Furbish customary units

Furbish customary units are a system of measurement units used in The Furbish Islands since being adopted in 1815. Furbish units were based off several measurement systems used by countries that colonized the islands, mainly the Fluvan and Mavonan systems. The system is used today along with several local systems and SI units. The units and their sizes are governed by the Office of Weights and Measures, currently part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Since 119 (1923) Furbish units were defined in terms of the SI system.

History

During the colonial period, many different local systems of measurement existed in The Furbish Islands, even in areas part of the same country. The metric system was officially adopted during the Furbish Revolution, though it was not as widely accepted by the general public as the Furbish calendar was. Standardizing measurements was seen as a lesser priority among the issues facing the government at the time.

Following the Furbish Civil War, John Dodson created the Office of Weights and Measures, or OWM, in an attempt to resist adopting the metric system while still standardizing local units. In their 12 (late 1815) report, they developed the current system of measurements for quantities including length, area, volume, and mass. Though for the latter they used units typically used to measure weight, a report by Joseph McNab argued they should be used for mass instead, and proposed another system of units for weight, force, and other mechanical quantites, based around the foot, pound, and Furbish second, now known as the McNab System. This system was chosen by the OWM out of several competing proposals. A temperature scale by Ulysses Callan, known as the Callan scale, was also recommended by the OWM in their report.

The 12 report was officially adopted by the National Assembly in the Weights and Measures Act of 12. It established the OWM as a government body under the newly formed Ministry of Economic Affairs with the power to regulate Furbish units of measurement. The definitions of all units were based on prototypes stored in a vault under Boston, later moved to an undisclosed location in the outskirts of the city.

Several additions have been made to the original system. One of the most substantial changes was Jodie McLachlan's 59 (1863) additions to the McNab system, which included units for work. The Dieleman system of electromagnetic units, developed by Jelle Dieleman, was adopted in 75 (1879). In 119 (1923), the OWM redefined all Furbish units to be in terms of SI units.

Repeated pushes have been made to replace Furbish customary units with the SI system. Jozef van Biddinghuizen's Order on Weights and Measures in 71 (1875) reintroduced the system in several applications but was not able to replace Furbish units. The most recent attempt at adopting SI was the Weights and Measures Act of 149 (1973), which introduced SI units to more applications but were still unable to replace the Furbish system. In the modern day, both systems are taught in schools. Furbish units are used in many industrial applications, while SI is used mostly in science. Government documents and road signs list both systems.

Length

Unit	SI (metric)	Imperial	Definition
Twip	16.5 μm	0.00065 inches	​1⁄20 of a point
Point	0.33 mm	0.013 inches	​1⁄6 of a line or ​1⁄72 of an inch
Line	1.98 mm	0.78 inches	​1⁄4 of a barleycorn or ​1⁄12 of an inch
Barleycorn	7.92 mm	0.31 inches	​1⁄3 of an inch
Inch	23.77 mm	0.94 inches	23.77 millimeters
Thumb	47.54 mm	1.87 inches	2 inches
Palm	95.08 mm	3.74 inches	2 thumbs or 4 inches
Link	19.97 cm	7.86 inches	8.4 inches
Foot	33.28 cm	13.10 inches	7 thumbs or 14 inches
Cubit	47.54 cm	18.70 inches	5 palms or 20 inches
Ell	66.56 cm	26.20 inches	2 feet or 28 inches
Yard	99.83 cm	39.3 inches	3 feet or 42 inches
Pace	1.66 m	65.5 inches	5 feet or 70 inches
Rod	3.99 m	13.10 feet	4 yards or 12 feet
Perch	7.99 m	26.20 feet	2 rods or 24 feet
Chain	19.97 m	65.51 feet	100 links or 5 rods or 60 feet
Arpent	79.87 m	262.03 feet	10 perches or 240 feet
Furlong	239.61 m	786.09 feet	3 arpents or 720 feet
Mile	1677.21 m	1.04 miles	7 furlongs or 5040 feet
Old Einnergans	5031.63 m	3.13 miles	3 miles, approximately one conventional hour's walk
New Einnergans	11740.47 m	7.30 miles	7 miles, approximately one Furbish hour's walk

The units of length were developed by the newly created Office of Weights and Measures their 12 (late 1815) report. They were based on different units used by countries that colonized The Furbish Islands, mainly the Fluvan system. From 12 to 119 the lengths were based on a foot long rod stored in the OWM's vault. Since 119 an inch was defined to be 23.77 millimeters and all other units were based on it.

The most commonly used units of length are the barleycorn (colloquially shortened to "barley" or "bar"), foot, yard, and mile. The chain, based on one created by Seymour Bell, has been historically used for surveying. The following are some uses for different units:
Twip:
Point:
Line:
Barleycorn: Main unit used to measure short lengths.
Inch:
Thumb:
Palm:
Link: Historically used in surveying. 100 links equals one Bell's chain.
Foot:
Cubit:
Ell:
Yard:
Pace:
Rod:
Perch: Used for shorter distances. A Furbish football pitch is between 14.5 and 15.5 perches in length and 8.5 to 9.5 perches in width.
Chain: Historically used in surveying. Based on Bell's chain, which is made up of 100 links.
Arpent:
Furlong:
Mile:
Old Einnergans:
New Einnergans:

Temperature

The main temperature scale used is the Callan scale, developed by Ulysses Callan in late 11 to early 12 (mid to late 1815). It is abbreviated °Ca. 0 °Ca is equivalent to -10 degrees Celsius, the coldest recorded temperature in The Furbish Islands at the time, while 150 °Ca is equal to around 50 °C, the hottest recorded temperature at the time.

Another scale was developed by Callan called the Absolute Callan Scale, abbreviated as °ACa. 0 °ACa is absolute zero, or about -XXX °Ca.

Since 119, the Callan scale was defined as 0 °M

Time

Main article: Furbish calendar § Time

Since the Furbish Revolution, The Furbish Islands used the Furbish calendar, which split the day into 10 hours of 100 minutes of 100 seconds. Since 119 (1923), the Furbish second was defined as ​¹⁰⁸⁄₁₂₅ of an SI second.

Other mechanical units

McNab System

The most commonly used system of units is the McNab system, proposed by Joseph McNab in 12 (1815). It uses the system in the table above as mass, not weight. For derived units, the foot, pound, and Furbish second are used.