Jack+Kim's+History

http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/mile.asp I decided to do my research on why there are 5,280 feet in a mile, because that seemed like an extremely random number to me. The origin of a mile comes from the Romans who called it mille pasuum. In their measurement system a mile was a thousand paces and a pace was a thousand feet. Under this system, there was 5,000 feet in a mile. After Britain was no longer owned by the Romans, they had to decide how to integrate the mile into their own measurement system of furlongs. A furlong was a measurement used by farmers to show how much a horse could plow before it needed a nap. One furlong was about 660 feet. The British decided to put 8 furlongs in a mile making it 5,280 feet instead of the original 5,000 feet. That is why there are 5,280 feet in a mile.

Sorry Mrs. Morin, I had a lot of stuff to do but I have my article posted on history now. -Jack