Watch This Video To Learn 36 Unusual Units Of Measurement

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Have you ever been following a recipe and come across a unit of measurement that sounds stupidly imprecise—like a dash, a smidgen or a pinch? Well, it turns out those are amounts that actually have real scientific values, and those in particular are all directly related to the size of a teaspoon.

That’s the basic idea behind Mental Floss’ newest video entitled 36 Unusual Units of Measurement, which is a fascinating look at three dozen strange ways we calculate the size, weight and length of various objects and even ourselves. In the past, the YouTube channel has gained great popularity through its amusing and informative lists concerning US Presidents, acronymns and grammar mistakes, and this clip will no doubt add to that pleasing catalog.

I think my favorite part is probably when host John Green goes over each of the units of measurement related to parts of the body and compares each to the other in a rapid fire list. The sequence sort of sums up everything that’s wonderful about this video and Mental Floss as a whole. After all, there’s no reason why videos can’t be entertaining, informative and snarky all at the same time.

Mack Rawden
Editor In Chief

Mack Rawden is the Editor-In-Chief of CinemaBlend. He first started working at the publication as a writer back in 2007 and has held various jobs at the site in the time since including Managing Editor, Pop Culture Editor and Staff Writer. He now splits his time between working on CinemaBlend’s user experience, helping to plan the site’s editorial direction and writing passionate articles about niche entertainment topics he’s into. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in English (go Hoosiers!) and has been interviewed and quoted in a variety of publications including Digiday. Enthusiastic about Clue, case-of-the-week mysteries, a great wrestling promo and cookies at Disney World. Less enthusiastic about the pricing structure of cable, loud noises and Tuesdays.