Units of measurement in France before the French Revolution 4 parts in one million) than the "pied" used in France. According to the law of 19 Frimaire An VIII (December 10, 1799), Traditionally, the French pound ("livre") was defined as the mass of exactly of a French cubic foot of water. When the kilogram was defined, the knowledge that a "pied du Roi cube" filled with water masses exactly 70 French pounds was apparently lost. According to the traditional (cubic foot) definition, one "livre" would have been about 489.675 grams. According to the kilogramme definition, one "livre" was about 489.506 grammes. The difference is about 0.035%. However, a small
Pied oystercatcher Pied oystercatcher The pied oystercatcher ("Haematopus longirostris") is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird native to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. The similar South Island pied oystercatcher ("H. finschi") occurs in New Zealand. The name "oystercatcher" is something of a misnomer for this species, because they seldom eat oysters, which are found mainly on rocky coastlines. Pied oystercatchers frequent sandy coastlines, where they feed mainly on bivalve molluscs, which are prised apart with their specially adapted bill. This Australian species is easily recognized by the characteristic 5–8 cm long orange-red beak, slender pink legs and