Who knew that “pica” had a first meaning that isn’t about measurements. From wordsmith.org’s a.word.a.day- A tendency or craving for eating substances other than normal food (such as clay, chalk, and dirt), common during childhood or pregnancy.
- In printing, a unit of type size, equal to about 1/6 of an inch.
- A type size for typewriters, having ten characters to the inch.
Another fact: Pica is a magpie. Pica pica is the Eurasian magpie, dressed in (letterpress) black and white! Though I think it got its name from its undiscriminating eating habits.
Thanks for the blog – I always enjoy getting a new post.