Just found out I've been reading my tape measure wrong for 10 years

I was watching a YouTube video from a carpenter in Ohio and he pointed out that the little black diamonds every 19.2 inches are for engineered truss spacing, not just random marks. Blew my mind lol, has anyone else missed obvious stuff like this for way too long?

3 comments

3 Comments

jackson.sarah20d ago

Oh man, that's hilarious and so relatable! I did the exact same thing with the little marks on a measuring cup - thought the lines were just decoration until my sister pointed out they're for different volumes. For the tape measure thing, what finally helped me was just marking a sticky note with the purpose of each symbol and keeping it in my tool pouch until I memorized them. Saved me so much guesswork on my weekend projects!

faith_lopez4819d ago

Yeah the sticky note thing is smart. I should do that for my tape measure too, cause I still forget what the red numbers mean half the time. Definitely beats just guessing like I've been doing.

leo23819d ago

Wait until you find out about the little windows on gas cans that supposedly show how full it is but they're always wrong. I spent a whole summer pouring gas into my lawnmower thinking it was empty when the window said half full just because I tilted the can wrong. My buddy finally told me you have to keep the can perfectly level and even then it's a gamble. I feel like the tape measure diamonds are way more reliable than those gas can windows honestly. At least the ones on a tape measure don't lie to you about how much gas you've got left.