# When a yardstick isn’t a yardstick **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 10, 2022, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240 "2022-02-10T19:28:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/1 "2022-02-10T19:28:17Z")
My fiancée’s house was bequeathed to her by a childhood friend, who had inherited it from her parents, the original owners. Both women found better things to do with their time than empty the garage and storage areas of all the detritus of Commander and Mrs. Millers’ lives, so things turn up now and then. The thing that turned up most recently (and is the subject of this post) is a yardstick. It is weathered with age, and darkened with fifty-plus years of exposure to Los Angeles basin smog and Cdr. Miller’s cigarette smoke. It’s also in two pieces, having snapped at the 13-inch point (I believe that the break occurred some time in the past week). According to the advertising on it, it was probably a promotional item from a local chain of home improvement centers (purveyors of a no-longer existing brand of paint). I placed the two pieces together to measure the stovetop my fiancées has installed in the peninsula in her kitchen, and that’s when I noticed it: this thing is only 35 inches long! Why? Why would anyone deliberately create a 35-inch stick? Does someone have a patent on the yardstick that Ward and Harrington’s didn’t want to violate? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/2 "2022-02-10T19:38:42Z")
Reminds me of the closest my parents ever got to divorce. They were wallpapering a hallway, using 2 yardsticks, without realizing one was slightly shorter than the other. Hoo boy - that was a hot day! ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/3 "2022-02-10T19:48:40Z")
Sounds like it’s within [normal tolerances](https://www.teamrunsmart.com/articles/business-smart/business-management/october-2013/the-35-inch-yardstick). Dunno man, strikes us as weird, but I suppose things in pre-1970 USA were less uptight in general, and it may have been accepted that some feet are longer or shorter than others by a bit, and that was okay. The house I grew up in was built in the 1910s, and I don’t think there was a single right angle in the place. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/4 "2022-02-10T19:54:44Z")
I own a 48" ‘yardstick’ I got from a landscape trade show. There’s no special reason why it would be 48" (some landscape standard, etc) but that’s the size they decided to make them. I still think of it as a yardstick and at least it’s cleared marked. Also, it’s some weird plastic-foamcore material so probably won’t shrink when my grandchildren inherit it. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/5 "2022-02-10T19:59:09Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I placed the two pieces together to measure the stovetop my fiancées has installed in the peninsula in her kitchen, and that’s when I noticed it: this thing is only 35 inches long! That might be why he kept it all those years. “I built this house with a 35 inch yardstick, so if you’re ever going to make repairs to match, you’re gonna need this…” ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/6 "2022-02-10T20:02:41Z")
Have you tried to measure the length of the yardstick with a tape measure? Because if may be that the numbers printed on the stick run from 1 to 35, but the end-to-end is 36". (If every number was printed, the one end would have a zero - wouldn’t it. And the other would have a 36.) If it is 35", does the end look like it was trimmed? Is the 35 numeral cut in half? Maybe there was an accident that damaged one end, so someone trimmed the yardstick down to the next closest full inch. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/7 "2022-02-10T20:05:20Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > > > I placed the two pieces together to measure the stovetop my fiancées has installed in the peninsula in her kitchen, and that’s when I noticed it: this thing is only 35 inches long! > > That might be why he kept it all those years. “I built this house with a 35 inch yardstick, so if you’re ever going to make repairs to match, you’re gonna need this…” Heh.That’s plausible (even though I know the house was built by a construction company), but it leaves open the question of why the hardware store had it made that way. It did occur to me that maybe the stores were giving them out for free, and they made them short so as not to cut into their sales of _actual_ yardsticks. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/8 "2022-02-10T20:12:55Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > Have you tried to measure the length of the yardstick with a tape measure? Because if may be that the numbers printed on the stick run from 1 to 35, but the end-to-end is 36". (If every number was printed, the one end would have a zero - wouldn’t it. And the other would have a 36.) > > If it is 35", does the end look like it was trimmed? Is the 35 numeral cut in half? Maybe there was an accident that damaged one end, so someone trimmed the yardstick down to the next closest full inch. I think you’re onto something. On closer inspection, the “35” is cut off, and only shows the “3.” And when I turn it over, the first inch-mark is “2,” and the last one is “36.” Gotta say, the apparent inchectomy looks expertly done. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/9 "2022-02-10T20:14:43Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Gotta say, the apparent inchectomy looks expertly done. - I wonder who got the mile. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/10 "2022-02-10T20:20:01Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > It did occur to me that maybe the stores were giving them out for free, and they made them short so as not to cut into their sales of _actual_ yardsticks. No, no–it’s to sell more of the other stuff, like paint or concrete. See, if you measure with a shorter yardstick, you’ll conclude that your walls have more square feet than they really do, and buy more paint or whatever accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/11 "2022-02-10T20:32:13Z")
All yardsticks feel weirdly short to me. I spent 26 years teaching high school kids how to use meter sticks. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/12 "2022-02-10T20:39:53Z")
I’ve got a 13" ruler around here somewhere. It was a promotional item. A ‘bakers dozen’ is 13, not 12. Or it was at some point I guess. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/13 "2022-02-10T20:42:16Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I own a 48" ‘yardstick’ I got from a landscape trade show. Probably from the same folks who brought us the “buck-and-a-quarter quarterstaff.” [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/86/19/53/861953b6feb60cf7811e3c69dbfb1ef1.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/86/19/53/861953b6feb60cf7811e3c69dbfb1ef1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/14 "2022-02-10T21:28:59Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I wonder who got the mile. I believe Cecil B got de mile ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/15 "2022-02-10T21:34:31Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I own a 48" ‘yardstick’ I got from a landscape trade show. There’s no special reason why it would be 48" (some landscape standard, etc) but that’s the size they decided to make them. I still think of it as a yardstick and at least it’s cleared marked. Also, it’s some weird plastic-foamcore material so probably won’t shrink when my grandchildren inherit it. Handy, you can cover three studs or joists on 16" centers (and by “cover” I mean measure from the center of one to the center of the third one over). ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/16 "2022-02-10T21:42:56Z")
I also have a 48" wooden measuring rule. _Many years ago_ - the local bank was handing them out when they opened a new branch. Printed on the stick is the bank name and “We go the extra distance for you”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/17 "2022-02-10T23:15:33Z")
That might be the same promotion where my mom got hers-- It has the same slogan on it. Or, one of hers, I should say. I think she now has two different four-foot-sticks. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/18 "2022-02-11T01:52:30Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > > [@running\_coach](#): > > > > I wonder who got the mile. > > I believe Cecil B got de mile - \< waves can of Raid \> ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/19 "2022-02-11T02:18:26Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > \< waves can of Raid \> It won’t do anything, I’m not a Protestant. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240/20 "2022-02-11T02:19:57Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > > [@running\_coach](#): > > > > \< waves can of Raid \> > > It won’t do anything, I’m not a Protestant. 😛 - \< pulls off shoe \> [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-yardstick-isn-t-a-yardstick/959240.md?page=2)