Does anyone else do this?
The max I can lift is 50 lbs, so if something can’t weigh more than 50 lbs, I just see if I can lift it.
My hand, tip of thumb to tip of pinkie or index finger is almost exactly 8 inches. I use this a lot to do a quick check on stuff I’m thinking of buying to see if it’s the right size.
Chin to thumb is about 2 1/2 yards. If I have a piece of cloth, it’s easier to use this than a measuring tape.
You are not the only one to do this, Zyada. The Harvard Bridge, which spans the Charles River from Boston to Cambridge, and leads to directly to MIT, is 364.4 Smoots and one ear in length.
It’s seven and a half feet from your chin to your thumb? :eek: Are you Plasticman?
7 1/2 feet from chin to thumb! That means you have about a 15 foot wingspan. And I didn’t even notice.
Jim
PS: My thumb to pinky is 9 inches, my elbow to 1st finger is 18 inches. My casual walking stride is 2 feet. My thumb is one inch wide. My fist is 4 inches across. I do this all the time.
Humph! 2 1/2 feet. Or a little less than a yard. 
My feet are almost exactly 30 cm. from heel to middle toe… I sometimes use this…
My fert are pretty nearly a foot, so I do use them for measuring.
There are plenty of such “body measurements” that have been used – measuring horses in “hands”, or rope in “ells” (which seems to be hand-to-ELbow, close to a yard). I’ve been told that, by chance or designthe first knuckle of the thumb is about an inch. But I don’t use these, mainly because I don’t have to.
Middle fingertip to elbow = 18 inches.
Index finger = 3 inches
Left thumb width = 2 cm
Flat footed (with shoes), reaching upward, fingertip of my middle finger is 8 feet. As for measuring 8 INCHES…
…I use a ruler.
Hey, UncleBill, all I know is that this:
|-----------|
equals 8 inches.
Doesn’t it?
The only one I use regularly is this: the last joint of my pinkie finger, from tip to knuckle, is exactly one inch.
index finger middle joint = 1 inch.
Heel height on favorite black pumps - 3 inches.
Pinkytip to thumbtip, hand spread = 8 inches.
Each foot length = 9.5 inches
Crook of elbow to base of middle finger = 12 inches.
My natural stride (2 steps) is pretty close to five feet. My size 10 1/2 foot is almost exactly one foot long.
The distance from my wrist to the tip of my middle finger is exactly the same length as my. . .
Nevermind.
My mother’s feet are exactly twelve inches long, which was a big help when measuring things around the house.
Okay, not my own body parts, but my ex-SO and I used to measure weight in units of “Dennigrams.” One Dennigram is a comparative measure of weight equal to total weight of Dennis, our cat.
I can’t really tell you what 14 lbs is like to lift. I have no idea how tired I would be if I carried 8 kg for four blocks. But I DO know what it’s like to lift and carry Dennis.
Whenever we had heavy backpacks hiking, or had to carry a lot of groceries, we’d divvy up the weight based on the number of Dennis’ it felt like we were carrying.
Something that is ALLEGEDLY a standard - middle fingertip to middle fingertip (arms extended straight out to your sides - llike a cruciform) = your height
Freaking board ate my post…four times…oh yes, I WILL post here, if it f’ing kills me…
Since I live in Michigan, I find myself using my hands to explain geography all the time. Left hand palm up, horizontal, thumb facing “north,” right hand palm up, vertical, thumb facing “east.” Sure, take the ring finger north, hang a left at the Bridge, follow the left ring finger east until you hit the knife scar, turn in a thumbward direction…
I’m not even going to post the most obvious one! I’ll just let you all keep guessing.
(hint: it’s nickname was “The Ruler” with some of the girls around my college)
Everywhere you go, there you are!
The first joint of my thumb is a tenth of a foot, which I discovered the year I did surveying fieldwork. Also, one average step is about 2.5 feet. Those are the only body parts I use to actually measure things, although sort of related is the fact that I use the hollow of my hand to measure a teaspoon (of herbs, or salt, or whatever) instead of a measuring spoon–I cup my hand, and pour in as much as looks like a teaspoon. But that’s not exactly what the OP was asking for.