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Where does the weight "stone" come from?

Question

A stone in weight: is there a stone that weighs exactly 14 pounds and is that where the measurement comes from?
Bob, Ashford

Answer

Name: Stephen, Reading
Qualification: I read it in a book many years ago
Answer: When they used to ship animals in boats, they would weigh the animals – elephants and such – on land and then place stones of the equivalent weight in the boat to make sure it wouldn’t sink. So an elephant weighed x stones.

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