100 pounds might sound like a lot. Seeing as how the weight of the average healthy 5-foot-9 person is as light as 125 pounds, it really puts 100 pounds into perspective.
In this article, I’m going to help you figure out how 100 pounds feels like without a scale. I’ll show you 9 everyday objects you can use as references to get a feel of what 100 pounds is like.
8 Pumpkins
It really goes without saying that using agricultural products as references may not be the most accurate way of weighing things. For instance, a standard pumpkin can weigh anywhere from 12 to 18 pounds. This means you will need between 5 and 8 of them to get close to 100 pounds.
And what do you do when you happen to get your hands on the largest pumpkin in the world, which weighs 2,702 pounds? You could cut it into 27.02 even portions, but Stefano Cutrupi might not be so happy about it.
1 Punching Bag
Similar to pumpkins, punching bags come in all shapes, sizes, and weights. There is no average punching bag weight since people should purchase a punching bag based on their experience level. However, if you’re an intermediate boxer, or if you aspire to become one, then you might want to get your hands on a 100-pound punching bag.
The simplest way to determine how heavy of a punching bag to get is to divide your weight by 2 and go from there. For instance, if you’re 180 to 200 pounds heavy, a 100-pound punching bag would be suitable for resistance training.
1 Bag of Coal
Here’s where things get a bit more accurate. If you shop for coal at a supermarket, you’ll come across coal bags of different sizes. Some places carry large, 100-pound bags, of which you would only need 1 of them to reach the 100-pound mark.
Then there are smaller bags that weigh between 25 and 50 pounds. You would need 4 and 2 of each, respectively, to get a feel of 100 pounds in your hands. Just be careful when handling bags of coal since the dust can lead to some pretty terrible health conditions.
1 Digital Keyboard
The number of keys on a digital keyboard will vary, depending on how wide the keyboard is. Some keyboards only have 25 keys, while others have 59 or 61. But if you want to get the most out of a keyboard, you should look for one with 88 keys.
Generally speaking, the more keys there are, the heavier the keyboard is, though they come nowhere close to the weight of grand pianos. Keyboards typically range between 70 and 300 pounds, so a keyboard on the lighter side would get you closer to the 100-pound mark.
12 Gallons of Water
A single gallon of water weighs about 8.34 pounds. Measuring the weight of water using standard imperial is a challenge, unlike using the metric system, where 1 milliliter of water equals 1 gram, and 1 liter of water equals 1 kilogram.
Anyway, if you wanted to measure 100 pounds in terms of gallons of water, you would need slightly under 12 gallons to get there. Multiply that by 4 and you’ll need the number of quarts (48). Multiply that by 2, and you’ll learn how many pints of water you need (96).
3 Cinder blocks
There are various cinderblock styles to choose from, but the standard cinderblock measures 8 × 8 × 16 inches. Whether you’re building a heavy-duty gate around your property or want to build a backyard fire pit, you’ll need to have several cinderblocks on hand.
But if you only want to measure 100 pounds in cinderblock terms, you’ll need slightly fewer than 3 of them. A single 8 × 8 × 16-inch cinderblock weighs 35 pounds, so 3 of them together would get you 5 pounds past the 100-pound mark.
20 Reams of Letter-Size Paper
Letter-size paper measures 8.5 × 11 inches and typically comes in reams of 500 sheets. A single ream of letter paper weighs 5 pounds. So, you’ll have to get your hands on exactly 20 reams of letter paper to get to 100 pounds.
There are several factors that can affect a sheet of paper’s weight, apart from its dimensions. The type of materials that go into the sheet of paper will also add or subtract weight, making a 500-sheet ream lighter or heavier. And just in case anyone’s wondering—letter and A4 paper are not the same.
119 Full Soda Cans
If you look at the weight of a standard soda can, it’ll reveal that it contains 12 fluid ounces of whatever beverage is inside. However, that figure doesn’t account for the weight of the can. So, if we were to take the weight of an unopened can of soda, it would be closer to 13.5 ounces.
And since there are 16 ounces to every pound, that means we would have to collect as many unopened cans to weigh 1,600 ounces. That figure is about 199 full soda cans, give or take a few sips of soda from the 199th can.
8,000 Quarters
At least once a month, you probably go down to the laundromat to clean your dirty clothes. That means you’ll have to save all of your precious quarters for laundry day. Over the span of several years, you may have inserted thousands and thousands of quarters in the washing machine’s coin slot.
Just so you know, a single quarter weighs 5.670 grams. 100 pounds is equal to 45,359.2 grams. So, you would need to amass 8,000 quarters—the equivalent of $2,000—to have 100 pounds in quarters. With 8,000 quarters, you could buy your own washing machine and dryer for your home/apartment.
Conclusion
And that’s how it’s done, folks. Measuring 100 pounds can be tricky. However, if you keep these 9 everyday items in mind and their quantities, getting a feel for 100 pounds can be pretty straightforward.
Please share this article with your friends on your socials if you found it helpful. Also, let me know how many quarters you use per month for laundry in the comments section.
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