# Things That Are Much Bigger Than You Always Thought **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 25, 2018, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241 "2018-08-25T04:36:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2018, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/41 "2018-08-26T13:46:42Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > [Here’s an astonishing image.](https://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/science/Apollo11_baseball2.jpg) It’s a map of the entire area of the moon that was explored by the crew of Apollo 11 superimposed on a baseball diamond. That is fascinating! I guess I always imagined that the Apollo 11 crew was zipping around the moon a mile from the landing site. Thanks for sharing that. > [@Flyer](#): > > And the tips of the blades move WAY faster than you would think just by looking at one in action. They seem so slow. > > [The World's Biggest Wind Turbine Blades Are So Long Their Tips Spin at 180 MPH](https://gizmodo.com/5930272/the-worlds-biggest-wind-turbine-blades-are-so-long-their-tips-spin-at-180-mph) Aside: my new neighbor is an engineer who works for a company that makes blades for those turbines. He told me the blades are made of formed composite materials, and the pieces are all bonded together – there are no bolts or other fasteners anywhere in the blade except where it attaches to the hub. Everything else is, essentially, glued together. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2018, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/42 "2018-08-26T18:04:07Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > My go to ‘you have no idea how big it is’ was in the video, the stop light. Until you see one laying on the ground, I think a lot of people if randomly asked would guess they’re about a foot or two tall, not nearly as tall as a person. They just don’t look that big up in the air. > Same goes for road signs. Even ones not that high like speed limit or stop signs are pretty big when you find yourself trying to move one. The first time I ever saw a traffic light right up close, at a power company, I assumed it was some kind of special jumbo traffic light. It was a SMALL one. They’re gigantic. > [@Quimby](#): > > The first time I went to a baseball game as a kid I was shocked and amazed just how large the outfield is. On TV it looks like a medium size band of green but it is huge. It still gets me every time. I think it surprises everyone. A professional outfield is a gigantic space and you wonder how it can be covered by three men. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/43 "2018-08-26T18:38:23Z")
The clear globe with blue pellets representing how many Earths would fit inside the Sun was impressive. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2018, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/44 "2018-08-26T19:33:50Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Same goes for road signs. Even ones not that high like speed limit or stop signs are pretty big when you find yourself trying to move one. Years ago I read of a girl who wanted a source of cheap plywood to use in a treehouse. CalDot was auctioning off some items including some freeway signs. Her bid won but she (and her parents) were dismayed when they discovered they now had to move several tons of _huge_ three-inch ply sheets with the letters scraped off. Luckily, the bidder who came in second was willing to take the signs and give her a dozen sheets of 1/2 inch plywood, more than enough for her treehouse. I am always amused by folks who make a sign about their yard sale on a sheet of paper with half-inch high, single-stroke letters using their Sharpie and expect it to be readable on the pole. The only reason I know what it is saying is inference from the position. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2018, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/45 "2018-08-26T20:05:31Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > Locomotives. Only when you next to one on even ground do you realize how humongous and massive they are. I’d had a good sense of that since childhood, having frequently played in the park where [this retired locomotive](http://www.ctnewsonline.com/news/article_947b7ca4-b9ef-11e7-9e17-2b83723cc20f.html) has long been located. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2018, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/46 "2018-08-26T20:14:53Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > 15+ Things That Are Much Bigger Than You Always Thought Do people often underestimate the relative size of giant land snails? I don’t think most people have heard of them, and if they do, it’s right there in the name: giant. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2018, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/47 "2018-08-26T20:25:35Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Do people often underestimate the relative size of giant land snails? I don’t think most people have heard of them, and if they do, it’s right there in the name: giant. I’m guessing most people don’t spend much time thinking about it. But I also feel most people would be surprised to know there are snails that are as big as a cat. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2018, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/48 "2018-08-26T20:53:43Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I’d had a good sense of that since childhood, having frequently played in the park where [this retired locomotive](http://www.ctnewsonline.com/news/article_947b7ca4-b9ef-11e7-9e17-2b83723cc20f.html) has long been located. Similarly, I was familiar with how big some earth moving equipment is from seeing Big Muskie a number of times when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/49 "2018-08-26T21:09:02Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Another animal we don’t realize the size of are domestic pigs. [A really big one can be the size of a cow.](https://i0.wp.com/exploredia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Big-Bill-the-Pig-2552-lbs.-Biggest-Pet-In-The-World.jpg?