this post was submitted on 06 Sep 2025
492 points (98.2% liked)

xkcd

12941 readers
88 users here now

A community for a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

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:

Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com

Source: https://xkcd.com/3138/

explainxkcd for #3138

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

Unfinished 2x4s are actually 2in x 4in, which originally you would trim on all sides to get a nicer surface getting down to the "modern" dimensions. Nowadays, you pretty much only see pre-trimmed lumber.