xkcd #3138: Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure
Title text:
A person with two watches is never sure what time it is, especially if I got them one of the watches.
Transcript:
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Source: https://xkcd.com/3138/
There is no sensible reason to sell something as a dimension before it's ready to sell, a 2"x4" should be so when sold, not when curing, it takes nothing to cut oversize to accomodate for shrinkage, or to cure and cut later at the right dimension
The carpenter or woodworker cares about how big the board is. The sawyer cares about how much of the tree it took to make that board. The lumber yard has to make those two ends meet at a price point.