--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They determined, for instance, that a…" description: "\"“They determined, for instance, that a rusting object doesn’t lose weight, as everyone had long assumed, but gains weight – an extraordinary discovery...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/048/bill-bryson-340_discovery_they-determined-for-instance-that-a-rust_381670.png" --- # They determined, for instance, that a rusting object… ![“They determined, for instance, that a rusting object doesn’t lose weight, as everyone had long assumed, but gains weight – an extraordinary discovery.” quote by Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/048/bill-bryson-340_discovery_they-determined-for-instance-that-a-rust_381670.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/048/bill-bryson-340_discovery_they-determined-for-instance-that-a-rust_381670.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/048/bill-bryson-340_discovery_they-determined-for-instance-that-a-rust_381670.png) > ““They determined, for instance, that a rusting object doesn’t lose weight, as everyone had long assumed, but gains weight – an extraordinary discovery.”” [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A rusting object gains weight, overturning the long‑held belief it only loses mass. **In simple terms:** Rust adds weight, contrary to old assumptions. Key Takeaway Question assumptions with evidence. Themes science discovery misconception Mood curious thoughtful inquisitive Type scientific educational When to use this quote - education - science communication - museum exhibits Key Concepts physics material science experimental observation Questions to Reflect On - What other “obvious” facts might be wrong? - How does this change our view of corrosion? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex processes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Extraordinary Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary-discovery-3460083/) [Gains Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gains-weight-333827/) [Lose weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lose-weight/) [Rusting Object](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rusting-object-3460085/) [Weight Extraordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight-extraordinary-3460084/) ## Related quotes > [It is extraordinary to see how the discovery of one single free stroke of paint can fill you with such joy and amazement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-cassou/it-is-extraordinary-to-see-how-the-discovery-of-one-single-free/) [Michele Cassou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-cassou/) > [“There’s nothing more tragic than a man who gains weight like a woman does.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edan-lepucki/there-s-nothing-more-tragic-than-a-man-who-gains-weight-like-a-woman/) [Edan Lepucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edan-lepucki/) > [“To a man, a woman is fun to be with … until she gains weight. To a woman, a man is fun to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/to-a-man-a-woman-is-fun-to-be-with-until-she-gains-weight-to-a-woman/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I'm one of those guys that loses and gains weight out of my face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-dillashaw/i-m-one-of-those-guys-that-loses-and-gains-weight-out-of-my-face/) [T.J. Dillashaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-j-dillashaw/) > [We all have that one friend who eats a lot but never gains weight... !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/we-all-have-that-one-friend-who-eats-a-lot-but-never-gains-weight/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [My fitness goals are different than most peoples. Most people want to lose enough weight so they look good in a bathing suit or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-james/my-fitness-goals-are-different-than-most-peoples-most-people-want-to/) [Kevin James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-james/) > [Eating smart is all about having an awareness of your body. The most obvious way to do that is by seeing it. So when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-miller/eating-smart-is-all-about-having-an-awareness-of-your-body-the-most/) [Marisa Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-miller/) > [Why not have a motivation beyond me to get to a healthy weight? Every actor does that. We're chameleons. We change; we grow as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrissy-metz/why-not-have-a-motivation-beyond-me-to-get-to-a-healthy-weight-every/) [Chrissy Metz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrissy-metz/) > [I would lose weight, but I hate losing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-would-lose-weight-but-i-hate-losing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I was younger I was told to lose some weight because I was a little bit chubbier, but I didn't dream of modelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vogue-williams/when-i-was-younger-i-was-told-to-lose-some-weight-because-i-was-a/) [Vogue Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vogue-williams/) > [There are a few people out there with whom you fit just so, and, amazingly, you keep fitting just so even after you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/there-are-a-few-people-out-there-with-whom-you-fit-just-so-and/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) > [I don't want to lose weight to live long or be healthy. I just want to be able to make fun of fat people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segura/i-don-t-want-to-lose-weight-to-live-long-or-be-healthy-i-just-want-to/) [Tom Segura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segura/) > [People said that I had liposuction surgery, but you tell me how can a man of 230 kgs lose weight only with a prick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adnan-sami/people-said-that-i-had-liposuction-surgery-but-you-tell-me-how-can-a/) [Adnan Sami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adnan-sami/) > [It wasn't like, 'I'ma lose weight and start doing dramas.' I wanted to be healthier, and that was the impetus for wanting to lose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-hill/it-wasn-t-like-i-ma-lose-weight-and-start-doing-dramas-i-wanted-to-be/) [Jonah Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-hill/) > [I've been working hard to lose weight and become healthier overall. I even started putting the workouts on my Snapchat so my fans can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mustard/i-ve-been-working-hard-to-lose-weight-and-become-healthier-overall-i/) [Mustard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mustard/) ## More by Bill Bryson > [Most big companies don't like you very much, except hotels, airlines and Microsoft, which don't like you at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/most-big-companies-don-t-like-you-very-much-except-hotels-airlines/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“But Welsh spellings are as nothing compared with Irish Gaelic, a language in which spelling and pronunciation give the impression of having been devised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/but-welsh-spellings-are-as-nothing-compared-with-irish-gaelic-a/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“Pantaloons were often worn tight as paint and were not a great deal less revealing, particularly as they were worn without underwear. