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When my father was a resident at Bellevue hospital, he frequently observed another doctor perform a morning ritual. There was a standard sliding-weight scale in the doctor's break room (coffee room). This fellow would weigh himself. Then he would repeat the weighing--only standing on his left foot. Then again on his right foot.

He invariably did this, every single morning.

He was Chief of Psychiatry at the hospital!

--Boris

Then he would repeat the weighing--only standing on his left foot. Then again on his right foot.

It's not as crazy as it sounds. My left side is stronger and bigger than my right side (left eye, left arm, left leg). I notice when I lean to the right, the weight goes up a pound or two. I think center-of-mass may explain this. If it's not over the center of the scale, the reading will be less. I would think that leaning far left (not politically, mind you!), then far right, and taking the mean (average) of the two readings, you would derive the weight closest to your actual weight. Any mechanical engineers or physicists out there that can confirm or refute this theory?