Alvin J. Fellows of New Haven, Connecticut made the lives of carpenters, electricians, seamstresses, and countless other tradesmen and craftsmen easier.
On July 14, 1868, Fellows was granted a patent for “Improvements in Tape Measures” that created a whole new era for measurement. Enter the generation of retractable tape measures.
The first recorded use of the tape measure goes back to the Romans, utilizing marked strips of leather.
Before Fellows’ patent, Englishman James Chesterman designed a steel measuring tape, but it was expensive for its time. At $17 in 1853, it was equivalent to $558.81 in today’s U.S. dollars!
Chesterman’s big, bulky design didn’t fit in a pocket or even a toolbox. When Fellows’ patent came along, tape measures became the sliced bread of the toolbox.
The tape measure we know and use now comes in a wide array of sizes, colors, and materials. You can find some smaller than the palm of your hand or bigger in lengths of three hundred plus feet.
These are used for anything from DIY projects at home, by contractors, and in construction and at a much lower price. They are a standard tool in almost every household.
HOW TO OBSERVE
Purchase a tape measure and measure to your heart’s content. Keep one in your glove compartment, purse, junk drawer, backpack, and buy extra as gifts. They’re undeniably useful.
Whenever space needs to be filled or a picture needs to be hung, a tape measure comes in handy. Who doesn’t have parts to replace? You need a tape measure for that.
Do you have a honey-do list? Celebrate your tape measure. It’s summer, so there’s probably a watermelon seed spitting contest going on somewhere. Get out your tape measure!
HISTORY
National Day Calendar® was unable to find the origin or the creator of National Tape Measure Day.
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