Existentialist Measuring Tape

Just about any woodworker who has had to make something more than once knows about story sticks.  A story stick is a stick/scrap/leftover piece of wood upon which the woodworker marks dimensions for their creation.  Anything can benefit from a story stick... humidor, rocking chair, dining table, etc.

While some people poke fun at this time-honored technique choosing to lambast the woodworker's lack of modern tools such as CAD it remains, nevertheless, a stalwart feature in many production shops.

Retailer Lee Valley has improved on the technology in what was at first simply an April Fools' joke: Story Tape.  The blank measuring tape.  Brilliant!  Despite its tongue-in-cheek roots, the Story Tape can function as a symbol of the simple pleasures of woodworking.