Kitchen scales

[Frances]

I found these at a flea market on Corsica years ago.

Electric scales may be all very well, but these are soooo much cooler to use! Its great how you can see that they're working properly. I love that one copper bowl is slightly heavier than the other, so it only balances out if you get them the right way round. Thats true individual workmanship for you...

[asudavew]

I gotta agree with ya Frances!

Now I just have to find one.........

[mfiore]

I used to use one like that in High School Chemistry. At the time, I never imagined I would find them cool years later!

[Frances]

Originally Posted by asudavew

I gotta agree with ya Frances!

Now I just have to find one.........

You would not believe what they charge for these things at flea markets around here! IF you can find them...

[jengineer]

Drop the weights off at your local National Bureau of Standards to get the weights calibrated. Otherwise your measurements will be off and who knows your 60% poolish may be 61%..... :-)

[Frances]

Nah, that's the beauty of it... you can measure the weights against each other! I reckon if two different sized 100 g weights ballance out they should be ok - its unlikely they'd both be off by the same amount. No 61 % poolish of me!

[james]

We visited the Swiss National museum outside Geneva last year -- and putting together a national system for weights and measures, postage, etc. was one of the big parts of putting the different regions together into a single country. My memory is that it was a pre-cursor to the metric system.

Switzerland at the cutting edge; just like Frances' very cool kitchen scale. :-)

James

[Frances]

....and that is still an ongoing process....

In Switzerland each of the 26 Kantons has a different school system, with different books, different subjects, different number of school years at each stage etc. Makes it really difficult for children if they have to move house.

And each village has its own seperate regional building code. And its own tax system.

They're trying to simplify things, but its a SLOW process...

Still, as James said, we have a single currency and postage system, so lets be thankful for small mercies.