Talk about getting off topic. But this is worth noting as being one of the dumbest 12th century rules that are STILL in place...
Today it is 12 inches, the length of the average man's foot. Yard: A yard was originally the length of a man's belt or girdle, as it was called. In the 12th century, King Henry I of England fixed the yard as the distance from his nose to the thumb of his out-stretched arm. Today it is 36 inches.
Okay back to topic at hand WHEELING