Comments on: Dutch Health Club Uses Bus Shelter Scale for Public Humiliation

By: Steph

Steph — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 19:56:53 +0000

Yes! It almost seems like a cruel joke. I bet a lot of people wanting to lose weight would buy it and their butt would probably cover it up so they couldn’t read it.

By: No, thanks, I’d Rather Stand! - LizBittar Magazine

No, thanks, I’d Rather Stand! - LizBittar Magazine — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:40:35 +0000

[...] from Sociological Images: Seeing is Believing [...]

By: Esta Semana/This Week - LizBittar Magazine

Esta Semana/This Week - LizBittar Magazine — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:48:27 +0000

[...] from Sociological Images: Seeing is Believing [...]

By: A

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:00:23 +0000

That toilet seat looks like someone thought of it as an eating disorder “accessory”

By: Sociological Images » WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO BEHIND YOUR BACK (MARCH 2009)

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:46:50 +0000

[...] We published a post about a Dutch bus-stop bench that is a also a scale and publicly displays your weight when you sit on it. We went back and added images of a design for a toilet seat that does the same thing. [...]

By: Donna Maria @ Indie

Donna Maria @ Indie — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 01:51:49 +0000

@salil61: Good questions. Then sit down.

By: Village Idiot

Village Idiot — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 22:54:35 +0000

You know, Ubermarianne’s comment made me wonder if it really does display the actual weight of whatever is on the bench. That would be especially problematic if it was being used by those drug dealers I speculated about earlier (and yeah, kilos are a lot, but after all it is the Netherlands).

That woman in the picture plus her bag weigh ~150 pounds according to the scale, and since her feet are not touching the ground I’m guessing she’s kind of short, so unless she’s got a really heavy bag that number seems a bit high. Maybe it’s calibrated off by just enough to grab your attention when you confidently sit down on it (by displaying something higher than you expected).

salil61: So are you saying senior citizens are infirm? That just because they’re over 65 they can’t stand up by themselves for as long as they’d like, or that they wouldn’t want to sit on that bench to show off just how svelte they are? Hmm? I’m shocked to see such ageist stereotyping on a site such as this. Shocked, I say.

By: salil61

salil61 — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 19:30:07 +0000

Eh, Dona Maria @ Indie Business…. How does one stay standing if one is a senior citizen, or wants to breastfeed a child, or if one is on crutches/disabled, and would like the 10-minute sit-down before boarding the bus?

By: Donna Maria @ Indie Business

Donna Maria @ Indie Business — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:43:24 +0000

I think it’s kind of fun and neat. If you don’t like it, stand up.

By: Esta Semana/This Week « Liz em Debate

Esta Semana/This Week « Liz em Debate — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:57:18 +0000

[...] From Sociological Images: Seeing is Believing [...]

By: Ubermarianne

Ubermarianne — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 03:12:34 +0000

This is ridiculous. As if someone wouldn’t know if their weight was something that displeased them or not without an industrial scale disguised as a bus stop bench to broadcast their actual poundage towards the entire street. Also, as stated before, heavy purses, groceries, other people, or just some weighty winter boots make the whole concept completely useless.
Argh. THESE are the best ideas people have???

By: Penny

Penny — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:50:45 +0000

I’m guessing it’ll entertain kids bouncing and jumping on it for a while, then it’ll break and sit there for a few years, displaying garble, one more bit of pointless tech clutter in the city environment.

By: Eve

Eve — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:12:44 +0000

Well, you could use it to weigh your dog, or your luggage to see if the airlines will charge your extra for it.

But I probably wouldn’t sit down on it.

On the other hand, if 2 or 3 people and their stuff are sitting there, wouldn’t the data be pretty much useless?

By: Sabriel

Sabriel — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:04:52 +0000

“It would be a somewhat humorous unintended consequence if these benches ended up becoming kiosks for local drug dealers who wish to appear honest.”

hahahahaha. Oh. That would be hilarious. A kilo seems like a large unit to sell drugs in, but still hilarious.

By: Village Idiot

Village Idiot — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:46:18 +0000

Uncomfortable public seating (in every sense of the word ‘uncomfortable’) seems to be the trend everywhere. This one is a new twist, though. At least it’s a more useful seat than benches designed to be anti-homeless (impossible to lay down on) since it could be viewed as a free, public scale to weigh stuff besides yourself on without having to carry a scale around. It would be a somewhat humorous unintended consequence if these benches ended up becoming kiosks for local drug dealers who wish to appear honest.

For anyone studying design with intent (aka Architectures of Control), this website is an amazing resource: http://architectures.danlockton.co.uk/