Roy, If your ruler is exactly 12" long (and since it measured thusly when compared to Dr Geep's tools, we'll both assume that it is spot-on accurate), folks don't actually have to see the markings to use it. We use body-parts to measure with all the time, and WE don't come with quarter-inch lines inked down our arms in indelible ink. The distance from my nose to the tip of my thumb is exactly 36 inches (the same as Henry IV), and I can measure out 10 yards of fabric and be within a couple of inches of accuracy, depending upon its stiffness or slitheriness. Humans are born with the ability to approximate, and we do it quite well. Do you park within 18" of the curb? Do you pull out a measuring tape every time you park? We sew with a 5/8" seam allowance... and I haven't marked that since jr high. Maybe we'll measure the space for a dishwasher or other built-in involving plumbing and wiring, but just about everything else is going to be eyeballed. (This may also explain why 2X4"s aren't quite what they used to be!) If you know that a beer bottle is 8" tall and your ruler is 12", then scaling the beer bottle to 2/3 the height of the ruler is something a 4th-grader could do, except that you don't allow children around the beer and cigarettes (a hardpack would be maybe 1/3 the height? I don't smoke). Would a quarter inch here or there matter? I doubt it. Many of us photographers use dimes or rulers and yardsticks when shooting reference photos... not for the individual markings, but for the overall size. If the face of the dime dwarfs the alpine violet next to it, the viewer gets an idea of scale, and that is good enough. The Phds can pull out their calipers. Ernyoka, Making quality trash is much harder than making spiffy new merchandise. People here obviously appreciate and need such items. I'd vote for themed sets, according to era, and perhaps by ethnic region later on. We are known by what we discard... and the archeologists of the future will make so many mistakes digging through the middens we are building now. Carolly