When I put my hand in the water, even without touching the bowl, the reading went up to 3583 grams. Why? My hand was taking the place of some of the water. That water pushed back on my hand with a force equal to the weight of that much water. That is why things feel lighter when you pick them up under water. The water is pushing up on them. If the object weighs less than the water it displaces, it floats. My hand is displacing 887 grams of water, so the scale reads 887 grams more.