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/pantaloons-were-often-worn-tight-as-paint-and-were-not-a-great-deal/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If you go out on the Appalachian Trail, you have to bring so much more equipment - a tent, sleeping bag - but if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-you-go-out-on-the-appalachian-trail-you-have-to-bring-so-much-more/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“The dining table was a plain board called by that name. It was hung on the wall when not in use, and was perched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/the-dining-table-was-a-plain-board-called-by-that-name-it-was-hung-on/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“From almost nothing, France in four years built up an aircraft industry that employed nearly 200,000 people and produced some 70,000 planes. Britain built…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/from-almost-nothing-france-in-four-years-built-up-an-aircraft/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“Every twenty minutes on the Appalachian Trail, Katz and I walked farther than the average American walks in a week. For 93 percent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/every-twenty-minutes-on-the-appalachian-trail-katz-and-i-walked/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“A diarist named George Templeton Strong recorded in the winter of 1866 that even with two furnaces alight and all the fireplaces blazing, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/a-diarist-named-george-templeton-strong-recorded-in-the-winter-of/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Tune your television to any channel it doesn't receive and about 1 percent of the dancing static you see is accounted for by this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/tune-your-television-to-any-channel-it-doesn-t-receive-and-about-1/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [As a rule of thumb, I would submit that if you need to call your floss provider, for any reason, you are probably not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/as-a-rule-of-thumb-i-would-submit-that-if-you-need-to-call-your-floss/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Nobody gets excited about the future at all, ever. The future is something we find depressing and worrisome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/nobody-gets-excited-about-the-future-at-all-ever-the-future-is/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“What made this particularly interesting is that John Howard is by far the dullest man in Australia. Imagine a very committed funeral home director…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/what-made-this-particularly-interesting-is-that-john-howard-is-by-far/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I would make a genuinely terrible guide. I can't remember things. I would get half way through telling a story or explaining something and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-would-make-a-genuinely-terrible-guide-i-can-t-remember-things-i/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“In the mystifying world that was Victorian parenthood, obedience took precedence over all considerations of affection and happiness, and that odd, painful conviction remained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/in-the-mystifying-world-that-was-victorian-parenthood-obedience-took/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here-and by 'we' I mean every living thing. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-this-book-has-a-lesson-it-is-that-we-are-awfully-lucky-to-be-here/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) [Explore all 656 Bill Bryson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## More Discovery quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Throughout my work, I have assumed that the standard model is correct, and hence, the Higgs boson should be found. Although this is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashoke-sen/throughout-my-work-i-have-assumed-that-the-standard-model-is-correct/) [Ashoke Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashoke-sen/) > [There is usually no dreamer so unworldly as the anthologist. He wanders in a vast garden, lost in wonder, unable to decide often between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-usually-no-dreamer-so-unworldly-as-the-anthologist-he/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers-and-discoveries-that-will-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [ That has been another interesting discovery: that basically a city \[Lagos\] could recover from a really deep, deep, deep pit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/that-has-been-another-interesting-discovery-that-basically-a-city/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-every-invention-was-considered/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [When we look at the love of Christ, we make a wonderful discovery. Love is more a decision than an emotion! Christ-like love applauds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/when-we-look-at-the-love-of-christ-we-make-a-wonderful-discovery-love/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) [Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/) > [The European talks of progress because by the aid of a few scientific discoveries he has established a society which has mistaken comfort for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-european-talks-of-progress-because-by-the-aid-of-a-few-scientific/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of-our-own-ignorance/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) [Browse all 3,125 Discovery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They determined, for instance, that a rusting object doesn’t lose weight, as everyone had long assumed, but gains weight – an extraordinary discovery.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Bryson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/they-determined-for-instance-that-a-rusting-object-doesn-t-lose/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Discovery" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/they-determined-for-instance-that-a-rusting-object-doesn-t-lose/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/048/bill-bryson-340_discovery_they-determined-for-instance-that-a-rust_381670.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/048/bill-bryson-340_discovery_they-determined-for-instance-that-a-rust_381670.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/048/bill-bryson-340_discovery_they-determined-for-instance-that-a-rust_381670.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They determined, for instance, that a rusting object doesn’t lose weight, as everyone had long assumed, but…” — Bill Bryson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bill Bryson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“They determined, for instance, that a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/they-determined-for-instance-that-a-rusting-object-doesn-t-lose/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/they-determined-for-instance-that-a-rusting-object-doesn-t-lose/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```