the.com/tape measure
A pocket-sized tyrant that decides whether your shelf was ever going to fit.
means A flexible strip of marked material, often metal or cloth, used to measure length or distance and typically coiled inside a compact case.
from A plain compound of "tape" and "measure." "Tape" comes from Old English "tæppe," a narrow strip of cloth used to bind or tie; "measure" descends from Latin "mensura" (a measuring), from "metiri," to measure, by way of Old French. Tailors and seamstresses long carried cloth tapes marked with units; the spring-loaded metal version that snaps back into its case is a later mechanical refinement, but the name stuck to its humble fabric ancestor.
- that hook
- Loose rivets let the tip slide for accuracy
- snap risk
- Retracting fast can slice fingers open
- black diamonds
- Mark stud spacing every 19.2 inches
- first patent
- Spring-return version dates to 1868
stanley 25-foot powerlock — best-selling tape measure in north america since 1980s, yellow with black markings
lufkin executive diameter tape — vintage brass tape measure from 1920s, still manufactured, used for measuring tree trunks