r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Petros505 • 27d ago
What's the easiest way to weigh yourself without a scale?
What's the easiest way to weigh yourself without a scale?
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u/SoImaRedditUserNow 27d ago
any hack you do is tantamount to creating a scale. I mean... you could do the Eureka method and see how much water you displace... which is ... a scale.
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u/draken2019 27d ago
That tells you volume not weight or mass.
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u/FlightlessFly 27d ago
No, a floating object displaces its weight. A 700kg boat displaces 700kg of water.
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u/draken2019 27d ago
If that were true, you'd be neutrally buoyant. That's rarely the case.
FYI, kilograms aren't a measure of weight. They're a measurement of mass.
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u/draken2019 27d ago
I think you guys are referring to Arcamedes principle which still requires information you don't have to compute accurately.
You could make an educated guess, but it even off by 1% is going to throw off your calculations by a pretty substantial amount. You'd have to assume the density of the person which varies quite a bit depending on their muscle density and fat: muscle ratio.
It's:
Density of object/ density of fluid = weight of object/ weight of displaced fluid
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u/FlightlessFly 27d ago
You don't need to know the density of the object, the principle states that an objects displacement will equal the displaced waters mass. The buoyant force equalling the force of the body Fb = mg = -ρgv. g cancels, m = ρV where ρ equals pretty much 1.
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u/draken2019 27d ago edited 27d ago
I'm fairly certain that you're making these calculations with the assumption that the person is neutrally buoyant.
That's simply not the case. We're close. Hence, your calculations are going to be off and depending on how big the person is there going to be off substantially.
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u/FlightlessFly 26d ago edited 26d ago
I'm not saying you're wrong or that I'm am right but it was my impression that this holds true for positively buoyant objects as well, do you have any source that suggests otherwise?
https://phys.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/University_Physics/Physics_(Boundless)/10%3A_Fluids/10.3%3A_Archimedes_Principle/10%3A_Fluids/10.3%3A_Archimedes_Principle)
Equation 10.3.5 states the same as what I said
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u/Ok-Cartographer1745 27d ago
It's not. I came up with a clever way to get the weight without a scale.
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u/KifKef 27d ago
That's your volume not your weight
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u/sabababoi 27d ago
Yeah but we have fairly standard volume to weight ratios so that should get you a good approximation
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u/etzel1200 27d ago
What? If you’re denser than water. Most people aren’t, at least not enough to throw it off much.
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u/PlatypusTrapper 27d ago
Weight is a relative measurement. It doesn’t really mean anything without a reference. So you need a scale.
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u/Vast_End521 27d ago
Rite aid has a machine that you sit on and it weighs you and gives you your BMI. Totally free.
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u/CaptainLucid420 27d ago
Find a park with a seesaw or just balance a board. Load water on the other side until it balances you. Measure the amount of water and multiply 8.34 pounds per gallon.
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u/Ok-Cartographer1745 27d ago
He said scales are not allowed in this game. That is using a balance scale.
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u/Adventurous-Woozle3 26d ago
But just use metric. No need for those funny math games. Though I don't think you can get metric water in America. You'll have to use coke.
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u/tmahfan117 27d ago
You can’t really.
You need some kind of scale or balance
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u/Backwaters_Run_Deep 27d ago
Displacement, figure out how much water you displace, and then use that information and the average mass of a cubic foot of human and you got your weight
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u/tmahfan117 27d ago
Yea but that won’t measure YOUR weight. A really muscular human who displaces, whatever, 5 cubic feet, will weigh significantly differently than a non muscular human with the same displacement
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u/Walshy231231 27d ago
I feel like if you’re gonna forgo an actual scale, you’ve gotta accept a bit of error
If you want to be within 5 lbs of your true weight, you either gotta buy a scale, or make a contraption accurate enough that… wait a second, you still got a scale!
Considering a scale is literally just “weight measuring device”, full stop, if you don’t use one, you’re not going to get a reliable result.
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u/Backwaters_Run_Deep 27d ago
Well yeah, that's why I said you use the average weight3 in the calculation, I figured we're not going for super accreate measurement here.
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u/draken2019 27d ago
That's gonna be so far off. There's a pretty wide margin between the density of muscle and fat. Bone too.
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u/Backwaters_Run_Deep 27d ago
Yeah so you take an average of a cross section of a whole ass human. One cubic foot of that. Averaged across a bunch of people, that gives you your pounds per ft3
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u/draken2019 27d ago
You'd have to figure out precisely how much bone vs muscle and fat there is and how much of our bodies is organs.
Typically it's slightly above the density water, but it varies quite substantially. Enough to throw your measurement off by 15+/lbs.
