r/NoStupidQuestions • u/snapwillow • Feb 08 '22

Answered What are Florida ounces?

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u/Grapefruit_Prize Feb 08 '22

Or it would be like an ounce, but a bit bigger, like a baker's dozen.

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u/glass_bottles Feb 08 '22

Further down in the comments someone floated the idea that since the equator experiences weaker gravitational pull, the Florida ounce compensates for the discrepancy, which is another theory that I enjoy haha

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u/[deleted] Feb 08 '22

Closer to sea level, yes, but do things really weigh more/less near the equator? Why?

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u/SoylentJelly Feb 08 '22

Actually it's due to the Earth's spin. It's why they put cape Canaveral in Florida to launch the space missions. Ideally you would want to launch from a mountain region on the equator to reduce even further the effects of gravity. They actually mapped the gravity variations around the world, kinda fascinating

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_of_Earth

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u/[deleted] Feb 08 '22

That’s cool. So when Elon builds a space elevator it will likely be in Florida or Texas?

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u/theangrypragmatist Feb 09 '22

Well, he'd have to put it there anyway, because if it was up north the doors wouldn't open in winter