The Magic Nile River, The Artery of Life

The Giant Water Ruler: The Nilometer

The Pharaohs were incredibly smart mathematicians, and they never left anything to chance! They wanted to know exactly how much water would come in the flood so they could decide how many seeds to plant. They thought for a bit, and then built the Nilometer! It was a deep stone well connected to the river, with a tall pillar inside covered in carved lines just like a giant ruler. When the water rose inside the well, they would look at the numbers to know if the year would be full of crops and goodness, or if they needed to save their food.

If you had a giant magic ruler, what is the tallest thing in your room or school that you would measure?

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