Why are polaroids not square?

Question

When I used to look at real polaroid photos, I could not help but think that they are not exactly square (I have a mild OCD, I would tell). After so many years my suspicion was proven correct: on the official Polaroid page specifying the exact dimensions of a polaroid, it says that the photo area is exactly 3.108 by 3.024 inches (even though, contradicting this, the bottom image shows the photo area to be exactly 3.1 by 3.1 inches, and 3.024 is not 3.1 even when rounded according to normal rules for rounding).
Why is this the case? Obviously it is such a trivial matter that nobody else seems to be bothered by it. Still, why was this extremely weird decision made by Polaroid?
Polaroid makes money off of selling ink, so they should have made one side 3.1 inches, and the other one slightly larger than 3.1 inches. And still, the opposite is true.

xiota · Answer

I agree with osullic's sentiment, "why should they be square?" Here are a few observations that may help you feel better about their not being perfectly square:

There are no perfect squares. With good vision or glasses, the corners can be seen to be dull and the edges uneven.

Tighter engineering tolerances are more costly to produce. This was a film for the masses, and a 2.5% deviation from square is close enough.

If you measure enough Polaroid images, you'll probably find that there's more variation than the page you reference indicates.

Image aspect ratio is arbitrary, whether "square" or not. Consider that FujiFilm Instax is provided with a few different aspect ratios.

Why are polaroids not square?

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