Josh's death is 36 in tall, when he measured the desk using a yard stick, it was 1 yard tall. Why did the number decrease when he measured with the yard stick

A yard is a larger unit of measure than an inch, so it takes fewer yards to equal the distance of a larger number of inches.

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As it happens, 1 yard is exactly the same as 36 inches (by definition). So the measurement that is 36 inches will be a measurement that is 1 yard.