Centering on a proportional spacing typewriter. . . .
I'm really telling my age. I typed on an IBM Executive Typewriter, with proportional spacing.
I remember something about putting a "grommet" on the typewriter, when you needed to center a line. You'd type the line, and the grommet would keep the keys from hitting the paper, but the typewriter would advance the proper spacing just as if the keys were hitting.
Then, you knew exactly how long the line was going to be, so you could backspace exactly 1/2, and type it again (without the grommet), and it would be perfectly centered. Wow!
Does anyone remember the old grommet? It was a small piece of black rubber, round, with a whole in the middle, with an opening on one side. I remember many-a-day, walking around the office, asking, "Who's seen my grommet?"
This whole thread is cracking me up!!!