Solved cryptogram

Standard gravity is a defined value, agreed once so that weights compare across the world.

Physics Facts, sourced to NIST.

What it means

Real gravity varies from place to place. It is weaker at the equator than at the poles, weaker on a mountain than at sea level, and it shifts with the density of the rock underfoot. A kilogram of flour therefore pushes down slightly harder in Oslo than in Quito. Rather than argue about it, metrologists fixed a single conventional value and defined the kilogram-force against that.

The claim comes from NIST, and the page it comes from was read on 2026-08-27 to confirm it still says this.

This is not the kind of claim that goes out of date, which is why it was set as a puzzle rather than a fact with a shelf life.

Solve it yourself

This fact is a cryptogram here: 74 letters over 20 different ones, graded hard.

Go to the puzzle

Nearby in the collection

The facts either side of this one.

About as hard as this one

Scored closest to it by the model behind our guide to solving cryptograms.

Play a cryptogram

Every Physics Facts cryptogram · All fact collections