Boogieing angels step aside, how much does my head weigh?

An uncle of mine who shall remain nameless for his protection wrote me the following:

Re: Why techies bug me.

This site asks the question "how can I measure the weight of my head without cutting it off?" The responses debate the methods of weighing and the methods of quantifying their results.

What they haven't asked is:

Why bother ? What is to be gained by finding the answer?

Why not google the question and get the answer as I did of 20 lbs on average.

Why not ask an anthropoligist?

Why not ask a pathologist or morgue worker?

Why not check the literature on neurology and anatomy and discover what has already been learned and build on that?

Why do so many techies wallow in details and keep reinventing the wheel.

Yours truly with tongue firmly imbedded in cheek,

*****

My response was predictable enough. I immediately set about the important task of determining a method.

That is too funny! To tell you the truth, I have considered this question before. I remember a long time ago Nana cautioned me not to lean my head over the railing because "90% of the weight is in the head".

I suppose it may have medical applications. You could chart weight of a particular body part during the course of a patient's lifetime. It is also a good pedagogical tool to get people interested in experimental science through some silly construct.

You are going to hate me, but I can't help it. I have two methods to offer. The first one is more accurate.

1. Suspend person upside down from a hanging scale or balance. Make two weight measurements. One while suspended freely and one with head dunked in water. The difference can be used to calculate the mass using the buoyancy equation.

2. This is inspired by your practical approach and can be done using Google and a tape measure. First measure the circumference of your head. Then find the average head circumference and mass on Google. If your head is, say, 10% larger in circumference then you have to adjust the mass by 1.10 cubed, i.e. 33%.

** rubbing hands together in delight at having solved a useless problem **

Election Day in Our Town, America

Today is Election Day, the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, as NPR informs me. I happen to be registered to vote here in this town where I was born, the "City of Village Charm". Mom and I walked up the hill to Buckley School, the road I walked when I was a grammar student there twenty years ago. How very suitable and small-town that seems. It is a pleasant walk, though I find there is rather a lot of traffic these days, even in the once-quiet section bordering the town of Rockville. The school wasn't too busy at half past one, and there were no students around. We spotted a neighbor examining a sample ballot posted in the entry hall as we did the same.
Voting in Manchester is accomplished through the use of those old, massive, half-curtained machines they have had ever since I followed my mother to the polls as a child. In the midst of rumor and controversy concerning the purity of the polling mechanism, I have no idea whether these machines record my vote accurately. These senior citizens who competently carry out the poll are so terribly trustable; they are a far cry from those evil, vote-rigging partisans who seem to skulk round other polling places.
No Presidential choice this year, though, of course, political analyses find connections from the sitting President to many elections on the ballot. Joe Lieberman, the incumbent U.S. Senator whose seat is at issue this year, is a famous exemplar. He has been associated in the minds of indignant Democrats with President Bush. Lieberman has shed his party affiliation after losing the Democratic primary. Even if he returns to Washington as an Independent, he will never caucus with the Democrats again (or join in any of their reindeer games). He can be found at the bottom of the ballot, the only name on the "Connecticut for Lieberman" row.
On the state level, Governor Jodi Rell is campaigning for re-election. She took over the seat when Governor Rowland was indicted on bribery charges a few years ago. She is very popular and is sure to keep her job. Mom concedes that she has done good work, and seems to be in tune with Mom's concerns about energy supplies in the state, but disagrees with her stance on an ethical misstep in her staff.
The only campaign sign Mom and Dad have stuck in their lawn supports State Representative Ryan Barry, a clean-cut young lawyer who grew up on East Center Street. He is married with two children, and his family attends their church, St. Bridget's. There's that old, small-town feeling again.
This year, Manchester is considering a referendum to purchase the southern half of the Manchester Parkade for the town. It is suggested that the 20-acre parcel could become a park, possibly with a community center, library, pool, etc. What an interesting idea.
As we left the gymnasium where the voting was taking place, we met the sitting Probate Judge and his family. Mom pretended, of course, that I remembered them (she still believes Manchester is the small town she grew up in). We finally completed the ceremony of the day by toddling home in the warmth of a late autumn day, crunching maple leaves all the way down the deserted sidewalk.
Today we completed the fundamental responsibility of an American citizen. The word "responsibility" implies a heavy, unloved chore. But responsibility, in citizenry as in personal life, carries the sweetness of a conscious life.