TIL I was using a tape measure wrong for 15 years

I always started measuring from the 1 inch mark because I thought the metal hook was just for hanging it up. My buddy Tim saw me do it on a kitchen remodel last month and almost lost it. Anyone else have a basic tool they were using backwards this whole time?

2 comments

2 Comments

lindab4910d ago

My uncle Jimmy built a whole deck once using a speed square wrong for like 10 years. He thought the little fence on it was just a handle so he never flipped it over to mark angles. It wasn't until his neighbor a retired carpenter came over for a BBQ and saw him struggling with a rafter cut that he finally realized. He just stood there shaking his head with a beer in his hand saying "Jimmy you've been making this harder than it needs to be since 2003." We still laugh about it every summer when we fire up the grill on that deck which honestly is a little wonky in one corner but still standing somehow.

angelar5710d ago

Always started measuring from the 1 inch mark" - yeah that's a new one on me. My buddy thought for years that the little slot in a tape measure was for prying open paint cans. He was using it to open buckets on job sites until someone pointed it out.