Jake Thackray 'Molly Metcalfe'

Oh absolutely, if they updated it to be based on modern farming then everyone would have significantly less acreage :D But you'll find that with most imperial measurements; they're based on physical objects or systems of measuring which make less sense today. One of my favourites being the traditional way of counting sheep in the north of England: [LINK] (and here's a great explanation and song by the late Jake Thackeray: [VIDEO] ).

Depending on what you are counting, sometimes "wrong" can be historically "right": In Swaledale, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, sheep farmers used to, and some still do; count their sheep in a very curious fashion. Instead of One, Two, Three, Four... they go, thus: (1)Yan, (2)Tan, (3)Tether, (4)Mether, (5)Pip; (6)Ezar, (7)Sezar, (8)Acker, (9)Conter, (10)Dick; (11)Yan-a-Dick, (12)Tan-a-Dick, (13)Tether-a-Dick, (14)Mether-a-Dick, (15)Bumfit; (16)Yan-a-Bum, (17)Tan-a-Bum, (18)Tether-a-Bum, (19)Mether-a-Bum, (20)Jigget. Having reached Twenty, they then take a stone [or make a mark upon the ground or a piece of wood, thus the term 'a score' or 'twenty'] representing the Twenty sheep that they have counted; and if they possess more than Twenty sheep, they go for another twenty: Yan, Tan, Tether, Mether, Pip... Another Twenty, another stone. Yan, Tan, Tether, Mether, Pip... Again,Twenty, again another stone. Jake Thackray 'Molly Metcalfe' 1971 [VIDEO]

Have you seen the famous folk song that starts with an explanation of these? Jake Thackray 'Molly Metcalfe' [VIDEO]

It's fair game, since it didn't get much discussion, but if you click on 'past' in the list of links below the title, you'll see a couple times this has already been posted. But since it's here again, I'll again recommend the Youtube video of Jake Thackray singing 'Molly Metcalfe': [VIDEO] Anyone grow up somewhere where this style of counting is still in use? Or one like it? Or did these die out in the last generation?

Here's Jake Thackray singing a song with this in it. Wonderful stuff. [VIDEO] . Edit: Just noticed this is referenced in the article. Sorry.

in qua talibus Indorum fruimur bis quinque figuris : [LINK] (our own convention; the fox has Hox, and the lion too, but they'd probably count in octal. For those keeping score, compare The House of Asterion : "The original says fourteen, but there is ample reason to infer that, as used by Asterion, this numeral stands for infinite") Lagniappe: [VIDEO] EDIT: while we're at it, maybe I should specify units as orbits of Sol III?