A Mean Foot

Transcript

A Mean FootJacob Kobel’s depiction of the determination of 1 foot How did they solve the problem of measuring feet in the 1500s? The Problem: "1 foot" was originally the length of a human foot. But whose foot? A giant's foot is longer than a child's foot! The Solution: They used the "Law of Large Numbers" (without knowing it!). They took 16 random men. Lined them up toe-to-heel. Measured the total length. Divided by 16. Why 16? By taking 16 people, the short feet and the long feet canceled each other out, giving a perfect "Average (Mean) Foot." This became the standard measurement we use today!