Cool trick : a nickel is about 5 grams

My food scale got way out of wack.

Instead of buying a weight to calibrate it I googled and found out that
a nickel is supposed to way about 5 grams.

I got a few nickels together and used that to reset my scale.

Not super accurate, but it saved me some cash, got my scale back to
being reasonably close to being true, and I get to play Mr. Science in
this post.

Sheesh, I could have had 10 grams more past if I did this before lunch

I was amazed at how little 2oz of dried pasta ( 1 serving ) is.

People really are out of touch with portions regarding pasta.

Steve

Steve stevesusenet@ATyuhoodotComs wrote in message ...
My food scale got way out of wack.

Instead of buying a weight to calibrate it I googled and found out that
a nickel is supposed to way about 5 grams.

The Japanese 1 yen coin is pure aluminum, is 2cm in diameter, and
exactly 1g. Now *that's* scientific!

On 5/10/04 12:57 PM, in article
, "Heywood Mogroot"
wrote:

Steve stevesusenet@ATyuhoodotComs wrote in message
...
My food scale got way out of wack.

Instead of buying a weight to calibrate it I googled and found out that
a nickel is supposed to way about 5 grams.

The Japanese 1 yen coin is pure aluminum, is 2cm in diameter, and
exactly 1g. Now *that's* scientific!

I didn't realize that. And I live in Tokyo!

doug

Heywood Mogroot wrote:
Steve stevesusenet@ATyuhoodotComs wrote in message ...

My food scale got way out of wack.

Instead of buying a weight to calibrate it I googled and found out that
a nickel is supposed to way about 5 grams.


The Japanese 1 yen coin is pure aluminum, is 2cm in diameter, and
exactly 1g. Now *that's* scientific!

LOL Agreed, but I am not likely to have a few of them laying around my
apartment the next time I need to calibrate my food scale

Steve

Perhaps a scratch took some atoms off the coin, then its less than 1 gram.
Perhaps only 1 in 100 yens are *exactly* 1 gram, there must be some
variation in weight due to manufacturing techniques.
This can be calculated approximately by statistics.
Also a Yen has variable weight according to where you are holding it. If you
are on a mountain it weighs less, if you are in space it weighs NOTHING.

Now THAT is scientific!

kenny


"Heywood Mogroot" wrote in message
om...
Steve stevesusenet@ATyuhoodotComs wrote in message
...
My food scale got way out of wack.

Instead of buying a weight to calibrate it I googled and found out that
a nickel is supposed to way about 5 grams.

The Japanese 1 yen coin is pure aluminum, is 2cm in diameter, and
exactly 1g. Now *that's* scientific!


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On 5/10/04 8:00 PM, in article ,
"Steve" stevesusenet@ATyuhoodotComs wrote:

Heywood Mogroot wrote:
Steve stevesusenet@ATyuhoodotComs wrote in message
...

My food scale got way out of wack.

Instead of buying a weight to calibrate it I googled and found out that
a nickel is supposed to way about 5 grams.


The Japanese 1 yen coin is pure aluminum, is 2cm in diameter, and
exactly 1g. Now *that's* scientific!

LOL Agreed, but I am not likely to have a few of them laying around my
apartment the next time I need to calibrate my food scale

Hey - if anybody wants real, genuine one yen coins, straight from Japan, I'd
be glad to send them to you. Just a nickel a piece!

doug@Tokyo

Steve wrote:

My food scale got way out of wack.

Instead of buying a weight to calibrate it I googled and found out that
a nickel is supposed to way about 5 grams.

I got a few nickels together and used that to reset my scale.

Not super accurate, but it saved me some cash, got my scale back to
being reasonably close to being true, and I get to play Mr. Science in
this post.

They are as close to 5 grams as can be easily achieved. They were
the first metrification program in the US back when the Liberty
nickels came out. The Jeffersons have been in use since 1938, and
the Indian head / buffalo nickels were minted for a few decades
before that, and the Liberties for a few decades before that. So
it has been a LONG time that US five cent pieces were metric. If
only the rest of the country could follow the nickel's example but
here we are a century later and signs still list speed limits in
MPH ...

Nickels are probably more accurate at 5 grams than the typical
food scale's 5 gram setting. You'd have to go to milled calibrated
weights to do better. Or scale from a chemistry lab.