Stuff That Weighs More than Me has MOVED

Dear readers.  Just wanted to let you know that "Stuff that Weighs More than Me" has moved.  It is now part of my other blog at www.fatchicksings.com  So come on over and follow me over there!

oxoxoxoxo

Stuff That Weighs More than Me: Boom, you're OUT!

Letting Loose at the world's largest dodgeball game.

This week's post on reliving playground dramas, got me thinking about that nemesis of so many primary school PE programs, dodgeball.  A little googling led to a world record held by a group quite local to me, the kids at UC Irvine.  This group managed to put together the world's largest dodgeball game, wresting the record out of the sweaty hands of their arch nemesis in giant dodgeball battles, The University of Alberta.  The day was described by many as "absolute mayhem".  Nevertheless, the competitors were counted and the blue team one.  Here's some stats:

Weight of dodgeball ball-- 1 to 2 lbs.
Average Weight of participant (conservative estimate) 100 lbs.
Number of balls/participants: 4488
Weight of participants plus chosen weapons* 453,288 lbs.
*Does not include weight of victory beer

CONCLUSION: The World's Largest Dodgeball Game at UC Irvine weighs more than me.

Want to hear more about reliving playground dramas?  Click HERE to see my latest post on Fat Chick Sings.

Stuff That Weighs More than Me: You Can Ring My (Liberty) Bell!

The Fat Chick Visits the Liberty Bell in the Land Of Brotherly Love and Cheesy Sandwiches

So often when I travel, I never manage to get out beyond the conference room, the convention center or even the hotel.  But on my recent trip to Philly, I was determined.  I was going to see that big, big bell.  And although it doesn't look that large, brother it is HEAVY!  Not just with history and significance but also pure, unadulterated poundage.

Here's some stats

Cast: In 1751 by Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London

Composition:  70% copper, 25% tin, 2% lead, 1% zinc, .25% arsenic and .20% silver with trace amounts of gold, magnesium, nickel and antimony

Tone: E-flat

Circumference: around the lip (bottom) of the Bell is 12 feet and around the crown (top) is 7 feet 6 inches.

Length: from the lip to the crown 3 feet and the height over the crown measures 2 feet 3 inches.

Thickness: of the Liberty Bell at the lip is 3 inches and, at the crown, the thickness is 1.25 inches.

Clapper: measures 3 feet 2 inches and weighs 44.5 pounds.
 
Total Weight: 2,080 lbs.

Conclusion: The Liberty Bell weighs more than me

Want to read my Body Declaration of Independence?  Check out my latest post on Fat Chick Sings!

Stuff That Weighs More than Me: Above Ground Pool

While there are many sizes and forms of above ground pools, they are all fairly big.  Take the example above.  This bad boy is available on Amazon for about $1500.  In order to know the weight of the pool, we'll need to do a little bit of math.  (Don't worry, it's not too hard).

Size: Size: 24' Length x 12' Width x 52" Height.
Weight of empty pool: 464.7 lbs.
Water Capacity: 8,403 gallons
Weight of one gallon of water: 8.34 pounds
Weight of water in pool 70,081.02 pounds
-10% for displacement/splashing 7,008 pounds=63,073.02 lbs
Add empty pool weight= 63,537.72 pounds

Conclusion: Even without any swimmers or a single blown-up floaty toy, an above ground pool weighs more than me.

Want to hear more about getting ready for swimsuit season?  Click HERE.

Stuff That Weighs More than Me: Asteroids!

I had a friend say to me that she feels as big as an asteroid.  To which I responded, "That's not likely, in fact I'm going to do a little research."  Turns I was right.  Asteroids can range in size from a few meters across to hundreds of meters across.  Especially large asteroids are often referred to as planetoids.  Ceres (pictured above) is the largest known (and first discovered) asteroid.

Ceres is BIG.  Almost 1,000 kilometers in diameter (about the distance between Washington D.C. and Chicago).  The best thing about Ceres is that if you visited there, you'd weigh almost nothing at all!  Moi personally would weigh about 6 pounds on that august body.  Yay Ceres.  So here's the stats for Ceres, the largest asteroid:

Size:
Diameter: approximately 950 kilometers (equatorial diameter 974.6 +/- 3.6, polar diameter 909.4 +/- 3.2 kilometers) (about 1/13 or 7.5% of Earth)
Mass: 9.43 x 10^20 kilograms (0.016% of Earth)
Bulk density: 2.10 grams per cubic centimeter (less dense than rock, more dense than ice, WAY more dense than people...)

Conclusion: An asteroid weighs WAY more than me.
P.S. Want to learn about some other ROCK STARS?  Check out THIS POST on Fat Chick Sings.

Stuff That Weighs More than Me: The Race Car in the Art Gallery

Indianapolis Race Car on Display at the William Rolland Gallery at California Lutheran University.

It was somewhat surprising and also kind of cool to run into a Indy Race Car right in the middle of an Art Museum.  Then again, given the fact that the art museum is in itself part of a new sports complex at California Lutheran University, it's not so very surprising.

With William Roland at the Gallery opening.

I first saw this beauty at the grand opening of the William Rolland Gallery last weekend.  And the minute I saw it, I knew I had to have a photograph.  Why?  A) Because it is beautiful and B) Because the information card said it weighed more than me.   Here's the stats:

Length: Over 15 ft.
Width: About 6 ft.
Weight: Over 1500 lbs.

Conclusion: An Indy Race Car weighs more than me.

P.S. Want to learn about the race cars on my feet?  Click HERE!

Stuff that Weighs More than Me: Giant (Broken) Heart

The old walkthrough heart exhibit at the Science and Industry Museum

When I was a kid and my parents asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday, did I suggest roller skating parties or pony rides or cakes with pink icing roses?  Nope!  I wanted to go to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.  This was (and still is) one of the most awesome places on earth.  The museum was chock full of amazing interactive displays including a giant, plaster-of-paris heart complete with cavernous lub-dub sound effects and fabulous mood lighting.  I don't know exactly how big this bad boy was.  It certainly made an impression on me as a kid.  It was big enough to walk through.  And it was so big, that when they decided to upgrade the heart to a newer model, they couldn't remove it intact from the museum.  It was in fact broken into smaller pieces for removal (world's biggest broken heart?)  Some of the pieces were sent to some of the artists, designers and workers who built the original heart. (Yes, it was THAT awesome!)

The heart has been replaced by a brand spanking new interactive heart (world's largest heart transplant?) that features projected video simulations of the working of the heart and a handlebar that allows you to sync the beat of the giant heart with your own.  How awesome is that?  The new heart is LARGE.  I don't know exactly how much it weighs.  But it's over 13 ft. high and over 8 ft. wide and is made out of steel plate.  So I'm fairly confident in my conclusion:

The Giant Heart at the Science and Industry Museum weighs more than me.

Note: Interested in learning more about hearts?  Check out the latest post on Fat Chick Sings!