slide rule vs yardstick

slide rule

noun
  • An analog calculator consisting of three interlocking strips marked with logarithmic scales, such that multiplication, division etc. can be performed by the equivalent of addition and subtraction. 

yardstick

noun
  • A measuring rod thirty-six inches (one yard) long. 

  • A standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged. 

How often have the words slide rule and yardstick occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )