Title text:
'This HAZMAT container contains radioactive material with activity of one becquerel.' 'So, like, a single banana slice?'
Transcript:
[Cueball holds a stick while talking with Megan and White Hat.]
Cueball: This stick is one meter long.
Megan: Cool.
White Hat: That's a nice stick.[Cueball holds a smallish rock.]
Cueball: This rock weighs one pound.
Megan: I'd believe it.
White Hat: Looks like a normal rock.[Cueball holds a small battery.]
Cueball: This battery is one volt.
Megan: Seems fine.
White Hat: Might need a recharge.[Cueball holds a capacitor while Megan and White Hat panic.]
Cueball: This capacitor is one farad.
Megan: Aaaaa! Be careful!!
White Hat: Put it down!!
Source: https://xkcd.com/3106/
But why pick one pound? The are so many fun units to choose from, only some of which are conveniently sized. How about a stick 1 mile long, or a rock that weights 1 grain?
hogshead is my favourite
Imagine what it’s like to calibrate an instrument like that.
A rock that weighs one stone (14 lbs).
Or a barleycorn that's one barleycorn long? Or a really large foot that's a foot long. Or a chain that's a chain long?
A chain is 66 feet long.
That's 2376 barleycorns, or a small bag of grain if you will.
I bet it's kind of going off of the original SI representation where, like, a foot was the length of the king's foot, and that was what they had to measure against to make sure everything was accurate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_human-based_units_of_measurement