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Spider Jerusalem

(21,786 posts)
8. Because it's a British cartoon.
Sat Mar 7, 2015, 07:51 AM
Mar 2015

56 pounds is four stone (a stone is 14 pounds). 56 pound weights (and 14, 28, and 112 pound weights) were common at the time; Google Books has references to "a 56 pound weight" in the writing of Robert Boyle (in the 1600's), in a number of the "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society" from 1829, and Seamus Heaney (in a poem called "Weighing In&quot mentions a scale on his family's farm and a 56-pound weight used as a counterbalance.

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