Same amount in every unit
What is the Cabinet of Weird Units?
The Cabinet of Weird Units is a free converter and reference for 223 unusual units of measure: historical units such as the furlong and the cubit, scientific oddities such as the barn and the jiffy, and joke units such as the smoot and the beard-second. Every unit has its own page with its exact or conventional value, its history, strange facts and linked sources. For example, 1 furlong = 118.209 smoots.
Units are grouped by what they measure: length (34), mass (23), volume (32), time (23), area (21), speed (9), energy (17), power (11), pressure (11), temperature (11), angle (12), data (10), radiation dose (9).
Popular weird units
- Smoot: A smoot is a unit of length equal to about 1.7018 metres (5.58333 feet).
- Beard-second: A beard-second is a unit of length equal to about 3.28084 × 10⁻⁸ feet.
- Banana equivalent dose: A banana equivalent dose is a unit of radiation dose equal to about 1 × 10⁻⁴ millisieverts.
- Furlong per fortnight: A furlong per fortnight is a unit of speed equal to 0.000598714 kilometres per hour (0.00016631 metres per second).
- Barn: A barn is a unit of area equal to 1 × 10⁻²⁸ square metres.
- Potrzebie: A potrzebie is a unit of length equal to about 0.00226335 metres (0.00742568 feet).
- Microcentury: A microcentury is a unit of time equal to 3,155.76 seconds (0.8766 hours).
- Donkeypower: A donkeypower is a unit of power equal to 250 watts (0.25 kilowatts).
- Attoparsec: An attoparsec is a unit of length equal to 0.0308568 metres (0.101236 feet).
- Sheppey: A sheppey is a unit of length equal to about 1,408.18 metres (4,620 feet).
- Olympic swimming pool: An Olympic swimming pool is a unit of volume equal to about 2,500,000 litres.
- Wales: Wales, used as a unit of area, is about 2,077,900 hectares.
See the 25 weirdest units of measurement · Browse all 223 weird units by category
Questions about weird units
What is the weirdest unit of measurement?
There is no official answer (see the 25 weirdest units), but strong candidates on this site include the shed (1 × 10−52 m², a joke unit of nuclear cross section), the beard-second (how far a beard grows in one second, 1 × 10−8 m), the potrzebie (the thickness of issue 26 of MAD magazine) and the banana equivalent dose (the radiation dose from eating one banana).
How long is a smoot?
A smoot is a unit of length equal to about 1.7018 metres (5.58333 feet). It is named after Oliver R. Smoot, whose fraternity brothers used his height to measure the Harvard Bridge in 1958. Read the smoot's full history.
What is a furlong per fortnight?
A furlong per fortnight is a unit of speed equal to 0.000598714 kilometres per hour (0.00016631 metres per second). It is the speed unit of the joke FFF system (furlong, firkin, fortnight) and is used in classrooms to practise unit conversion.
Are these units real?
Some are official or historical, such as the furlong, the barn and the nautical mile. Others are jokes or informal comparisons, such as the smoot, the microcentury and Wales as a unit of area. Each unit's history says which it is.
Where do the numbers come from?
Each unit page links its sources, such as NIST, the BIPM and Wikipedia. Units whose size varied over time or place (Mach, medieval moments, cubits) use the convention stated on their page.
How do I use the converter?
Choose a category, pick two units and type an amount. The address bar keeps the conversion, so a link such as weirdunits.com/#length/furlong/smoot/1 opens it directly.