Once upon a time, scales were displayed publicly

Stepping onto a scale after a calorie-filled holiday season isn't an activity many 21st-century Americans relish. But in the late 19th century, scales were all the rage at festive gatherings — the 1800s' answer to Guitar Hero. "A family would think it fun to weigh themselves before and after a big holiday dinner to see how much they had gained," said Deborah I. Levine, Ph.D. "Knowing your weight was a novelty, a kind of parlor trick, before scales became widely available through mass production," said Levine. Instead of being hidden away in a bathroom, home scales in the late 19th century often resided in prominent places in parlors, where family and guests would gather to socialize, likely alongside other popular 19th-century devices for body measurement. They were garbed to fit in their elaborately decorated environments. "Parlor scales, which use the same technology that many doctors' office scales use today, often were made with highly polished wood, with inlay designs and semi-precious stones," Levine said.
http://www.physorg.com/news148314516.html

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