lily70•12d ago

Shoutout to the guy at the hardware store who called me out on my tape technique

I was measuring a countertop for my kitchen remodel and this older guy just watched me for a minute. He said 'you're hooking the tape on the edge wrong, that's why your last cut came out short.' I'd been flipping the metal clip thing every time I measured for like 10 years and never noticed. Has anyone else had a random stranger fix a basic skill you thought you had down?

3 comments

3 Comments

kevin_west12d ago

Did that guy also tell you the little notch in the clip is for hanging a nail?

pat_fisher2412d ago

Wait, are you telling me I've been using that notch to hang nails when I could have been hanging my crippling self-doubt from it this whole time?

joel_hall1712d ago

I read somewhere that the whole metal clip thing on tape measures was actually designed to wobble on purpose... the thickness of the clip moves exactly the thickness of the hook so inside and outside measurements stay accurate. Blew my mind when I found that out because I'd been adding a millimeter in my head for years like some kinda caveman. Reminds me of the time I heard a carpenter explain that the little hole in the clip is for putting it on a nail so you can measure alone.