# How Long Is A Piece Of String?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 2, 2006, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930 "2006-10-02T04:50:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/21 "2006-10-02T12:21:02Z")
Ha, this answer is clearly wrong and US based. Obviously it’s 15 cm too short. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/22 "2006-10-02T12:42:39Z")
[QUOTE=ParentalAdvisory] D(2) = L Where D is the distance from the center to one end point, and where L is the total length. Now I just wait for the part where someone tells me I’m wrong. 🙂 [/QUOTE] L = (SQRT(2D))[sup]2[/sup]. ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/23 "2006-10-02T12:54:43Z")
Of course, if the string were twisted into a mobius strip it would be twice as long as its length. We used to argue about this question when I was a kid. It was right up there with the questions “If your nose was on strike, would you picket?” ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/24 "2006-10-02T13:00:51Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] L = (SQRT(2D))[sup]2[/sup]. [/QUOTE] Am I the only one who always reads “SQRT” as SQUIRT, and giggles? What’s the squirt of 25? Hee hee. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/25 "2006-10-02T13:22:38Z")
[QUOTE=uglybeech] If we gave an exact length for the string it would just embolden the terrorists. [/QUOTE] Or embiggen ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/26 "2006-10-02T14:00:29Z")
A piece of string is as long as it is. ---
**Author:** ![GeorgiaBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cab0a1/32.png) [@GeorgiaBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GeorgiaBoy)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/27 "2006-10-02T14:35:50Z")
One cannot say that the string is or is not. If you do so, then you confuse the string with your concept of the string. Mediate upon the suchness of the string, and questions about length vanish into nothingness. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/28 "2006-10-02T14:48:15Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] I don’t know if this helps, but on the offchance… Could I just point out that one shaftment is equal to a little over 1.5 fists, or just over one tenth of a goad. [/QUOTE] And exactly how many rundlets are there in a tierce? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/29 "2006-10-02T14:56:30Z")
This is devolving into string theory. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/30 "2006-10-02T14:57:06Z")
[QUOTE=GeorgiaBoy] One cannot say that the string is or is not. [/QUOTE] There _is_ no string. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/31 "2006-10-02T14:58:06Z")
[QUOTE=Ethilrist] A piece of string is as long as it is. [/QUOTE] I think that would depend entirely on what your definition of _is_ is. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/32 "2006-10-02T15:00:17Z")
In ASCII, a string representing _n_ characters is _n_ bytes long, unless you’re using the DOS Return convention, in which case it’s _n + m_ bytes long, where m is the number of characters in your string that are return characters. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/33 "2006-10-02T15:25:39Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Indeed so; I mitigate this situation by keeping all of my pieces of string that are too short in a drawer labelled “pieces of string too short to be of use”. [/QUOTE] I think you’re giving up [too easily](http://www.intriguing.com/mp/_scripts/string.asp). ---
**Author:** ![cards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@cards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cards)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/34 "2006-10-02T15:58:58Z")
The very act of observing the string changes its properties. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/35 "2006-10-02T16:03:47Z")
**A piece of string** is 14 letters long, or 17 characters including spaces. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/36 "2006-10-02T16:07:35Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] **A piece of string** is 14 letters long, or 17 characters including spaces. [/QUOTE] But what is the third word? ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/37 "2006-10-02T16:14:25Z")
[QUOTE=cards] The very act of observing the string changes its properties. [/QUOTE] Especially if it’s a string bikini :eek: ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/38 "2006-10-02T16:22:21Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] In ASCII, a string representing _n_ characters is _n_ bytes long, unless you’re using the DOS Return convention, in which case it’s _n + m_ bytes long, where m is the number of characters in your string that are return characters. [/QUOTE] Don’t forget to add 1 byte for the terminating NUL, which is counted in many popular programming languages. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/39 "2006-10-02T16:25:07Z")
[QUOTE=cards] The very act of observing the string changes its properties. [/QUOTE] Which is to say, we can’t tell you how long it is, but we can tell you how fast it’s moving: It’s just sitting there. 'cuz it’s _string._ :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2006, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930/40 "2006-10-02T16:25:12Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] But what is the third word? [/QUOTE] What’s on second. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/374930.md?page=3)