Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Reduced Scale Ruler

For misleading photos
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A ruler, of otherwise normal construction, is simply shortened slightly. Thus, if placed beside an object in a photo, the object appears longer.

To prevent accidental use in critical applications, the back of the ruler would be stamped with "FOR NOVELTY USE ONLY / NOT LEGAL FOR TRADE".

Alx_xlA, Oct 10 2011

Shrunken Household Objects Shrunken_20household_20objects
A similar idea to this one, on a slightly different scale. [Wrongfellow, Oct 11 2011]

Model Car Hoax Kit Model_20Car_20Hoax_20Kit
The other way around; making large objects look snmaller. [swimswim, Oct 19 2011]

[link]






       Slightly baked - potters use reduced-scale rulers, to measure the final size of things they're making, because clay will shrink 5%-10% in drying and firing (depending on the type of clay).
hippo, Oct 10 2011
  

       That is such a cool thing to learn at the end of a day.   

       Nice one [Alx xlA]. Needs a Product: measuring instrument; evil, category though.   

       Oh, not Napoleon?
4whom, Oct 10 2011
  

       I can imagine the spam now. "ARE U EMBARRASED BY UR JAR SIZE?"
RayfordSteele, Oct 10 2011
  

       Professional modelers (and really serious hobbyists) use 'scaled-up' rulers all the time. When I worked for the RR, there was a railfan who had special permission to enter company property to take pictures, and he had a stick that he'd prop against something for perspective. It was marked in 1:1 scale along one edge, and in 1:1-to-HO scale on the other (HO is about 1:80, I think). Then, when he got home, he could reference the pictures when constructing perfect scale models of buildings and other installations for his layout. I've seen other modelers do this. Too. Sort of the same idea, but in reverse.
Alterother, Oct 10 2011
  

       Similarly: Coins that are slightly larger than normal size, useful for making microchips and spy cameras look smaller in photos than they are in real life.
phundug, Oct 10 2011
  

       "Objects against ruler are shorter than they appear".
Loris, Oct 10 2011
  

       "Subjects against ruler last shorter than they appear." FTFY [Loris]
4whom, Oct 10 2011
  

       One of the recent findings to emerge from the interface between cosmology, quantum mechanics and origami is that _everything_ is, in fact, very slightly larger than it appears.
MaxwellBuchanan, Oct 10 2011
  

       Except, of course, Tom Cruise. But he's probably the exception that proves the rule.
8th of 7, Oct 10 2011
  

       If the ruler is moving really fast relative to the object being measured, it appears shorter. Or at least some famous guy claimed so.
sqeaketh the wheel, Oct 11 2011
  

       I could have sworn we'd done this, but I'm not in a position to check ATM.
MechE, Oct 11 2011
  

       This is one of the reasons I always wanted to buy a circumference ruler as it would just drive people crazy.
MisterQED, Oct 11 2011
  

       Thanks [wrongfellow] that was the one I was thinking of.
MechE, Oct 11 2011
  

       //Subjects against ruler last shorter than they appear.//   

       Or subjects against ruler end up being shorter than they were.
not_morrison_rm, Oct 12 2011
  

       Couldn't you just throw the ruler really fast across the field of view and use a ridiculously fast shutter speed?
nineteenthly, Oct 12 2011
  

       Lots of oomph, that.
RayfordSteele, Oct 12 2011
  

       // really fast across the field of view //   

       No, because there will be minimal relativistic effects.   

       These effects depend on the velocity of the observed object relative to the observer. An object moving normally to the observer's sightline, however fast, will approach and recede at a much lower relative velocity as it effectively traverse the base of an isosceles triangle, with the relative velocities at the point of closest approach being zero.
8th of 7, Oct 12 2011
  
      
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