Humans have been weighing objects for centuries
What humans weighed centuries ago is not much different from what we weigh today: plants, animals, and gold and other metals are still frequently weighed
But, whether you own a scale or not, knowing how much something weighs is a great life skill to have
And, in general, starting with small weights—for example, thinking about an object that weighs five pounds—can help you quickly estimate the weight of things
There are lots of different household, food, and pet items that weigh five pounds, such as a ream of paper, two and a half pineapples, and a chihuahua
Seven Things That Weigh Five Pounds
A bag of flour
Two and a half 12 inch pizzas
How Much is Five Pounds?
Five pounds seems like an easy way to estimate how much something weighs and it doesn’t seem like much
Or, it could be a five pound dog, which is a relatively small dog
But, what about more common items?
What are the items in our homes, or items we come across every day that weigh five pounds?
Household Items That Weigh Five Pounds
Looking around your house, you may wonder, “How much does it weigh five pounds?” Aside from the obvious—like a five-pound package of ground beef in the freezer—let’s explore some everyday items that top the five-pound mark
Five bath towels weigh about five pounds, as well as:
A double size full sheet set
There are also a few five pound items in the kitchen, such as:
Foods Weighing Five Kg
Walking into the kitchen or down the aisle at the grocery store, you’ll find many items costing up to five pounds, such as:
Two and a half pineapples
Half a gallon of milk
A gallon of ice cream
Of course, while you’re at the grocery store, you can weigh produce to determine a price (however, a scanner at the check-out line usually does the trick if your budget isn’t too tight
However, many cooks — both at home and professional — occasionally use a kitchen scale to weigh their ingredients to ensure accurate results
And, if you don’t have any, using the items above as a basis is a good way to estimate what you’re dealing with
Animals That Weigh Five Pounds
Live in an apartment with pet weight limits or want a pet you can easily take on a plane?
If you are thinking about getting a pet but are worried about its size, there are several pet options that might be fine for you since they weigh around five pounds
Smaller cats and extra small dogs like chihuahuas or Japanese chinos last around five pounds
But, if you’re feeling a little more adventurous, you can check out a chicken, which is another animal that weighs around five pounds
If you want to get more than one pet, you can also think about getting two or three box turtles
Adult Eastern Box turtles weigh up to two pounds
But, be prepared for commitment; These animals can live up to 100 years
While five pounds may not seem like much, what if we doubled the amount?
What are some things that weigh ten pounds?
We could always double the items above, but there are some single objects that weigh ten pounds
Items in your home that may weigh up to ten pounds are:
One gallon of paint
A bag of potatoes
If you’re thinking about getting a pet that weighs a little over five pounds, the average English toy spaniel is around ten pounds and the mini pinscher
The most common domestic cat also weighs around ten pounds
Now that you know a few things that weigh five pounds, you can use this as an estimate to understand the weight of other things around you—especially if you don’t have a scale
And, if you want to lift weights for exercise but don’t have weights nearby, you can pick up a few items around your house from this list as substitutes (pets not recommended, however)
How many five pound objects equal your weight?
Originally from New York, Emily now lives and works in Europe