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Stories.
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It was about that time of year – mid-spring, - and it was about 50 years ago.
The young girls in the Admin Office were looking forward to summer, and all that that entails – parties,
raft-ups, beaching … and trying to squeeze into last year’s bikini. So a pact was made amongst the girls
to go on a strict diet, whichever the latest fad diet was that year. Whether none of them had any
bathroom scales at home, or whether they wanted to be sure no-one was cheating on reporting their
supposed weight loss – whatever the reason, they decided to weigh themselves every lunchtime on the
freight scales in building 1400 (the electronics workshop). I don’t recall whether they announced this plan to all
and sundry, or whether they were trying to keep it all a deep dark secret, but it became pretty obvious
very quickly what was going on, when 5 or 6 lively young females invaded that bastion of male
chauvinism, 1400, every lunch hour to use the scales.
The scales were ‘state of the art’ for that time, and could measure weight accurately to ¼ of a pound.
(Quite why SOFAR had them, and for what purpose they were needed that would demand that kind
of accuracy escapes me, but there they were, and, for a short time at least, they were being used!)
The young girls in the Admin Office were looking forward to summer, and all that that entails – parties,
raft-ups, beaching … and trying to squeeze into last year’s bikini. So a pact was made amongst the girls
to go on a strict diet, whichever the latest fad diet was that year. Whether none of them had any
bathroom scales at home, or whether they wanted to be sure no-one was cheating on reporting their
supposed weight loss – whatever the reason, they decided to weigh themselves every lunchtime on the
freight scales in building 1400 (the electronics workshop). I don’t recall whether they announced this plan to all
and sundry, or whether they were trying to keep it all a deep dark secret, but it became pretty obvious
very quickly what was going on, when 5 or 6 lively young females invaded that bastion of male
chauvinism, 1400, every lunch hour to use the scales.
The scales were ‘state of the art’ for that time, and could measure weight accurately to ¼ of a pound.
(Quite why SOFAR had them, and for what purpose they were needed that would demand that kind
of accuracy escapes me, but there they were, and, for a short time at least, they were being used!)
This is the best photo I can find. Our model was the ‘super-duper’ model, but
this one has all the necessary bits for an explanation of how it works.
There is a ‘Platform’ on which the object (or person) to be
weighed could stand. This is connected by a series of rods, levers and fulcra to the ‘Scale Rod’, which is marked from zero on the left end to 100 on the right. This rod will move up or down about an inch, being limited in its travel by the ‘Scale Rod Stop’. The ‘Movable Weight’ can be moved along the ‘Scale Rod’, until the ‘Scale Rod’ is touching neither the upper nor the lower part of the ‘Scale Rod Stop’. It works very much like a hugely out-of-balance see-saw! The ‘Pointer’ on the ‘Moveable Weight’ then gives the weight of the object!
This works great for objects weighing between zero and 100 pounds, so in order to cater for measuring heavier loads, there are ‘Additional Weights’ stored handily nearby that can be placed on the ‘Additional Weight Carriage’, each weight being equivalent to another 100 pounds, so that objects between 100 & 200 pounds (or 200 & 300 pounds, etc.) can be weighed.
The ‘Additional Weight Carriage’ actually serves an additional purpose. Scales that are used “for Trade”, i.e. for measuring stuff that you are going to sell, need to be tested, calibrated and certified at fixed intervals by a qualified official from your local Chamber of Commerce or friendly Government. The ‘Additional Weight Carriage’ has a hollow cavity into which is placed
a quantity of small ball bearings, which, along with other tweaking methods, is used to calibrate the scales to deliver the correct amount of goods. This cavity is normally sealed by the inspector. Adding, or removing, ball bearings will cause the scale to weigh lighter, or heavier, respectively.
So, it was probably a Wednesday afternoon, with Project BikiniFit being in operation about 2 days, and things were a bit slow in 1400, so we got to wondering about what would happen if we added a couple of ball bearings to the carriage each day. There was only one way to find out!! The next 2 lunch hours produced squeals of delight at the wonderful ‘results’ that the
‘superdiet’ was achieving. However, over the weekend, we replaced the added ball bearings, setting the scales back to normal, and were mildly amused at the groans on Monday lunch hour, as the supposed effects of the weekend parties hit home with a vengeance – all that 'lost' weight so quickly regained! For the next couple of days, we removed a ball bearing or two, but whether the fad wore off, or our plot was discovered, or enough weight had actually been lost for the bikinis to now fit – the lunchtime parade ended, and the scales were restored to their correct calibration.
Isn’t it wonderful the things people will do in the name of research science!
Submitted Apr. 2014
There is a ‘Platform’ on which the object (or person) to be
weighed could stand. This is connected by a series of rods, levers and fulcra to the ‘Scale Rod’, which is marked from zero on the left end to 100 on the right. This rod will move up or down about an inch, being limited in its travel by the ‘Scale Rod Stop’. The ‘Movable Weight’ can be moved along the ‘Scale Rod’, until the ‘Scale Rod’ is touching neither the upper nor the lower part of the ‘Scale Rod Stop’. It works very much like a hugely out-of-balance see-saw! The ‘Pointer’ on the ‘Moveable Weight’ then gives the weight of the object!
This works great for objects weighing between zero and 100 pounds, so in order to cater for measuring heavier loads, there are ‘Additional Weights’ stored handily nearby that can be placed on the ‘Additional Weight Carriage’, each weight being equivalent to another 100 pounds, so that objects between 100 & 200 pounds (or 200 & 300 pounds, etc.) can be weighed.
The ‘Additional Weight Carriage’ actually serves an additional purpose. Scales that are used “for Trade”, i.e. for measuring stuff that you are going to sell, need to be tested, calibrated and certified at fixed intervals by a qualified official from your local Chamber of Commerce or friendly Government. The ‘Additional Weight Carriage’ has a hollow cavity into which is placed
a quantity of small ball bearings, which, along with other tweaking methods, is used to calibrate the scales to deliver the correct amount of goods. This cavity is normally sealed by the inspector. Adding, or removing, ball bearings will cause the scale to weigh lighter, or heavier, respectively.
So, it was probably a Wednesday afternoon, with Project BikiniFit being in operation about 2 days, and things were a bit slow in 1400, so we got to wondering about what would happen if we added a couple of ball bearings to the carriage each day. There was only one way to find out!! The next 2 lunch hours produced squeals of delight at the wonderful ‘results’ that the
‘superdiet’ was achieving. However, over the weekend, we replaced the added ball bearings, setting the scales back to normal, and were mildly amused at the groans on Monday lunch hour, as the supposed effects of the weekend parties hit home with a vengeance – all that 'lost' weight so quickly regained! For the next couple of days, we removed a ball bearing or two, but whether the fad wore off, or our plot was discovered, or enough weight had actually been lost for the bikinis to now fit – the lunchtime parade ended, and the scales were restored to their correct calibration.
Isn’t it wonderful the things people will do in the name of research science!
Submitted Apr. 2014