Weekly Weigh In #13
Weight: 103.3kg. Trending downward, but not dropping off a cliff like the stock market...
Folks, in the old money, I weigh: 16 stone, 3 lb and 11.8 oz, or 227.74 pounds (lb).
Stone as a measure of weight came into existence in ye olden days of the 14 Century, when the English decreed (royally too, to show everyone they weren’t mucking around) that one stone of wool would equal 14 lbs. And a sack of wool would weigh 26 stones.
Thats a lot of wool to heft onto some poor peasants’ aching back!
The French, not wanting to be left out, decided the system would be called ‘Avoirdupois’, or Goods of Weight.
Interestingly, the term pound comes from the Roman, ‘Libra Pondo’, i.e.: the weight measured in Libra ‘balanced on scales’ and Pondo, pounds, ‘lb’. And the fancy ‘L’ or ‘£’ used for English monetary pounds is also from Libra.
Also, if you’re like me and can’t find the pound symbol on your US keyboard, simply hold down the Alt key, type 0163 and voila! the ‘£’ symbol will appear like magic!
(Remember, Alt 0163… you never know when that will come in handy!)
So, why the trek back into the past?
Well, my bathroom Libra Pondo broke (scales people, I’m talking about our bathroom scales) and I recalled the scales we used when I was a lad not only measured my family’s weight in units of Stones and Lbs, they were virtually indestructible.
Unlike these flash looking units:
Digital scales can weigh you in a variety of ways, lbs, stone, body fat, etc if you wish. I know this because, somehow, without even trying I manage navigate away from the Kg measurements each week just by picking them up, then spend a lot more time than I want, trying to get them back to Kg again.
Also, apart from being over designed, and a pain in the arse to use, they’re made of surprisingly heavy glass, which causes them to occasionally slide out of my damp mitt directly onto my foot.
And now they’re about as reliable as a two dollar, Taiwanese Mickey Mouse watch, so, we need a new set.
Which is why my input was to ask for something that didn’t need batteries, were easy to use, would last longer than a couple of years and, hopefully, wouldn’t shatter my toes when dropped.
Apparently, KMart sells these old-fashioned, spring-loaded scales for $9.
$9?!
NINE TAPDANCING DOLLARS?!!
I’ve paid more for bath mats! How on earth are they manufacturing, then shipping these things halfway around the world, then trucking them to my village for a lousy $9?!!!
Maybe I don’t want to know…
Anyway, the old scales use a heavy spring (calibrated in Boings per Inch - I made that up years ago and it never really caught on), connected to a rack and pinion gear which spins the weight measurement dial:
If you’re keen to see how they work, then you can’t go past this rather informative video:
OR, you could lash out and spend $9 at KMart for a set and bash them apart with a hammer to see how they work?
Anyway, these units are fairly reliable, simple to use and probably won’t break bones in my foot, but, they’re not as accurate as a set of digital scales.
Frankly, we’re not weighing tonnes of wool (by royal decree) to the nearest ounce, so who cares?
Plus, they should last a bit longer than the Mickey Mouse glass encased, digital scales currently being flogged off for (and you won’t believe this either), $15.
$15… seriously?! How is anyone making money off these products?
They’ve got to have rocks (or stones) in their heads?!
Anyway, til next week…
Gb