"The design on which most modern spring tape measures are built was invented and patented by a New Haven, Connecticut resident named Alvin J. Fellows on July 14, 1868"
So my father was a carpenter and even though I am a girl, I can wield a hammer.
We all had our own metal tape thing as carpenters must measure everything.
Anyway my brother cut off the top of a finger on that thing., cause once you stretch it out, get your damn digits out of the way before you allow it to snap close.
Thank me very much.
As an aside, my father used to draw lines but putting his pencil against the very short side of one of those rulers that bend over and over. He’d open a couple of the “arms” put his pencil against the short end and, boom, he move that ruler down the sheetrock drawing a perfectly straight line from the pencil.
It was amazing.
Amazing fact :)