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Back to my original story...After my husband took the ruler back and walked away shaking his head I asked him what the correct measurement was and he said "15 and3/4 inches" which if he would have bothered to count WAS 15 and 6 dots. Men!
Anna Lee
YES, Rebecca!!! My ruler has more "ticks" on the one inch area, but NOT on the rest of the ruler! Is that what you're talking about when you say, 32nds & 64ths? I don't even use those! I don't even remember learning those in school as a kid! I just "skosh" my ruler over an inch, & go from there! LOL BELIEVE ME, I HAVE learned how to measure the 1/8" & 1/16's!" So, I HAVE gotten SO MUCH BETTER at measuring! It REALLY is a "NEED TO" with this craft! My hubby is PROUD!!!!!!
I, too, used the 1 + 1 (1" + 1 mark) until I started getting into trying to remember if it was 1/16 or 1/8 (it depended on the measurement at the time). Then, of course there are the half marks (such as 1" + 1 1/2 = 1 3/32"). Whoo! What a mouthful. And I still can't figure out what half of 1 7/8" unless I physically count inward from both the 0 and 1 7/8" equally (answer: 15/16" or 1/2 dot/tick less than 1").
OMG!! This thread is absolutely HILARIOUS!!! I'm soooo a member of this group!! Back in the day, when I learned how to read a tape measure I could only remember 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 between the inch measurements. If anyone asked me what the measurement of something was I'd reply "5 & 1/2 inches and two little lines" etc., now it always worked for me so I figured a person who knew how to actually read the tape measure/ruler could figure it out. Then one day I was at the hardware store and found a tradies tape measure (the kind that rolls back into itself) and it has the measurements marked for everything!! I carry that puppy with me whenever I have to measure something while shopping. Don't get me started on the metric system, I'm hopeless with that!
Anna Lee ~ as others have previously stated, do what works for you!!
I have this website bookmarked at work - when I have to measure/weigh a package to send by courier, some ask for Metric and some for Imperial - I use
it at home to convert recipes and for linear measurement as wel, and it's a quick way to report the temperature here in Canada to my friend in Massachusetts who doesn't know anything about metric.
Back to my original story...After my husband took the ruler back and walked away shaking his head I asked him what the correct measurement was and he said "15 and3/4 inches" which if he would have bothered to count WAS 15 and 6 dots. Men!
Anna Lee
Don't ya just feel sorry for those who just don't get the "dot system"!?!
__________________ Sharlene My Gallery - My Stampin' Up! Website "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." Psalms 19:14
This whole thing is wonderful and hilarious. I read it all yesterday and was totally amused and relieved that I'm not the only one with problems with North, South, East and West AND with "marks" on the ruler. So when my husband came home from work (teaches college math) and said next week's topic in his seminar class is measuring I just couldn't believe it!!! I read him a bunch of the entries and told him I too use the "marks" system. Like when I'm cutting a piece of cardstock in half on my paper cutter, I cut at the 4 1/4 +1 1/2 marks spot because obviously my cutter is off. Or I cut at the 5 1/2 + 1 1/2 marks location. My poor husband was amazed...he said he may have to bring our topic to his class next week. See, we're now part of higher education!!!
I have to say kempd, I feel QUITE VINDICATED in that our son is graduating from College with a Bachelor of Science in MATH this Spring!!!! & will be going for his Masters this Fall. ANNNNND, would you believe we HOMESCHOOLED HIM? WE DID!!! LOL It makes a body feel GREAT!!!!!!!!!!Even with ALL of my failings for myself, HE IS FLYING HIGH!!!!!!!!!!!
Sue - I agree with you a measuring tape is either cloth or metal that rolls up and a ruler is not either of those. But of course there is also the yard stick that is not a ruler or a measuring tape. LOL Oh just a thought - what are the wood "rulers" that fold up?
Usually it's called a "folding rule".
If it has the little metal sliding bar for detail measurements, it's an "extension folding rule".
My dad had one when I was growing up and I thought it was the coolest thing. You can still buy them most anywhere.
If it has the little metal sliding bar for detail measurements, it's an "extension folding rule".
My dad had one when I was growing up and I thought it was the coolest thing. You can still buy them most anywhere.
Fionna, thanks, my Dad also had one. I need to check it out and see if Mom still has my Dad's. I'd like to have it for the memories. :p
To others - something I tell all my class attendees is to check their rulers to see if they are correct. Some of the less expensive rulers markings are off a wee bit. I check mine against an architectural ruler but if you don't have one, check your ruler against your paper cutters to see if they are the same and toss rulers that don't match.
