Origin of the Fathom
I was wondering the other day where the measurement of a Fathom came from when I got a flash. 6 feet is just about what you get when you coil a rope at full arms length allowing for a slight slack in the rope. Is this where it came from? Coiling up a leadline and counting the number of coils of rope? If I am full of it where did the measurement come from?
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