xkcd #3138: Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure

Title text:

A person with two watches is never sure what time it is, especially if I got them one of the watches.

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Source: https://xkcd.com/3138/

explainxkcd for #3138

A person with two watches is never sure what time it is, especially if I got them one of the watches.
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[–] 5 points 1 year ago (3 children)

My sawyer showed me a measuring tape graduated in tenths of a foot. Someone manufactured that for some reason.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago* (1 child)

    Oh yeah, we use these "decimal feet" rulers at my job, for surveying. Nobody bothered to tell me ahead of time, so my first few days out in the field were pretty much a complete waste. I still maintain they are an abomination, the worst of both systems.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago*

    If it's used for surveying, aren't those survey feet? (a survey foot is 1.000002 US customary feet). Dividing a survey foot by 12 would not be technically an inch, even though it's only a couple millionths off.

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