Pablo folds a straw into a triangle with side lengths of 4x2 – 3 inches, 4x2 – 2 inches, and 4x2 – 1 inches. The perimeter of the triangle is 12x2 – 6 inches. If x = 1.5, what was the length of the straw before it was folded?

Since the perimeter of a triangle is merely the sum of all sides, the value of the perimeter would give us the length of the straw before it was folded. Given perimeter = 12x^2 - 6, where x = 1.5:

P = 12x^2 - 6
P = 12(1.5)^2 - 6
P = 21

Therefore, the length of the straw before it was folded is 21 inches.