Page:Highways and Byways in Lincolnshire.djvu/430



"SPEED-SKATING.

(From our Correspondent.)

"The International Skating Race held here to-day over a course of 10,000 metres was won by the Norwegian skater, Oscar Mathieson. His time was 17 min. 22 6-10 sec., which is a world's 'record.' The Russian, Ipolitow, was second, his time being 17 min. 35 5-10 sec. The previous world's 'record' was 17 min. 36 3-5 sec."

'Metres' fairly beat me, but I take it that 10,000 of them would be about six miles.

But anyone who likes to worry it out can postulate that the length of a metre is 39·37079 inches. This was originally adopted as a "Natural unit," being one ten-millionth of the distance between a pole and the Equator. But, as an error has been found in the measurement of this distance, it is no longer a "Natural unit," but just the length of a certain rod of platinum kept at Paris, as the yard is the length of a rod kept at Westminster.