People have been weighing objects for centuries
What people weighed centuries ago is not too different from what we weigh today: crops, animals, gold and other metals are still commonly weighed
But whether you have a scale or not, knowing how much something weighs outside of your hand is a good life skill
And in general, starting with a small weight—like thinking about things that weigh five pounds—can help you estimate the weights of different objects on the fly
There are many different household items, foods, and pets that weigh five pounds, such as a wad of paper, two and a half pineapples, and a chihuahua
Seven things that weigh five kilos
A bag of flour
Two and a half 12-inch pizzas
Five pounds seems like an easy way to estimate how much something weighs, and it doesn’t seem like a lot of weight
Or it could be a five-pound dog, which is a relatively small dog
But what about more common items?
What things do we have at home or things that we deal with every day that weigh five kilos?
Household items that weigh five pounds
As you look around your house, you might think, “What weighs five pounds? Beyond the obvious—like the five-pound package of ground beef in the freezer—let’s examine some everyday items that have hit the five-kilogram mark
Five towels weigh about five pounds and also:
Complete set of double size sheets
There are also several five-pound items in the kitchen, such as:
Food that weighs five kilos
When you walk into the kitchen or down the aisle at the grocery store, you’ll come across many items that hit the five-pound mark, such as:
Two and a half pineapples
A half gallon of milk
A gallon of ice cream
Of course, when you’re at the grocery store, you can weigh the products to determine the price (but scanners at checkouts usually do the trick if you’re on a tight budget
However, many cooks – both home and professional – sometimes use kitchen scales to weigh their ingredients to ensure accurate results
And if you don’t have one, then using the items above as a baseline is a good way to estimate what you’re dealing with
Animals that weigh five kilos
Do you live in an apartment with a pet weight limit or do you want a pet that you can easily take with you on the plane?
If you’re thinking about getting a pet but are worried about its size, there are a few pet options that might be good for you as they all weigh around five pounds
Smaller cats and extra small dogs like the Chihuahua or Japanese Mastiff stick around the five pound mark
But if you’re feeling a little more adventurous, you can look into getting a chicken, which is another animal that weighs about five pounds
If you want to get more than one pet, you can also think about two or three turtles
An adult eastern tortoise 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 a lot, how about doubling it?
What are some things that weigh ten pounds?
We could always double the above items, but there are some unique items that weigh ten pounds
Items in your home that can weigh up to ten pounds are:
A gallon of paint
A bag of potatoes
If you are considering getting a pet that is a little over five pounds, English Spaniels average around ten pounds and Miniature Pinschers
Most common domestic cats weigh around ten pounds
Now that you know some objects that weigh five pounds, you can use that 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 for exercise but don’t have weights nearby, you can grab some items from around the house from this list as substitutes (although pets are not recommended)
How many five-pound objects would weigh the same as you?
Originally from New York, Emily now lives and works in Europe