, but in England, it was equal to about three miles. The fathom was thought to be the length to which a man could extend his arms. Today’s fathom is equal to six feet.

The smallest unit of measure in the world is the attometer. Your thumb is probably more than 7,000,000,000,000,000,000 attometers long!

Related Facts

  • History of Rulers
  • How did the word “furlong” (mile) originate and What does furlong mean?
  • What Is a Googol?
  • How Long is a Furlong, What Does it Mean, and How Did the Unit of Measurement Originate?
  • Which Explorers First Explored the Continents of the World?
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed Our Lives Forever

Filed Under: Odds

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.

Previous Post: « Why Is Brown Sugar Brown?
Next Post: Who Was the Man in the Iron Mask? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy