On Earth.
It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box
11–20 of 255 posts
Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box
#12I once purchased lead weights online, and they came packed tessellated in a flat rate box. Shipper definitely got their money’s worth.
Out of curiosity, what kind of weights were they? I was under the impression that it has been phased out of many uses because of high toxicity (including via skin absorption when handling it)
Lead weights continue to be widely used in diving: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving_weighting_system (there's a section on materials and toxicity).
Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box
#13I once purchased lead weights online, and they came packed tessellated in a flat rate box. Shipper definitely got their money’s worth.
Out of curiosity, what kind of weights were they? I was under the impression that it has been phased out of many uses because of high toxicity (including via skin absorption when handling it)
Does lead actually absorb through the skin? I always heard the main pathway was getting lead dust on your hands and then eating/inhaling that.
Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box
#14On Earth.
Depends how you measure it. Any X kg/lbs of matter here on earth is still that same X kg/lbs everywhere in the universe. Assuming the scale being used to weight is correctly calibrated to whatever planet it's in, it would still show up as the same amount of kg/lbs.
Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box
#15On Earth.
Depends how you measure it. Any X kg/lbs of matter here on earth is still that same X kg/lbs everywhere in the universe. Assuming the scale being used to weight is correctly calibrated to whatever planet it's in, it would still show up as the same amount of kg/lbs.
Depends upon what you set out to measure. lbs is specifically a unit of force. kg is specifically a unit of mass. It is a category error to equate these as measures, although (in many places) an everyday convention to do so on Earth.
IIRC the English unit for mass is the slug. If the tecnical limit is 70lbs or so, that is must technically be read as lbs force -- aka force of gravity which varies with location.
Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box
#16While the tweet is correct ("It is physically impossible to exceed the 70-pound domestic weight limit for a small flat rate box") the shortened title here which omits the word "small" is very misleading. The USPS offers a variety of sizes of flat rate boxes ( https://www.usps.com/ship/priority-mail.htm#flatrate ), all of which have the same 70 lb weight limit. It's only the "small" that cannot be overweight. The two…
Ok, we've removed the (redundant, I suppose) word 'physically' and squeezed in 'small' in the title above.
Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
Out of curiosity, what kind of weights were they? I was under the impression that it has been phased out of many uses because of high toxicity (including via skin absorption when handling it)
Lead weights continue to be widely used in diving: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving_weighting_system (there's a section on materials and toxicity).
They are, but as a diver I will never touch them unless they look in proper shape and are the types wrapped in some other material. Some fishy dive centers will have the old style raw lead blocks..
Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box
#18On Earth.
Depends how you measure it. Any X kg/lbs of matter here on earth is still that same X kg/lbs everywhere in the universe. Assuming the scale being used to weight is correctly calibrated to whatever planet it's in, it would still show up as the same amount of kg/lbs.
"a teaspoon of neutron star material would weigh around a billion tonnes."
https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/n/neutron+star#:~:text=....
Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box
#19On the other end of the spectrum is lightweight, but bulky stuff. I sold things like this for a time, some time ago. Would get a fair amount of grief from customers who would use the simpler UPS/Fedex calculators on the weight only and complain that I padding shipping prices. But UPS and Fedex charge "dimensional weight" for these types of shipments, and you have to use a more complicated formula.
Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
Depends how you measure it. Any X kg/lbs of matter here on earth is still that same X kg/lbs everywhere in the universe. Assuming the scale being used to weight is correctly calibrated to whatever planet it's in, it would still show up as the same amount of kg/lbs.
Depends upon what you set out to measure. lbs is specifically a unit of force. kg is specifically a unit of mass. It is a category error to equate these as measures, although (in many places) an everyday convention to do so on Earth . IIRC the English unit for mass is the slug . If the tecnical limit is 70lbs or so, that is must technically be read as lbs force -- aka force of gravity which varies with location.
Wikipedia lists it as a unit of mass — as defined by the amount that exerts a certain force.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pound_(mass)
The pound unit of force is abbreviated ‘lbf’.