gullydirt wrote:I've just run across this archaic unit..Does anyone know it's origin? :? :?:
I believe its a reference to the French Royal inch, or the pouce.
The pouce (English translation = inch or thumb) is a french unit of length. There were 12 pouces to the pied but since the pied had various equivalents at different times, so did the pouce. A 1853 book has it equal to 1.09 inches or 0.0277 meters.