A scale of everyday things
A number on a bathroom scale says little on its own, but a pile of bananas tall enough to balance you is hard to forget. Swapping kilograms or pounds for familiar objects is a fun way to get a feel for mass, and it works at every scale: the same arithmetic tells you that a blue whale weighs as much as a couple of thousand people. Pick an object above and watch the pan fill until the beam levels.
How we calculate it
We divide your weight by the typical weight of each object. At the large end, a family car is taken as 1,500 kg, an African elephant 6,000 kg and an adult blue whale 150 tonnes, a typical figure for the largest animal that has ever lived.
| Object | Weight | At 60 kg | At 80 kg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banana | 120 g | 500 | 667 |
| Pineapple | 1.5 kg | 40 | 53 |
| House cat | 4.5 kg | 13.3 | 17.8 |
| Bowling ball (16 lb) | 7.26 kg | 8.3 | 11.0 |
| Gold bar (400 oz) | 12.4 kg | 4.8 | 6.5 |
Worked example. Someone who weighs 70 kg, about 154 lb or 11 st, balances 583 bananas, 15.6 house cats, 9.6 bowling balls or 5.6 standard gold bars. It would take 21 of them to balance a family car, 86 to balance an African elephant and 2,143 to balance a blue whale.
Weight, mass and other worlds
Strictly, a scale measures the pull of gravity on your mass. Your mass is the same everywhere, but your weight would change on the Moon or Mars, which is the idea behind our weight on other worlds calculator.
Questions people ask
What weights do you use for the objects?
Typical values: a banana about 120 g, a smartphone 200 g, a pineapple 1.5 kg, a house brick 2.7 kg, a house cat 4.5 kg, a 16 lb bowling ball 7.26 kg and a standard 400 ounce gold bar 12.4 kg. Real objects vary, so the counts are approximate and meant for fun.
Is my weight saved?
No. It stays on your screen and is not stored or sent anywhere.
Why does my weight change during the day?
Food, drink and water balance can shift body weight by a kilogram or two between morning and evening. For tracking changes over time, weigh at the same time of day.
Does this say anything about health?
No. It is a playful comparison only. For questions about weight and health, talk to a doctor.
Sources. Typical manufacturer and agricultural weights; London Bullion Market Association Good Delivery specification; NOAA Fisheries. Calculations run in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.