This week’s brain teaser asks which of the following weighs more: a pound of feathers or a pound of gold?
Most people would answer “both weigh the same” because both are 1 pound. However, if you look into the type of measurement systems used for each item, it is actually different.
Our standard pound measurement system for most objects of weight is the avoirdupois system. However, gold is measured in the troy measurement system.
When converting a pound of avoirdupois and a pound of troy system to a standard “gram” metric measurement, we get the following:
- 1 Pound (Avoirdupois) = 453.592 grams
- 1 Pound (Troy) = 373.24 grams
So technically, a “pound of feathers” would be heavier than a “pound of gold”.