This reminds me of a story my physics professor told me. Couriers were delivering gold between countries at different longitude. At the origin the gold was weig

This reminds me of a story my physics professor told me. Couriers were delivering gold between countries at different longitude. At the origin the gold was weighed using balance scales. At the destination the gold was weighed using spring scales. However, due to differences in gravity and the rotation of the earth, there was a significant difference in the weights. (But not the mass!) This made the authorities think the men had shaved the bars somehow. It was a simple way to demonstrate the difference between weight and mass. Whether the story was true or not, the government is just bad at science. It's how we get stuff like bite mark patterns and facial recognition warrants.