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Do Languishites know the Geodreieck?

Started by Syt, September 15, 2021, 09:21:55 AM

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Syt

This came up on Reddit, where some people claim that this device, used primarily in geometry classes in school, is not known outside German speaking countries, whereas others say that's nonsense.

I could Google, but I thought I'd rather ask the Languish hive mind. :P

Did you have something like this in school? It's 15 cm wide and generally used for drawing/measuring angles, drawing parallel lines, etc., and at least in my time was a key item:



There's larger versions of it, including for use on the black board:



Did you use something like that? Or something else?
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Eddie Teach

We just use the curved part and call it a protractor.
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celedhring

Yes, that's a "escuadra de geometría" over here. Protractors were far more common though, usually only the showoff kids had the full thing.

HVC

We used a protractor in ontario. So, i guess only the curved one in the middle of your image. Didn't use one with a outer triangle.
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Richard Hakluyt

Only saw one of those a couple of times; usually we used a protractor and two set squares (triangles) one with 45/45/90 angles and the other with 30/60/90 angles.

Duque de Bragança

#5
Triangle or équerre géométrique. Have not used or even seen one since primary school (online sighting post Syt's query does not count  :P).

Esquadro geométrico in Portuguese.

Basic équerre/esquadro version is much more common, and bigger versions are used in DiY and by handymen.

Syt

Quote from: Eddie Teach on September 15, 2021, 09:33:42 AM
We just use the curved part and call it a protractor.

Tbf, I'm not sure what the reason for the triangle shape is, or what benefit it gives. :D
I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.
—Stephen Jay Gould

Proud owner of 42 Zoupa Points.

The Brain

I don't think it was completely unknown, but standard was just a protractor.
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Josquius

The small one looks vaguely familiar from when I was in school.
The giant one instantly rings bells of Japanese schools with me
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DGuller

What's the advantage of the triangle thing over just the semi-circle thing?

Richard Hakluyt

Quote from: DGuller on September 15, 2021, 09:49:50 AM
What's the advantage of the triangle thing over just the semi-circle thing?

Much more effective in combat situations.

Jacob

Quote from: Syt on September 15, 2021, 09:41:07 AM
Quote from: Eddie Teach on September 15, 2021, 09:33:42 AM
We just use the curved part and call it a protractor.

Tbf, I'm not sure what the reason for the triangle shape is, or what benefit it gives. :D

The triangle is for drawing 90° and 45° angles.

Typically, we used separate set-squares and protractors like this:



I used them in elementary school for various geometry things, and a fair bit in engineering drafting class in Uni (though the triangles were significantly larger).

HVC

also, when i first read the title i thought you had joined a MLM haha
Being lazy is bad; unless you still get what you want, then it's called "patience".
Hubris must be punished. Severely.

Sheilbh

Yeah, same as Jake. Never seen the combo though.
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DGuller

When I was little, I saw that my grandmother had a retractable straight edge back from her school days.  I didn't understand the point of it, what utility does the retractable part give to it?  It's not like you can make the straight edge more compact, the retractable part of it doesn't line up with the outside shell.  Years later, when I was taking a history of math class, I realized that it was a slide rule.  :blush: