U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for July 14

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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SUNDAY, JULY 14: SIZING UP

Profile America — Sunday, July 14th.  Almost every home has at least one. They can be made out of cloth, plastic, or metal. Seamstresses and tailors use them, as do professional craftsmen and weekend do-it-yourselfers. It's the tape measure, patented on this date in 1868 by Alvin J. Fellows of New Haven, Connecticut. His version had a feature still used today — a spring click lock to hold the tape at any desired point. One notable tape measure was 600 feet long and gold plated.  It was presented to New York Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle in 1956 to honor his longest home run.  Tape measures are sure to be found at the nation's 21,700 hardware stores, which sell $20.5 billion worth of goods each year. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.

Sources:  Kane's Famous First Facts, 7926
http://todayinsci.com/F/Fellows_Alvin/FellowsTapeMeasurePatent.htm
2007 Economic Census, NAICS 444

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau