The development and use of Holmes and Rahe's Social Readjustment Rating Scale is examined. The scale is regarded as a laudable attempt at ratio measurement and as deserving more attention and emulation in sociology than it has received. However, there are problems with the work of Rahe and his associates. In particular, the relative lack of concern with careful instrument construction and administration, the glossing over of the problem of cultural variance, and the use of analytic procedures that do not fully exploit the potential of their measurement technique are discussed. Data from the authors' exploratory work on the measurement of the stressfulness of life events in a culturally heterogeneous environment are brought into the discussion.