Shea Simmons
Maybe you need to hang some photos or you are ordering new furniture and need to figure out how much space you have. Either way, you need a measuring tape, but the metal tip on your old one is wobbly. Can you still use it?
As it turns out, yes, the metal tip on your measuring tape is designed to be flexible, and it actually makes the tool even more accurate.
TikTok content creator @dorisroseart explained the phenomenon to their audience, and it’s all about the size of that metal tip. According to the creator, the metal edge is 1/16 of an inch thick, and the first inch of the tape is made to be 1/16 of an inch short. This way, the measurement will always be the same when you hook the metal bit over an edge or corner.
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♬ Lost In Tape (Instrumental) - The Young Ebenezers
The feature is a “true zero” method according to U.S. Tape. Essentially, no matter where you place the tape measure or how you hook it over an edge, it’ll always start at zero for the most accurate reading possible.
Creator @dorisroseart isn’t the only person to give a handy measuring tape tip, though, Rebecca Propes, a former contestant on NBC’s Making It, took to her social media earlier this year to explain that most measuring tapes have their lengths on the back. If you need to fit into a tight corner or bend the tape, you’ll know how much to compensate for.
If you’ve got a DIY project in your future, these measuring tape hacks are must know.
