# how big is 50 square feet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2002, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554 "2002-08-12T16:15:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![katherinechambers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@katherinechambers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katherinechambers)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/1 "2002-08-12T16:15:26Z")
please help. for long and boring reasons i need to find an illustrative equivalent of fifty square feet. does any body know of something which is roughly that big (thinking sports pitches, dinosaur prints etc). thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Phobos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Phobos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phobos)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/2 "2002-08-12T16:20:28Z")
anything that is about 7 ft long by 7 ft wide use your imagination…mine needs a caffeine boost at the moment _sips coffee_ wait…how about “Dilbert’s cubicle”? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/3 "2002-08-12T16:21:55Z")
A square 7’ on the side is 49 sq ft. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/4 "2002-08-12T16:44:10Z")
Not to be prejudiced by the word “square,” a circle with a radius of 4 feet has an area of just a hair over 50 sq. ft. ---
**Author:** ![Phobos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Phobos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phobos)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/5 "2002-08-12T16:56:03Z")
aww, c’mon, **sailor** , I did say “about”! 🙂 I figured someone would call me on that, but not quite so soon. What can I say…I’m an environmental engineer & an astronomy hobbyist…rounding off is second nature. Ok…how about something that is about 7.071067812 ft by 7.071067812 ft. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/6 "2002-08-12T17:00:14Z")
We’ll presume the OP can do the arithmetic. She’s looking for an actual object about that size for comparison. How about a king size mattress, which should be darn close to 7 x 7? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/7 "2002-08-12T17:00:42Z")
An area one foot by fifty feet is 50 sq. ft. So is an area one inch wide and 600 feet long. So is an area that is five feet by ten feet. A 50 sq. ft. square would be 7.0710678118654752440084463210485 feet on a side – more or less. Remember **A (of a rectangle) = L \* W** If you’re looking for a circle, **A = Pi \* R[sup]2[/sup]** so you’re looking at a circle a little under 8 feet across. 50 = 3.14159 \* R[sup]2[/sup], 15.91 = R[sup]2[/sup], 3.989 = R, D = 7.979 ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/8 "2002-08-12T17:16:24Z")
Half the size of a 10 X 10 camping tent. Half the size of a bedroom in a 1950’s 3-bedroom ranch house. (But not the “master” bedroom that might have been 11 X 11.) _About_ the footprint (or shadow at noon on June 21) of a picnic table (assuming a table eight feet long and 6’ 3" wide). At work: just over six ceiling tiles (usually 4’ X 2’). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/9 "2002-08-12T17:25:29Z")
DOH! My post got eaten. My suggestion was king-sized bed. [This one](http://www.forestfurniture.com/products/beds.htm) is almost exactly 50 square feet. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/10 "2002-08-12T17:28:22Z")
**Phobos** , I had not seen your post when I posted and my post was in direct answer to the OP but chance made it look like it was in response to yours. 🙂 Put a twin bed together with a queen sized bed and you have a bit over 50 square ft (and a good place for a wild orgy) BTW, what do they teach in school these days when someone has to ask this type of question? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/11 "2002-08-12T17:35:07Z")
Coincidences are getting to be too much here. Now two people think of beds simultaneously. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/12 "2002-08-12T18:19:52Z")
A 4’x8’ piece of plywood, but a foot wider and two feet longer… ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/13 "2002-08-12T18:25:32Z")
I like **Phobos’** suggestion, a fairly roomy cubicle is a nice 50sqft size, or a really, really, small office. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/14 "2002-08-12T18:51:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sunspace \* > A 4’x8’ piece of plywood, but a foot wider and two feet longer… 😃 One better: A regulation ping pong table, but a foot longer. ---
**Author:** ![Phobos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Phobos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phobos)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/15 "2002-08-12T22:24:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KneadToKnow \* > \*\*…a circle with a radius of 4 feet has an area of just a hair over 50 sq. ft. \*\* …hmm…the danger zone in a tether-ball game? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/16 "2002-08-12T22:47:30Z")
25 couples dancing prudishly? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/17 "2002-08-13T04:55:36Z")
A moderate-sized bathroom, including a regular-sized tub. My own is about 10x5. My mother’s bathroom is several times larger, but she has a jacuzzi. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/18 "2002-08-13T05:07:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jpeg Jones \* > \*\*25 couples dancing prudishly? \*\* Maybe if every person has one foot. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-50-square-feet/123554/19 "2002-08-13T05:19:39Z")
Of course. What I meant was “25 one-footed couples dancing prudishly”. Was that not obvious?