History of measurement units of length referred to above and the Mesopotamian cubit were used in the 3rd millennium BC and are the earliest known units used by ancient peoples to measure length. The units of length used in ancient India included the dhanus, or dhanush (bow), the krosa (cry, or cow-call) and the yojana (stage). The common cubit was the length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was divided into the span of the hand or the length between the tip of little finger to the tip of the thumb (one-half cubit), the palm
The Moving Finger serialisation was as an abridged version in six parts in "Woman's Pictorial" from 17 October (Volume 44, Number 1136) to 21 November 1942 (Volume 44, Number 1141) under the slightly shorter title of "Moving Finger". All six instalments were illustrated by Alfred Sindall. This novel is one of two to differ significantly in American editions (the other being "Three Act Tragedy"), both hardcover and paperback. Most American editions of "The Moving Finger" have been abridged by about 9000 words to remove sections of chapters, and strongly resemble the "Collier's" serialisation which, mindful of the need to bring the magazine reader