Many great designs are so much a part of our daily lives that we fail to recognize their accomplishments. The ruler for example: School projects, math, geometry, construction, tailoring, appliance/furniture shopping, stage marks, diving, how tall we stand, tidal depth, drawing straight lines all accomplished billions of times each day quickly and, most importantly, consistently by some variation of the ruler. An amazing accomplishment of form and function we overlook every day.
Who do we have to thank? Some say the Egyptians. Some say the Greeks. Some say the Italians. And, some say William Bedwell or Frank Hunt or Anton Ullrich. It depends on your definition of ruler and likely what search engine you use. The fact that its inventor remains somewhat ambiguous is further evidence that this amazing design was hardly recognized as such at the time of its creation.
Better late than never.
