What common unit of length is almost exactly equal to the average length of one minute (1/60 of a degree) of latitude on the Earth’s surface?

How to win: Send your answer, full name and address, by e-mail to [email protected], or on a postcard to Stan Newman’s Trivia Challenge No. 47, P.O. Box 69, Massapequa Park, NY 11762. Only one submission per person, please. Answers must be received within seven days. One winner chosen at random from all correct entries will receive a copy of Stan’s trivia book “Assorted Trifles,” courtesy of Random House.

Answer to Trivia Challenge No. 40: The Dominican Republic reverted back to a colony of Spain for several years in the 1860s, having been independent of Spain for the previous 40 years. Winner: Jess Stone of Lewiston, Idaho.