National Tape Measure Day 📏

The tool so essential for many professions and tasks — from building a house to measuring an inseam — has been around in some form or another for hundreds of years. After all, even ancient peoples had to sometimes measure or draw a straight line! Some of the earliest representations of rulers or tape measures date back to 2650 B.C. of which there is evidence of rulers that were used in workshops during that time. Though we humans have been measuring for centuries, the more modern form of the ruler came in the 1800s, starting with the rudimentary steel tape measure created in 1821 by James Chesterman. Chesterman, a craftsman from Sheffield, England, worked in the fashion business and created long steel tape measures as an accidental byproduct of the metal hoops he made that were inside popular dress skirts. Hoping to make a bit more money by selling them off to surveyors, Chesterman lined the tapes with graduated markers and sold them as the lightweight, compact ‘Steel Band Measuring Chains.’ Other measuring tapes followed. Notably, Anton Ulrich created the folding ruler in 1851, which consisted of six stacked rulers united by pivoting hinges. The tape measure created by Chesterman was later improved upon by Alvin J. Fellows, an inventor from the United States who patented the first spring measuring tape — quite like the one we see today. His measuring tape was also encased in the small circular container, and he added a locking element when extended that we are now familiar with. Justus Roe & Sons began to manufacture and sell tape measures in the United States in the 1870s, and they gradually grew in popularity — especially for those whose jobs require measurement. However, the tape measure’s path to prevalence in the population was a long one, as it wasn’t until the 1940s that it was in widespread use. In the last 50 years, tape measures have become largely constructed of fiberglass, and can be found in most people’s junk drawers — a standard and useful tool for any household!