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1) Not the size of a cow. As _heavy_ as a cow. A legless cow, so to speak. Once I visited a Holstein bull stud farm. Since almost all dairy cows in the US are AI’d, these places are where all the sperm for all those cows is generated. Dairy bulls resemble black and white mountains with malignant eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2018, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/50 "2018-08-26T21:35:31Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I’d had a good sense of that since childhood, having frequently played in the park where [this retired locomotive](http://www.ctnewsonline.com/news/article_947b7ca4-b9ef-11e7-9e17-2b83723cc20f.html) has long been located. When I was a kid I loved going to the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis. There are a lot of old locomotives there. They are giant. They have some tank cars that have openings cut in each end so you can walk through them. It’s pretty cool. Nowadays I take my son there but he’s not quite as into it as I was as a sprog. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/51 "2018-08-26T21:36:56Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > Locomotives. Only when you next to one on even ground do you realize how humongous and massive they are. That’s another example of how small I’ve found things. Could it be that at 6’3", I’m bigger than most people? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2018, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/52 "2018-08-26T21:46:59Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Once I visited a Holstein bull stud farm. Since almost all dairy cows in the US are AI’d, these places are where all the sperm for all those cows is generated. Dairy bulls resemble black and white mountains with malignant eyes. I had relatives who were dairy farmers so I was quite used to cows and the occasional bull. One of the farmers in the area had a Holstein cow that was a top milk producer. Got regularly displayed at the county fair. That one made the others look almost dinky. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/53 "2018-08-26T21:47:58Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Not the size of a cow. “Size” is not limited to linear dimensions. From Wiki: > [@](#): > > Size is the magnitude or dimensions of a thing. Size can be measured as length, width, height, diameter, perimeter, area, volume, or **mass.** If you’re going to nitpick, prepared to be nitpicked back.😉 ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/54 "2018-08-27T00:22:42Z")
[Africa](https://informationisbeautiful.net/2010/the-true-size-of-africa/) I knew the Mercator Projection was a distortion but never by how much. > [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Do people often underestimate the relative size of giant land snails? I don’t think most people have heard of them, and if they do, it’s right there in the name: giant. I would expect a giant snail to be about the size of my hand, maybe my foot ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/55 "2018-08-27T00:49:52Z")
The Blue Whale heart was a surprise. That seemed fake. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/56 "2018-08-27T05:23:59Z")
When I was in grade 12, our history textbook had a picture of Picasso’s “Guernica” on the cover. It was a picture of a painting on the cover of a textbook that I could put in my backpack. A couple of years later, I visited New York City, and went to the Museum of Modern Art. This was during the time that Picasso’s “Guernica” was on display there, and it was among the artworks I saw on my visit. It was huge! Roughly ten feet high by 25 feet wide. All I could think, was, “The photographer must have stood way back to get all this in his frame for our history textbook.” It was much bigger than I expected. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/57 "2018-08-27T06:34:35Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > When I was in grade 12, our history textbook had a picture of Picasso’s “Guernica” on the cover. It was a picture of a painting on the cover of a textbook that I could put in my backpack. > > A couple of years later, I visited New York City, and went to the Museum of Modern Art. This was during the time that Picasso’s “Guernica” was on display there, and it was among the artworks I saw on my visit. > > It was huge! Roughly ten feet high by 25 feet wide. All I could think, was, “The photographer must have stood way back to get all this in his frame for our history textbook.” It was much bigger than I expected. _[Washington Crossing the Delaware](https://img.apmcdn.org/b0bac40848aac153d41caf45e2945d9b8e574b42/uncropped/6702c3-20150323-washington.jpg)_ is another [huge painting](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art_Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware_DSC_3969_ad.JPG). ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/58 "2018-08-27T08:51:16Z")
> [@j666](#): > > I would expect a giant snail to be about the size of my hand, maybe my foot That’s… about the size they are, probably closer towards the hand end. I don’t think the woman that picture has very large hands and there’s a bit of misleading photography going on, African land snails don’t normally get longer than about 8" or so. Certainly nothing like the size of a cat. Aeroplanes always slightly surprise me with their size every time I see one close up. I mean, I know how big they are really, but I get so used to seeing them as tiny dots that I kind of forget… ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/59 "2018-08-27T11:52:18Z")
If I say “Belgian Canal Lifts” I assume nobody is going to think: _hmm, that sounds rather small to me_. But it’s almost impossible to convey just how damn big these things are. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKbXZCwHt4U j ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241/60 "2018-08-27T12:40:42Z")
> [@Hopeful\_Crow](#): > > This. We visited the Railroad Museum in Revelstoke, B.C. and I was amazed how huge an actual steam locomotive is. They don’t look that big in the movies. When it comes to big locomotives - steam or otherwise - it’s hard to beat the [Allegheny 1601,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVnrUMnhjFQ) prominently displayed at the Henry Ford Museum. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-bigger-than-you-always-thought/820241.md?page=4)