Spent 45 minutes setting up a weekly spread and then realized my ruler was crooked the whole time

I drew out all my boxes and lines for this week's layout using the same metal ruler I've had for years. When I finished and stepped back, every single column was leaning slightly to the right because the ruler's edge isn't perfectly straight. Has anyone else had a tool fail them like this and how long did it take you to notice?

2 comments

2 Comments

briancampbell1mo agoMost Upvoted

My buddy Mike spent an entire Saturday building a custom bookshelf. He was so proud of it until his wife pointed out that all the shelves slanted down to the left because the level he'd been using was off by a quarter inch. He didn't notice until she walked in with coffee and set a mug right on the edge where it almost slid off.

taylor821mo ago

Happens all the time with tools and honestly with people too. We trust our equipment or our own eyes way too much. That crooked ruler is just like how we get used to a bad habit or a wrong belief because we've been doing it that way forever. Takes someone else or a big obvious failure to snap us out of it. By then we've already built a whole bookshelf or a whole week's worth of plans on a shaky foundation.