Excessive caution?

[unixronin]

New Scientist reports that a shopper in New Zealand bought a small mailing box from the New Zealand Post to send a gift.  The box was 140mm x 130mm x 25mm (inside dimensions), and bore a weight-limit warning on the outside, "Maximum weight 20kg."

. . . Which, by the way, is slightly less than twice the weight of a billet of solid osmium sized to completely fill the box.  One has to wonder exactly what they're trying to warn people against shipping.

Comments

[tomatoe333.livejournal.com]

Apparently you can't send a black hole by parcel post...

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

I would have expected that the densest naturally occurring stuff in the known universe was located between the ears of a roommate I lived with in the late 80s at one point.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Dude! You roomed with Senator Proxmire?

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

If only Teh Stupid were restricted to politicians. Alas, the two most common elements in the 'verse are hydrogen and stupidity.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

It was once said that Senator William Proxmire is so dense he absorbs neutrinos....

[argonel.livejournal.com]

That weight rating is probably determined by the grade of the carboard. I would suspect that there are several sizes of boxes with the same weight rating. However it is more entertaining to consider that they don't want you shipping unnaturally dense materials in that size box.

[mrmeval.livejournal.com]

Politronium

[danjite.livejournal.com]

That is because of the neutronium mine in the South island.