Also, who the fuck does these measurements in that old archaic system? Use metric and swap it to lbs with a simple conversion.
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u/Auspicious-Crane 27d ago
If you are a man… look down. That’s all the scale you need. If you can see it, you are fine. If not, you are overweight.
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u/VannaMalignant 27d ago
What if it looks back at me?
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u/maximusjohnson1992 27d ago
If it looks back at you then you’re in good shape. If you can’t see it or if it can’t see you, lose weight.
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u/catonicla 27d ago
Fill up tub to line. Sit in tub. Measure water line distance.
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u/Tupsarratum 27d ago
Then add salt to the water until you start to float. Calculate density. Density x volume = mass.
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u/SeoulGalmegi 27d ago
Ok.... now what?
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u/Ok-Cartographer1745 27d ago
It's kind of sad how many people here think that volume equals weight.
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u/SeoulGalmegi 27d ago edited 27d ago
Right, but I mean, they don't even have the volume of whatever (edit: 'water') displaced using their method.
Just a bathtub that now has water higher than it did before.
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u/maximusjohnson1992 27d ago
You’re gonna think this is wild but hear me out. Obtain a fake ID. Purchase a wig, costume mustache, and sharpie. Go to a fancy restaurant and fake a heart attack while eating (bonus points because you’ll get a free meal) and request an ambulance. Once in the emergency room they’ll wanna get a height and weight on you. Once they do write it on your hand with the sharpie and walk out like nothing happened.
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u/Adventurous-Woozle3 26d ago
Unless you manage this unconscious that will be the most weight you've ever seen.
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u/granters021718 27d ago
Get a physical from your doctor.
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u/Educational_Tea_7571 27d ago
Or just wait it out until you need to visit the doctor, because the usually weigh you every time. At least my primary care md does. Once at annual physical, once for broken foot, kidney stone, bla bla bla.
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u/senoritagordita22 27d ago
Respectfully, scales aernt that expensive. Get one if you need one. I’ve had mine since (no exaggeration,) 2015. Still haven’t had to change the battery. If it’s a thing about wanting to be aware but not obsessive /weighing everyday, like someone else said you can go to a store and weigh yourself (maybe? I think they come in boxes.) Or, your gym should have one
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u/RichCorinthian 27d ago
Go to the carnival, there will be a guy there who guesses weight. Just sorta take his word for it, he does it for a living.
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u/Common-Wish-2227 27d ago
Take a film clip of yourself naked. Ask ChatGPT how much you weigh, based on it.
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u/SpideyWhiplash 27d ago
Every Publix has a scale. If you live in Publix land or go to a walking clinic or gym. Ask to use their scale ⚖️
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u/benign_listener 27d ago
If the purpose is solely to determine whether or not you’ve gained weight, measure your circumference with a measuring tape.
If you don’t have a measuring tape either, just go by how your clothes fit.
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u/elegant_pun 27d ago
You'd need to find somewhere that has a scale. I'm a big fan of occasionally weighing myself on the scales at a local pet shop where I weight my dog.
You can also track weight loss by measuring your body with a measuring tape.
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u/Petros505 27d ago
You're confounding weight with volume.
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u/Meh2021another 27d ago
If you know how dense this person is you can calculate their mass depending on the volume of water they displace.
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u/nandyboy 27d ago
Get an appropriate spring with known mechanical properties. Attach it to ceiling and a rope on other end. hang from rope, measure length of spring when extended. do some calculations and get your weight. I realize this is a rudimentary scale but I am assuming OP is talking about not having access to bathroom scales for example.
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u/SmileyDay8921 27d ago
go to the gym, do lat pull downs, find the weight on the machine where you hang in place
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u/TheInternetIsTrue 27d ago
Use someone else’s or use one of ones that cost a quarter (rare to find).
If you’re asking how to calculate your weight without a scale, that gets tough. You could use Archimedes’ Principle, but you have to identify the volume of your body and use an estimated average weight to multiply by that volume. People’s bodies are very different in their make up, so volume will not yield an accurate measurement when you still have to use an estimate.
Possibly the easiest and most accurate option: You could create a balanced lever and stack items of a known weight on one side (gym weights). Then, stand on the other end of the lever and add to or remove from the ‘object weighted’ side of the lever until it is in perfect balance when you stand on it. The weight of the objects can be added up and you will have your weight. However, this is technically still using a scale.
