# Scales at the grocery store **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 13, 2002, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865 "2002-06-13T15:06:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pezpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@pezpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezpunk)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/1 "2002-06-13T15:06:30Z")
I apologize if this has been asked before but I was unable to locate a thread on the subject. I also could not find anything on google. Why do grocery stores have large scales located at the front? I have never seen them used for anything more than customers weighing themselves. I initially thought maybe they used it a long time ago and they just left it in the store but I have seen them in new markets. So does anyone know if they are actually used or just a traditional decoration? ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/2 "2002-06-13T15:23:50Z")
Are you talking about the scales that you pay a quarter and weigh yourself, pezzie? ---
**Author:** ![pezpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@pezpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezpunk)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/3 "2002-06-13T15:34:57Z")
Nope. I am talking about the LARGE scales that are free. ---
**Author:** ![tevya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@tevya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tevya)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/4 "2002-06-13T16:19:43Z")
I don’t recall seeing these in grocery stores I go to regularly. Perhaps it is restricted to your region / state. Maybe some left over law on the codebooks requires grocery stores to have giant free novelty scales available at all times in your region / state. ---
**Author:** ![pezpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@pezpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezpunk)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/5 "2002-06-13T16:29:56Z")
Actually in Florida it would not suprise me Probably for the carnies to try guessing each others weight. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/6 "2002-06-13T19:22:13Z")
Most digital scales these days only go up to 30#. We still have one of those big scales around for a few reasons: It can weigh items much heavier then 30#, it heavy and hard to move, it wouldn’t seem right to throw away a perfectly good scale just cuz we don’t use it (although we are packrats like you wouldn’t believe, our storage areas are giant fire hazards I would imagine). ---
**Author:** ![pezpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@pezpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezpunk)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/7 "2002-06-13T19:28:00Z")
That’s awesome **JoeyP**. Thanks for the answer. I figured that they weren’t used much and just became decorations but wasn’t sure. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/8 "2002-06-13T19:37:04Z")
I have no idea what scales you’re talking about, but that won’t stop me from throwing out theories. Perhaps it is used to weigh big-bulk items – ice, rock salt, charcoal, firewood, potatos, grasseed, animal/pet feed, coffee beans – that is sold by the pound. They probably keep it up front so it is near the check-out registers. Another possibility is that the scale is used when stock comes IN the store, not when it goes out. Maybe the coffee bean man wheels in a sack o’ beans and the manager throws it on the scale so he knows that the sack does in fact weigh, say, 50 pounds. There you go. My two theories. ---
**Author:** ![stabberwocky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stabberwocky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stabberwocky)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/9 "2015-04-03T18:14:22Z")
My dad lives in Florida, so I’ve seen these scales at Publix. I’m not sure whether you saw them at that chain or at another chain, but they appear to be a Publix tradition. The following link discusses it in brief: > **[Humberto Cuevas Ξ Why Does Publix Have Scales?](https://humbertocuevas.com/2012/08/25/humberto-cuevas-%CE%BE-why-does-publix-have-scales/)** > > I am sure you frequent one of the many Publix grocery stores in the central Florida area.  Did you ever stop to sanitize your cart or grab some coupons and notice the antique looking scale just ins… ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/10 "2015-04-03T18:32:52Z")
Health and Safety? You (an employer, not shopper) can’t lift such and such without using a mechanical device. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/11 "2015-04-03T23:33:11Z")
I’ve seen them in a few stores around here. I think they go up to 250 pounds. I’ve occasionally seen kids playing on them or weighing themselves. They’re always located near the store exit, after the registers. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/12 "2015-04-04T03:23:16Z")
Bit of a zombie, but I’m used to seeing them\* all the time. To be fair, I do live in Publix territory, so I can’t comment if it’s a regional thing. I’ve used them to weigh luggage before a friend of mine went on an international trip. \*scales. Although zombies works for that sentence too. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/13 "2015-04-04T11:31:57Z")
Zombie or not, anyone care to link to a picture? I’m curious as heck, now. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/14 "2015-04-04T11:49:30Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Zombie or not, anyone care to link to a picture? I’m curious as heck, now. Click on the link in **stabberwocky** ’s post. [Or more images here.](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1281&bih=633&q=publix+scale&oq=publix+scale&gs_l=img.3..0j0i8i30j0i24l2.5905.8933.0.9940.12.11.0.1.1.0.74.645.11.11.0.msedr...0...1ac.1.64.img..0.12.640.KosYjdYJeZc) ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/15 "2015-04-04T18:48:24Z")
Toledo scale, model 2181 or variant. Properly tended, they last forever (may need to occasionally change springs, pivots, or bearings, depending upon how hard it’s being used). No longer in production, but some components are still available for them. Plenty of people still use them, even certified legal-for-trade. Not sure why Publix has them, or sticks them right up front; perhaps an image/publicity thing? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/16 "2015-04-04T20:52:34Z")
I can’t recall ever seeing anything like this here in the upper Midwest, although we don’t have Publix stores in this area. Anecdote: I used to volunteer at a Habitat ReStore, and we weighed all donations to fulfill a grant; one stipulation was that we had to divert a certain amount of weight from the landfill. It was an old doctor’s scale, and women would back away from it like it would spontaneously weigh her, but men and children enthusiastically stepped on it. I’ll never forget the man who climbed on it with his boots, Carhartt jacket, tool belt, etc. and slid the weights over and announced, “246 pounds!” :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/17 "2015-04-04T21:52:25Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Click on the link in **stabberwocky** ’s post. > > [Or more images here.](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1281&bih=633&q=publix+scale&oq=publix+scale&gs_l=img.3..0j0i8i30j0i24l2.5905.8933.0.9940.12.11.0.1.1.0.74.645.11.11.0.msedr...0...1ac.1.64.img..0.12.640.KosYjdYJeZc) Thanks for the link. I’ve never seen anything like that before, and I’ve shopped in a Publix. Well, yeah, I’ve seen a scale before. You know what I’m saying. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/18 "2015-04-05T01:50:10Z")
Our local Publix all have one. Why remains a mystery to me. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/19 "2015-04-05T02:21:08Z")
For the record, I’ve seen them in several stores around here. Not Publix, since they’re not here. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scales-at-the-grocery-store/113865/20 "2015-04-05T03:00:40Z")
They need to put them in the middle of the candy aisle, not in front.