If you’ve ever played or watched cricket, which is a very imperial kind of game, then the pitch (the distance between the wickets) is exactly one chain, and the field (the whole playing ground) is typically one acre although it isn’t standardised.

Cricket ball is leather, about the size of your fist, and surprisingly heavy. A chain is about as far as you can throw such a ball over-arm, and an acre is about the circle of how far you can smack such a ball with a bat before it touches the ground.