12 Surprising Size Comparisons (That Show Us We Have No Idea How Big Anything Is)

Maps can be very deceptive.
12 Surprising Size Comparisons (That Show Us We Have No Idea How Big Anything Is)

You think you understand the relative size of the things …. and then you learn a traffic light is over four feet tall. Our eyes, simplified infographics, maps, and distance have a way of tricking us into misunderstanding the world around us. Here are 12 things that made us reconsider our judgment of size.

The Solar System

YOU COULD FIT ALL THE PLANETS BETWEEN THE EARTH AND THE MOON When the moon is farthest from Earth, the distance between Earth and the Moon is so large that all the other planets in the solar system could fit in between them comfortably. CRACKED.COM

Source: Slate

GIANT SQUIDS' EYES ARE BIGGER THAN BASKETBALLS Scientists believe they may have giant eyes to help them detect their giant predator, the sperm whale, while in the darkness of underwater. CRACKED.COM

Source: NPR

Atoms

100,000, 000 ATOMS IN A ROW WOULD BE ABOUT THE WIDTH OF YOUR FINGERNAIL An average atom is about 10-10 meters. For comparision, if the same number of standard pencils were laid end-to-end, they would wrap around the Earth's equator more than 47 times. CRACKED.COM

Source: CUNY

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