I was having problems being just a hair off and thought it was me. I was using a ruler to figure the measurement and then I'd go to the paper cutter and using my notes, I'd make the cut using the cutter's ruler. When it didn't match I finally checked the rulers and found out the difference. Generally, a "tick" may not matter, but when making 3-D items it really does matter. Many of my customers have now tossed out the cheaper rulers.
I also had a customer tell me that one of my tutorials was wrong and after a bit of discussion, I had her check her ruler. Her ruler was wrong not my tutorial (whew).
My ruler of preference are the C-Thru rulers. They are great because they have a grid so I can say 1/8" plus 1 box. Also, they are inexpensive. :p
I am glad I am not the only one who does this--My husband is a math teacher and really gives me a hard time. He claims that I use algebra every time I make a card. I tell him that if I looked at it that way, it would take the fun out of it.
It's not just the rulers that are off..I have a very nice heavy wooden paper cutter, that I had received as a gift many years ago. Never thought much about the measurements when I received it because I wasn't using it for cards then just general cutting of paper and it didn't have to be accurate. It has a ruler at the top and a ruler through the middle of the board and they do not match up no matter how I put the paper on it, and neither ruler matches up to my metal ruler that I use for everything. It's a real shame because it is a nice board but I don't use it often because it's a pain to measure something with the metal ruler and mark it and then take that piece of paper to the cutting board and match it to the tick mark I made just so everything can be the same size.
Anna Lee
I also have a guillotine cutter that is slightly off, so I use a straight edge scrap piece of paper, long enough to reach from the top to the bottom and tape it in place, cuts are now straight.
But, even more annoying, is that not all paper is cut "squarely" by the manufacturer. So you are out of square before you begin. Bummer!
With all these measurement issues with the rulers & guillotines, do you THINK it has something to do with everything being made in CHINA? Just a thought!
Agree with the guillotine comments! I've had the same issue with paper trimmers too- I think its that the framework is 'off' to the ruler measurements. Not always square, KWIM? And I so agree about card maunfacturers. i have many times found that A4 card is not cut square. I often make cards with folded A4,( so no cuts to be wrong) and you can see its off when its folded.
Such a great conversation. My sister, myself and our husbands had a discussion about driving directions about a year ago. My sister and I use "turn left at such and such street, etc." and our husbands say turn south or east, etc. We were wondering if it was a gender thing. However, once I had to give driving directions to a male friend of my husband and he said that I gave the best directions and he had no problems.This was after he had been trying to use my husband's directions. Interesting.
I don't think it's a gender difference in regards to south, east, right or left. I have a VERY hard time remember which is right and which is left. So much so that if someone says "right" I have to consciously focus on my right arm, which is the one I use to "write" with. It's worse if someone says "left". Because then I have to focus on my right arm, acknowledge that it's not THAT arm, and THEN focus on the OTHER arm - the "not right" arm (instead of simply the "left") arm. When I give directions, I always use east, west, south, and north.
Another weird thing is, even though all the maps have by default north as the top, in my head, EAST is the top! When I am drawing out directions for someone, I always label the top "east" so they aren't confused, or so they can turn it so that north is "up". And also in real life, I get geography mixed up - I "feel" that Mexico is west of me, and Canada is in the east (I'm in the US). So for places that are too far away for me to see, they are "turned" incorrectly in my mind. Also if I'm indoors, I often can't tell which is east, south, north, or west. If I'm outside and can see the sun, then I can reason which way is east, and then the other three directions follow.
Wheni was learning to drive, we lived along Intertate 29, and people would give directions like I-29 North. I thought yhey took the whole Interstate, measured it, and the north half was I-29 North, and the south half was I-29 south. The whole thing seemed very confusing to me.
Thanks for starting my day with a good chuckle. I always use skoosh, smidgen, even in sewing, although I love fractions and measuring. I use down to 1/16" but most of my rulers don't have that past the first inch. My paper cutter only measures to the half inch, if you can believe that, but no worries, the grid has worn off anyway, so I have to eyeball most everything (thank goodness I seem good at that). When writing down measurements, I use the math symbols > and < to indicate just a tick more or less.
I laughed at this post because I do the exact same thing. In fact I will count the little lines and when my husband ask me how long something is I say "x inches or feet and x amount of little lines. He just shakes his head.
