Question: is 8 tablespoons of butter a whole stick

Answer: Yes, Butter stick wrappers are usually marked with divisions for 8 US tablespoons (120 ml), which is less than their actual volume: the Elgin-pack shape is 8.22 US tbsp, while the Western-pack shape is 8.10 US tbsp. The printing on unsalted (``sweet'') butter wrappers is typically red, while that for salted butter is typically blue.