How did we arrive at our standardized sizes of 8 1/2 by 11 inches for letter paper and 8 1/2 by 14 for “legal paper”? Was it totally random or was there some practical reason? –Phillip Raskin, Plantation, Florida
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As for letter paper, it’s cut from a 17-by-22-inch sheet, the mold for which supposedly was the largest a papermaker could conveniently carry in days of yore. It’s claimed Henry VIII standardized this size, known as foolscap, to prevent chiseling by the trade. Nice try, but the truth is that: (1) much larger molds were routinely used; (2) foolscap was anywhere from 12 by 15 to 14 by 18, depending on the grade, not 17 by 22; and (3) there is no evidence English paper sizes were standardized until long after Henry VIII. Other than that, this theory is airtight.
OK, but why 17 by 22? I say it was a random shot–you know how we Heisenbergians loathe causation–abetted somewhat by the fact that 8 1/2 by 11 makes a nice size sheet.
