Chalean's sandbox

A graph of volumetric conversion rates during the 2018-05-10 anomaly, one of the most severe periods of SCP-XXXX effects to date. At around 17:45 local time, 1 gallon was briefly equivalent to 1 liter.

Item #: SCP-XXXX

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: The Foundation has no means of efficiently mitigating the effects of SCP-XXXX, but effects are largely localized to Foundation Site-98. Until proper containment is possible, the Foundation will continue to monitor SCP-XXXX, research more effective containment methods, and act to mitigate the effects of SCP-XXXX.

Monitoring involves both automated and manual test sites, inside and outside of Site-98. Coherence analysis machines (CAMs) are located in supply closets B410, B182, 133, and 249, as well in off-site Foundation properties located approximately 0.5, 2, 5, and 25 miles from Site-98. Researchers working on SCP-XXXX are to monitor a live feed of CAM data for unexpected changes to mean volumetric coherence (MVC).

It is unknown if the effects of SCP-XXXX manifest elsewhere in the world. As a precaution, MTF operative and field researcher kits are to contain a 30 mL graduated cylinder and a standard culinary tablespoon measure. Foundation personnel with Level 2 clearance or higher operating in the field shall have completed the 1-hour training module REP-0364 “Basic Volumetric Consistency Checks” and are expected to report consistency along with any applicable measurements.

Research into SCP-XXXX is to be focused on improving containment methods. Such research includes but is not limited to: locating the source of SCP-XXXX, identifying relatively consistent units, and providing advance warning before significant dips in MVC.

Mitigation involves applying the conclusions of research into SCP-XXXX. A list of mitigatory actions taken is shown below:

Date	Action taken
2015-04-03	Site-98 kitchens and cafeterias now use milliliters exclusively for volumetric measurements.
2015-09-30	The Recreation Center’s swimming pool relabeled from “half an olympic-sized swimming pool” to “2,500,000 liter swimming pool”.
2016-06-15	New recommendations issued to all researchers discouraging use of milliliters in favor of liters.

In the case of catastrophic coherence loss, Foundation personnel are to seek shelter away from laboratories, kitchens, and cafeterias, until advised otherwise. In all communication, the use of quantitative volumetric measurements is to be avoided. Instead, qualitative descriptors like "huge" or "smallish" are preferred. Personnel should avoid thinking about the volume of any part of their body until the local MVC is above safe levels.

Description: SCP-XXXX is the observation that volumetric measurements do not function consistently in the vicinity of Site-98. Specifically, different units of measurement (and devices that measure in those units) shift relative to one another on the scale of hours to days.

Measurement standardizations by the United States’ NIST state that there are precisely 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon. Within close proximity to Site-98, the number of standard teaspoons in a tablespoon has been observed to vary from as low as 0.89 to as high as 7.2. No variation has been observed among measuring devices in the same units; two teaspoons are always the same size, and there are always 4 quarter-cups in a cup.

No known volumetric units, including newly invented ones, are immune to this effect; the Foundation is thus only able to measure relative distortions. The behavior of unlabeled measuring instruments is unknown. It is hypothesized that once a vessel is measured in terms of a specific unit (eg, a “1-½ cup ladle”), it becomes tied to that unit’s fluctuations.

It has recently been discovered that these variations extend, to a lesser degree, to prefixed units. While the mililiter-liter conversion shows less variation than, for instance, the mililiter-cup conversion, 1L has been observed to range from 999.82 mL to 1000.33 mL. Work on standardizing all high-precision equipment at Site-98 to use exclusively liters is underway.

MVC (mean volumetric coherence) is the Foundation’s main metric for measuring the coherence of Site-98 measurements to Earth standard. It is measured by comparing the relative volumes of 10 volumetric flasks, calibrated to the same non-anomalous volume. Flask volumes include ███ mL, 6.76 Tbsp, 0.423 cups, 6.29 * 10^-4 oil barrels, and so forth.¹

The first known effects caused by SCP-XXXX were reported on 2015-03-19 by Site-98 Director of Dining Services, █████ Cade, when a batch of cookies was found to be heavily over-salted. The defective batch was initially traced back to an oversized teaspoon measure. Following similar reports of improperly-sized measuring equipment, SCP-XXXX was discovered. It is unknown how long SCP-XXXX existed prior to its discovery. All volumetric measurements taken at Site-98 before 2015-03-19 shall therefore be considered suspect, particularly any results derived from non-anomalous unit conversion.

Footnotes

1. Volume in mL redacted. It is critical that these are not conceptualized as 10 identical ███ mL flasks, both because they often contain vastly different volumes, and because the simple act of identifying them as such disrupts the instrument's sensitivity.