29 002 facts
While investigating facts about 29 002, I found out little known, but curios details like:
When Mount Everest was measured in 1854 the exact value was 29,000 feet. Despite being accurate, Andrew Waugh published the value as 29,002 feet to avoid the public assuming it was merely a rounded estimate. Thus he was known as "the first man to put 2 feet on top of Everest".
In 1856, an Indian surveyor calculated the peak of Mount Everest to be exactly 29,000 ft. Fearing that nobody would believe that this was the exact height and nothing more than an estimate, he publicly declared the height to be 29,002 ft.
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 6 of the best facts about 29 002 I managed to collect.
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In 1856, an Indian mathematician was hired to calculate the height of Mount Everest and found it to be exactly 29,000 ft. Authorities released the height as 29,002 ft to avoid speculation that they had just given a rounded estimate as it would have been hard to believe the exact figure.
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In 1856 a group of computers (which meant "one who computes") conducted a survey of Mount Everest, calculating it's height at 29,002' tall. With today's GPS surveys the summit is calculated at 29,029'. This put the mid 1800s computer survey team at just 27' off.