Back in the 3rd millennia BC, Mesopotamians measured by cubit, which was approximately the 18-inch length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. A few hundred years later, we got to the measuring tape...and those, ladies and gentlemen, are the big highlights in the evolution of human measurement.

Oh sure, we figured out feet and yards and things — and somebody eventually patented a spring return tape measure that truly changed the game. But when you get right down to it, the art of measuring stuff hasn’t advanced a whole lot over the course of human civilization.

Of course, we’ve now entered the third epoch of measurement enlightenment with the birth of the Rollova 2.0 Digital Ruler, a handy little device that’s as big a jump in measuring from here to there as that old cubit method.

The Rollova removes the need for a tape measure or that wooden ruler you used in grade school. Instead, it’s a pocket-friendly, slyly smart gadget that measures...well, virtually anything.

Just fire up the Rollova, then roll it along the length you want to measure. Whether it’s a flat surface, curved, or a textured object with all kinds of weird angles, the Rollova doesn’t get thrown. Its stainless steel body and 10,000-to-1 high-contrast ratio OLED screen spring to life, showing you the exact length of your measurement in any method you choose.

Whether you cling to the old Imperial system of inches, feet, and yards, or ride for the new and improved metric system of meters, the Rollova digitally tracks your distance and shows it to you. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/05/12/this-digital-ruler-is-the-gadg.html