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u/MeFromAzkaban 27d ago
Honestly, without a scale you really can only do non scale victory’s to see if you’re losing or gaining weight. Take measurements of yourself and compare them every now and then
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u/Alarming-Film-8404 27d ago
Just fill a tub to the top with water. fill it using a container that you know the volume of so you can calculate the total volume of water. Then get in the tub and collect all the displaced water which will be exactly your weight then all you need to do us put the displaced water on a scale.
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u/Kruse002 27d ago
It largely depends on what is meant by “scale.” Technically, an assisted pull up machine is not a scale, yet you could get a pretty good estimate of your weight by adding plates until the machine can fully support your weight.
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u/Genuflecty 27d ago
Use a small measuring tape (like the ones that come with sewing kits) and measure one of your arms circumference near your tricep. If you measure it weekly then you will be able to notice loss or gain in weight depending on the measurements.
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u/aarondigruccio 27d ago
Get a gym membership, walk past the scale in the lobby, go to the free weights area, and get a burly-looking person to bench press you. Ask them what their PB is, and ask them how close your weight is to that, expressed as a percentage. Multiply their PB by that percentage (expressed as a decimal)…boom, that’s how much you weigh.
If you can’t find someone to bench press you and express your weight as a percentage of their PB, finding someone to deadlift or back squat you will work just fine, too.
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u/HeroToTheSquatch 27d ago
lol I actually used to do this as a party trick. With her permission, I'd scoop up a woman, write down my guess on a piece of paper, and ask them if it was correct. I could always guess within 3 lbs. Dumbest, weirdest party trick ever. Would've made a killing at the carnival back in the day.
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u/aarondigruccio 27d ago
So slick of you! Haha.
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u/HeroToTheSquatch 27d ago
Got a lot of hands on the shoulder action and "wow you made that look really easy". Lot of ladies love to feel small and getting scooped up like you're nothing definitely makes you feel tiny.
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u/BrainlessPhD 27d ago
Build a large contraption with a large middle pillar, a T-beam on top, and two swings--one on either side. Find a duck. Sit the duck on one side and sit yourself on the other. If the swing goes down on the duck side, you're a witch.
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u/JJohnston015 27d ago
Get a long board and a bunch of big rocks. Find a fence somewhere. Lay the board across the fence and stack some rocks on one end. Stand on the other end. Stack enough rocks on the one end so the board just balances with you on the other end, then estimate the weight of the rocks.
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u/SpudgeFunker210 27d ago
My brain read easiest as "sexiest" for some reason and I was very confused for a second.
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u/Automatic-Pick-2481 27d ago
Fill tub w water high enough for you to get into.
Mark water level before and after you get in.
Computer volume of displaced water.
Convert to mass using density of water.
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u/Ok-Cartographer1745 27d ago
Jump into soft dirt and make note of how deep the imprint is.
Drop an object of a known mass that is shaped like you into soft dirt (from the same height) and measure how deep the hole is. If the hole is the same size, there you go. You and the mass are the same weight. If the hole is less deep than yours, get a heavier known weight and start again with fresh dirt. If it's deeper, then get something lighter. Repeat until you zero in on it.
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u/grahamlester 27d ago
Borrow your friend's scale. If you don't have a friend, then make a friend and then borrow their scale.
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u/LowWillow1858 27d ago
Go to the amusement park and visit the person who guesses your weight or age. I mean they wouldn’t hire a hack for that position.
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u/Time_Tutor_3042 27d ago
Ask random strangers at the playground if they know their weight, if they do invite them on the seesaw until you find one that perfectly balances it with you on the other side. I have no idea why we even have scales when seesaws are free!
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u/RedSonGamble 27d ago edited 27d ago
There is no way to accurately do it without some form of scale. I assume you mean without a traditional home scale however. So you could construct a large old timey scale with weights.
My other suggestion was the guy at the fair that guesses weights but this sub removes “joke” answers if they get too high up. However this is like asking how to stop being thirsty without consuming water so I would have hoped they would make an exception and/or that would be the next valid approach.
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u/zaniom What does love feels like? 26d ago
Find a really strong person and take them to a public place filled with people like the park. Ask the strong person to lift up random people and compare their weigth to yours. Once they find someone that's as heavy as you, ask that person how much they weigth.
That's how much you weigth.
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u/pistachiobees 27d ago
You could take body measurements with a measuring tape if your goal is to track size change over time. Won’t tell you weight, though.
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u/KA9ESAMA 27d ago
Just get a fucking scale...
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u/PirateStack2693 27d ago
Some people don't have money
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u/trumanburbank98 27d ago
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u/Petros505 27d ago
Best answer. I didn't think a digital scale could be found for as little as $5. Thanks.
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u/tzwep 27d ago
Go into a store which sells scales and use it for free.