It wasn't so weird back when people lived in relative isolation without any kind of standards, and had to come up with some sort of reference that was widely familiar and commonly available.

You know, back in the Neolithic Age.

It even makes sense why that familiar set of references would get standardized and then survive up until the beginning of the Industrial Age. Beyond that point it's all driven by American exceptionalism, a.k.a. willful ignorance. What I don't understand is what happened to the cubit. Feet make sense for distance, but as a craftsman I don't want to be foot-fondling my work pieces.