Today scales are available in many different forms and have a myriad of uses. They are part of everyday life and have a long history of use in society. The word scale, which is used to refer to a device that measures the weight or mass of an object or person, is actually using a shortened version of the phrase "weighing scale". Weighing scales have been used, in various forms, for centuries. Some sources place the invention of the first scale, the balance scale, in the Middle East as early as the year 4000 B.C.