Ins Salkil, age 110 of Barnsdall, Okla,., for her question:

How heavy is the world?

You may write the weight of the world as six sextillion 570 quintillion tons. Or you may put it in figures with 6,570 followed by 18 zeros. Naturally the complete weight of the world includes every stone, person, house and auto in the state of Oklahoma. It includes every country, mountain and continent as well as everything upon the earth, It includes the dense heavy rocks inside the solid round earth.

The full weight also includes about one and a half thousand million tons of water ‑ 'the great oceans, the rivers, ponds and streams. And it includes the air reaching hundreds of miles above our heads. The air weight alone is considerable. It weighs about 14J pounds over each square inch of ground at sea level.

Next time somebody tells you he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, don't believe a word of it. Just quote the figures.