Yes, I remember them. I always doubted the accuracy. First of all, who knew how reliably they were calibrated? Secondly, if the fabric was not pulled through straight, but was pulled through in a wavy fashion, I felt I would be shortchanged (am I paranoid?). However, at least when the clerk was finished measuring, she/he could see the number of yards instead of trying to remember how many she had counted.
Dayle