The whole British Imperial System was eminently workable.

A Rod, Pole, or Perch. was the standard width of a Victorian terraced
house in London. and equalled a standard number of bricks.

The problem is that whilst having 56,712 different units for length is very
convenient when those lengths are perfectly adapted to the quantity they
measure, it makes it damn near impossible to compare such lengths outside
that narrow field without having a telephone book sized book of tables to
convert them.

Christian.