Dollar Bill Ruler

Lifehacker posted a neat tip yesterday - how to use a $1 bill as a makeshift ruler. How does it work?

Your dollar bill is approximately 6" long. So if you do not have any measurement device you can "dollar bill it" instead of eyeballing the measurement.

This is cool, but I have even better tip for you. The first thing you learn when you start playing tabletop battle games is how to eyeball distance. I play a Dwarfs army in Warhammer Fantasy Battles so I know all there is to know about 6". It happens to be the exact range of Dwarf charge, and march move.

How do you eyeball 6"? Take your hand and stretch your fingers out. Pull your thumb as far away from the index finger as you can. Now measure the distance between the tip of your index finger and the tip of the thumb. Unless you have freakishly long or short fingers, on average you should get 6". Some people may get 5, some people may get 7 but it is still within the ballpark.

If you don't believe me, lay out a buck on the table and try to stretch your index finger, and thumb to touch the bill's corners ;)

Tags: hax, lifehacker, life hack, dollar bill ruler, 6 inches, ruler, makeshift ruler, eyeball distance, tabletop gaming