sophie wrote in
:

I have wondered about this, largely in connections with my bath, which
when full of water and me and the occasional small child insisting on
getting in, must weigh more than a 60ish (US) gallon tank full of
water, and assumed that the way it's spread (c.f. stiletto heels) is
the problem. I'd thought that if the stand has 4 "feet" rather than a
base I'd put a piece of (for example) exterior ply underneath do stop
it digging holes in the floorboards. Does this make any sense at all?

Yup. That is why they try to discourage stilletto heals on airplanes. As
you decrease the area of something which is standing on something else,
the pressure increases. Try it with a pencil. Press the eraser against
your hand and then switch it over and do the same with the sharpened
end...

Marcel