# How much would Godzilla sink?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-godzilla-sink/774423
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 11, 2016, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-godzilla-sink/774423 "2016-12-11T06:33:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@cjackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjackson)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2016, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-godzilla-sink/774423/1 "2016-12-11T06:33:31Z")
The latest incarnation of Godzilla weighs 90,000 tons. Assuming he’s made of something other than flesh and bone, and is able to move around without collapsing, how far would he sink into the soil with each step?
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### Author:  [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2016, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-godzilla-sink/774423/2 "2016-12-11T07:24:05Z")
A question that others have pondered as well:
[http://bittergrounds.com/index.php/diary-of-a-mad-cat/378-can-we-calculate-the-pressure-of-the-average-godzilla-foot-stomp](http://bittergrounds.com/index.php/diary-of-a-mad-cat/378-can-we-calculate-the-pressure-of-the-average-godzilla-foot-stomp)
[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2007/02/07/the-science-of-godzilla-1/](http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2007/02/07/the-science-of-godzilla-1/)
without much of a conclusion.
Shin Godzilla is 118m high. His feet vary a bit in different depictions, but generally broad front and big claws and narrowing to the heel. Scaling off various images, his feet w/o claws are ~15-18% standing height, say 16-21 metres in round nos. Max surface area of both feet together would be say 300-400 square metres.
At 90,000 tonnes [metric] that would be 225-300 tonnes per square metre of footfall, or in a more usual measure 320 - 427 pounds per square inch. Thats a calculation based on standing, so its a minimum, and stompage would at least double it.
From [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_pressure), by comparison, human standing is 8 psi, Abrams tank is 15 psi while a stiletto heel is 471 psi, confiming my suspicion that Kim Cattrall was a far nastier proposition than any irradiated reptile.
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### Author:  [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2016, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-godzilla-sink/774423/3 "2016-12-11T14:02:48Z")
> [@cjackson](#):
>
> … how far would he sink into the soil with each step?
Seems likely to depend on the nature of the soil.
[QUOTE=Banksiaman]
Max surface area of both feet together would be say 300-400 square metres.
At 90,000 tonnes [metric] that would be 225-300 tonnes per square metre of footfall
[/QUOTE]
But when walking, weight has to regularly be supported on one foot. And there’s a brief additional load caused by the action of accelerating the other foot & leg upward.
This would suggest a max around 600+ tonnes / sq meter.
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### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2016, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-godzilla-sink/774423/4 "2016-12-11T15:24:32Z")
Thought the title said “stink”…