If we are to believe the W Network (which I always do, of course), the ancestor of the modern-day bathroom scale first surfaced thousands of years BC:

Scales were first invented in the Middle East as early as 4000 BC. At that time they were not used for people but for goods. The first step towards bathroom scales were not taken until Leonardo da Vinci invented the first self-indicating scale around 1500. In the 18th and 19th centuries, growth of toll roads, railway shipping, and postal services (which all charge by weight) helped spur advances in scale technology; spring scales were invented during this period. Finally bathroom scales became popular in the early 1900’s, as people became increasingly weight-conscious. In 1923 insurance companies coined the term "ideal weight" and began charging portly policy holders higher premiums.
Source(s):
http://www.wnetwork.com/tv_shows/shows/the_shopping_bags/ViewProduct.asp?ID...


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