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10 Unusual Scientific Scales (PHOTOS)

The Huffington Post     First Posted: 01/04/12 02:08 PM ET   Updated: 01/05/12 10:14 AM ET

Hand-waving and estimation are out, and measurement is in. With the right scale, researchers can measure just about anything--even things traditionally considered too vague to quantify. In the slideshow below, we present ten of the most unusual and interesting scales, whether the weirdness comes from what they measure or how they do it.

Maybe you've heard of the Kinsey Scale of human sexuality, but how about the Kardashev Scale of advanced civilization? How about the Waffle House Index of disaster response and the Riddle Scale of homophobia? Click through to see more--you can even rate your favorites using our own scale.

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The Schmidt Sting Pain Index measures the pain of stings from various bees, wasps and ants on a 1.0-4.0 spectrum. An ordinary Sweat bee scores a 1.0 on the scale, and the South American Bullet ant scores a 4.0+.

The commentary is particularly specific, and its colorful descriptions were the inspiration for this slideshow: a Yellow Jacket sting, rating a 2.0 on the scale, is said to be "Hot and smoky, almost irreverent. Imagine W. C. Fields extinguishing a cigar on your tongue."

Image: a Bullet Ant. Creative Commons.
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Hand-waving and estimation are out, and measurement is in. With the right scale, researchers can measure just about anything--even things traditionally considered too vague to quantify. In the slidesh...
Hand-waving and estimation are out, and measurement is in. With the right scale, researchers can measure just about anything--even things traditionally considered too vague to quantify. In the slidesh...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
SickHippie
No, YOUR micro-bio is empty.
683 Fans
 
03:30 PM on 01/07/2012
I like this slideshow until the Dyson Sphere slide. Now I love it.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
CitizenPane
Why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?
103 Fans
11:47 AM on 01/05/2012
Can I get a government grant for my own scale? I am sure I can think of something to measure. Hey maybe how people can get government grants to for useless scales of measure.
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dontuo
12 Fans
09:58 PM on 01/05/2012
I don't think measuring your junk will get you any grants.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Ted229
272 Fans
 
09:13 AM on 01/06/2012
Why are you interested in his junk?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
CitizenPane
Why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?
103 Fans
01:56 PM on 01/06/2012
I don't think I said anything about measuring my "junk". It was a grant to see how people get grants to develop useless scales of measure. Anyways, I'm a girl. Makes it kind of difficult to measure my "junk" if I understand you correctly.
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dontuo
12 Fans
10:00 PM on 01/05/2012
But if you do...Let me know...I'll do my own study.
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