Humans have weighed objects for centuries
What people weighed centuries ago is not much different than what we weigh today: crops, animals, and gold and other metals are still commonly weighed
But whether you have a scale or not, knowing how much something weighs by hand is a good life skill to have
And in general, starting with a small weight, for example, thinking about things that weigh five pounds can help you estimate the weight of various objects in flight
There are many different household items, foods, and pets 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 doesn’t seem like much
Or it could be a five pound dog, which is a relatively small dog
But what about more general items?
What are items in our home, or things we encounter every day that weigh five pounds?
Household items that weigh five pounds
As you look around your home, you may wonder, “What weighs five pounds?” Besides the obvious, like the five-pound package of ground beef in the freezer, let’s look at some everyday items that have reached the five-pound mark
Five bath towels weigh about five pounds, as do:
A double set of full sheets
In the kitchen, there are also several five-pound items, such as:
Food that weighs five pounds
As you walk into the kitchen or down the grocery store aisle, you’ll come across many items that hit the five-pound mark, such as:
Two and a half pineapples
A half litre of milk
A liter of ice
Of course, while you’re in the supermarket, you can weigh the products to determine the price (but the scanners at the checkouts are usually sufficient if you’re not on a tight budget
However, many chefs, both home and professionals, will sometimes use a kitchen scale to weigh their ingredients to ensure accurate results
And if you don’t have one, using the above items as a base is a good way to gauge what you’re up against
Animals weighing five pounds
Do you live in an apartment with a pet weight limit or do you want a pet that you can easily take on a plane?
If you are considering getting a pet but are concerned about size, there are a few pet choices that may be good for you, as they all weigh about five pounds
Smaller cats and extra small dogs like the Chihuahua or Japanese Chin stay around five pounds
But if you’re feeling a little more adventurous, you can look at a chicken, another animal that weighs about five pounds
If you’re looking for more than one pet, consider getting two or three box turtles
An adult eastern box turtle weighs up to two pounds
But be prepared for the commitment; these animals can live up to 100 years
While five pounds may not seem like much, what if we double the amount?
What are some things that weigh ten pounds?
We can always just double the above items, but there are some special items that weigh ten pounds
Items in your home that can weigh ten pounds include:
A liter of paint
A bag of potatoes
If you are considering getting a pet that weighs just over five pounds, English Toy Spaniels average about ten pounds and Miniature Pinschers
The most common domestic cats also weigh around ten pounds
Now that you know some objects that weigh five pounds, you can use this as an estimate to understand the weight of other objects around you, especially if you don’t have a scale
And if you want to lift weights to work out but don’t have any weights nearby, grab some items in your home from this list as a substitute (pets are not recommended, though)
How many five pound objects would have the same weight as you?
Emily is originally from New York and now lives and works in Europe