# Things that are much smaller than you always thought **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 28, 2018, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430 "2018-08-28T20:57:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/61 "2018-08-30T16:49:23Z")
The Men-an-Tol standing-stone structure in Cornwall: [https://www.cornwalls.co.uk/history/sites/men\_an\_tol.htm](https://www.cornwalls.co.uk/history/sites/men_an_tol.htm) When I was making plans to drive around Cornwall and look at megalithic sites a few years ago, and saw photos like the ones on that page, I naturally thought it would be huge–6 feet tall if not Stonehenge sized. It’s barely 3 feet high. Walking through the field where I was told this would be, scanning the area for large objects looming out of the autumn mist, I nearly tripped over it. You can crawl through it if you’re slender enough. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/62 "2018-08-30T17:52:59Z")
Apparently, for other people at least, pit bulls. I lived with Simone for many years. She displayed the classic old-school American Pit Bull Terrier physique, and weighed 34.5 pounds until her last few years, when she went up to 38 pounds. People meeting her would constantly exclaim at how TINY she was. The breed standards (there are two) for APBTs say females are 25-50 pounds – 37.5 is average. We now have Luna, who is 50 pounds. That’s the TOP END of the breed standard size range – she’s a LARGE pit bull. What do we hear everywhere we take her? “Ohmigawd, she’s soooo TINY!” Here on the dope I’ve had arguments in which people insist pit bulls are large dogs. They are technically considered _medium_ dogs. One person insisted that pit bulls are “essentially the same size” as Fila Brasilero dogs. The Fila Brasilero breed standard gives a MINIMUM weight of 120 pounds. SO sure, is a minimum of 120 is “essentially the same” as a maximum of 50. For some reason, many people think pit bull type dogs are huge. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/63 "2018-08-30T18:26:03Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > The moon in the night sky. It seems like it should be huge, especially when it’s near the horizon. But you can hold a pencil at arm’s length and pretty much cover it. (I’ve won bar bets by claiming that it can be covered by a penny at arm’s length. People seem genuinely shocked when they find it is much smaller than a penny.) Speaking of the Moon, it looks smaller than I’d expect compared to the Earth. And both the Earth and Moon look tiny next to their orbital distance. Not sure if this is really the same thing as exclaiming at smallness; I could be amazed by bigness of Earth relative to Moon and by bigness of orbital distance. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/64 "2018-08-30T18:37:02Z")
Cape Hatteras lighthouse even though it is 193 ft tall. It looks bigger in pictures. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/65 "2018-08-30T18:52:55Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The Alamo we see today is just a single building that’s left from what was [a larger complex](https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/16d3f535-c08f-4eeb-8bdf-3aea5f6278cc_l.jpg) back at the time of the battle. > > What gets me about the Alamo is how you expect it to be out in the country. It’s actually right in [the middle of downtown San Antonio](https://i.imgur.com/G7RszHi.jpg), surrounded by office buildings that tower over it. Even back in 1836, it was a good-sized town. Back then it wasn’t in the town proper, which was over by the Cathedral on the other side of the river. And yeah, what we think of as “the Alamo” was just the chapel of the mission, which was the largest of several other missions that stretched along the river. The actual mission was much larger. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/66 "2018-08-30T18:56:54Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > The Colosseum in Rome. In photos it looks huge, and I always imagined it being about as large as a modern NFL stadium. It’s actually about half that size. It’s not small though; it sat something like 40-50k people. I’d put it on par with a large high school stadium or medium-sized college stadium in terms of physical size. What’s really interesting about it is how familiar it seems when you’re underneath the Colosseum where the concessions would be in a modern stadium. The design hasn’t changed much in that regard since then. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/67 "2018-08-30T19:00:39Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I have seen The Mona Lisa and the small size surprised me but Dealey Plaza is the one that REALLY surprised me. If you go there, all of the conspiracy theories of the Kennedy assassination instantly fall apart. Oswald could have hit Kennedy with a slingshot. The “Grassy Knoll” is just a slightly raised area on the other side a not very notable street. All of the landmarks that people reference are right there and not far apart at all like two houses on the opposite side of a typical suburban street. There is no way for anyone to hide. Yeah, it’s tiny. Like _maybe_ 150 yards from Houston Street to the railroad bridge at the end of it, and that’s the part that counted. . At its widest point, it’s 2 city blocks wide (again, about 150 yards) Elm, Main and Commerce streets all join together under the railroad bridge. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/68 "2018-08-30T19:03:33Z")
My personal choice is the British House of Commons. It looks larger on TV than in person. In person it’s much smaller than you’d think. ---
**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 30, 2018, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/69 "2018-08-30T19:10:45Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The Alamo we see today is just a single building that’s left from what was [a larger complex](https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/16d3f535-c08f-4eeb-8bdf-3aea5f6278cc_l.jpg) back at the time of the battle. > > What gets me about the Alamo is how you expect it to be out in the country. It’s actually right in [the middle of downtown San Antonio](https://i.imgur.com/G7RszHi.jpg), surrounded by office buildings that tower over it. Even back in 1836, it was a good-sized town. Also, the La Brea Tar Pits\* on both counts. As a kid, I imagined they would be a large lake-sized expanse of tar in the middle of open country. Instead what you can see are a few ponds/pits in the middle of LA. Of course the city has grown around them. \*One of my favorite redundancies. It translates as “The Tar Tar Pits.” ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/70 "2018-08-30T21:40:17Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Apparently, for other people at least, pit bulls. > > I lived with Simone for many years. She displayed the classic old-school American Pit Bull Terrier physique, and weighed 34.5 pounds until her last few years, when she went up to 38 pounds. People meeting her would constantly exclaim at how TINY she was. > > The breed standards (there are two) for APBTs say females are 25-50 pounds – 37.5 is average. > > We now have Luna, who is 50 pounds. That’s the TOP END of the breed standard size range – she’s a LARGE pit bull. What do we hear everywhere we take her? > > “Ohmigawd, she’s soooo TINY!” > > Here on the dope I’ve had arguments in which people insist pit bulls are large dogs. They are technically considered _medium_ dogs. One person insisted that pit bulls are “essentially the same size” as Fila Brasilero dogs. > > The Fila Brasilero breed standard gives a MINIMUM weight of 120 pounds. SO sure, is a minimum of 120 is “essentially the same” as a maximum of 50. > > For some reason, many people think pit bull type dogs are huge. Yes, terrier, as in little yip yip dogs. Of course it’s not really one breed, but 3 or 4, who all have a similar appearance. And most people have no idea what they actually look like, confusing them for boxers, bull mastiffs, and other large breeds. > [@Colibri](#): > > Also, the La Brea Tar Pits\* on both counts. As a kid, I imagined they would be a large lake-sized expanse of tar in the middle of open country. Instead what you can see are a few ponds/pits in the middle of LA. Of course the city has grown around them. > > \*One of my favorite redundancies. It translates as “The Tar Tar Pits.” The The Tar Tar Pits, if you’re doing “the La.” ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/71 "2018-08-30T22:29:33Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Apparently, for other people at least, pit bulls. > > I lived with Simone for many years. She displayed the classic old-school American Pit Bull Terrier physique, and weighed 34.5 pounds until her last few years, when she went up to 38 pounds. People meeting her would constantly exclaim at how TINY she was. > > The breed standards (there are two) for APBTs say females are 25-50 pounds – 37.5 is average. > > We now have Luna, who is 50 pounds. That’s the TOP END of the breed standard size range – she’s a LARGE pit bull. What do we hear everywhere we take her? > > “Ohmigawd, she’s soooo TINY!” > > Here on the dope I’ve had arguments in which people insist pit bulls are large dogs. They are technically considered _medium_ dogs. One person insisted that pit bulls are “essentially the same size” as Fila Brasilero dogs. > > The Fila Brasilero breed standard gives a MINIMUM weight of 120 pounds. SO sure, is a minimum of 120 is “essentially the same” as a maximum of 50. > > For some reason, many people think pit bull type dogs are huge. Do I have this right – pitts are smaller than AmStaffs? My rescue pitts/AmStaffs are also mediumish, our lab and collie are larger. I think Baxter is an AmStaff, he’s 70lbs. But he’s also very compact and slender through the hips (with an impressively muscled chest, but he’s not stocky in the way pitties are often imagined. The owner of our dog training facility says Bax is one of the most beautiful dogs he has met). Tallie is 50lbs and a bit stockier in build, more of a tube-shaped mediumish pup (she may also have some collie or Jack Russell in her). So, yeah, not all pitties are built like mega beasts. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/72 "2018-08-30T22:32:08Z")
Danny Devito. I saw him in The Bellagio in Vegas back in 2004. He was so short he seemed almost as wide as he was tall. Even for a short guy he looked shorter than he looked in any of his movies. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/73 "2018-08-30T23:21:57Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Danny Devito. I saw him in The Bellagio in Vegas back in 2004. He was so short he seemed almost as wide as he was tall. Even for a short guy he looked shorter than he looked in any of his movies. We stood behind Rhea Perlman (his wife) in the D.C. Holocaust Museum entry line. She is teeny tiny! She’s also very nice. I accidentally gave her a flat tire and we ended up chatting for a good while; I knew who she was but refrained from saying so or mentioning “Cheers” – I would guess that shit gets old. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/74 "2018-08-30T23:31:57Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > We stood behind Rhea Perlman (his wife) in the D.C. Holocaust Museum entry line. She is teeny tiny! She’s also very nice. I accidentally gave her a flat tire and we ended up chatting for a good while; I knew who she was but refrained from saying so or mentioning “Cheers” – I would guess that shit gets old. Missed edit window: I stepped on the back of her sneaker. No car tire slashing involved. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/75 "2018-08-30T23:34:14Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Also, the La Brea Tar Pits\* on both counts. As a kid, I imagined they would be a large lake-sized expanse of tar in the middle of open country. Instead what you can see are a few ponds/pits in the middle of LA. Of course the city has grown around them. > > \*One of my favorite redundancies. It translates as “The Tar Tar Pits.” This revelation disappoints me. Of course I didn’t manage to see The The Tars for myself whilst I lived in So Cal for a mere 18+ years. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/76 "2018-08-30T23:36:47Z")
> [@Miss\_Mapp](#): > > The Men-an-Tol standing-stone structure in Cornwall: [https://www.cornwalls.co.uk/history/sites/men\_an\_tol.htm](https://www.cornwalls.co.uk/history/sites/men_an_tol.htm) > > When I was making plans to drive around Cornwall and look at megalithic sites a few years ago, and saw photos like the ones on that page, I naturally thought it would be huge–6 feet tall if not Stonehenge sized. > > It’s barely 3 feet high. Walking through the field where I was told this would be, scanning the area for large objects looming out of the autumn mist, I nearly tripped over it. You can crawl through it if you’re slender enough. “I do not, for one, think that the problem was that the band was down. I think that the problem may have been, that there was a Stonehenge monument on the stage that was in danger of being crushed by a dwarf. Alright? That tended to understate the hugeness of the object.” – David St. Hubbins ---
**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:** [August 31, 2018, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/77 "2018-08-31T01:04:03Z")
Bunker’s Hill. I grew up reading accounts of the various wars and always pictured Bunker’s Hill to be a huge place with a huge battle. It wasn’t, of course, but I was surprised that the hill was really small. Of course, I’m from Utah where we have mountains and not hills. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/78 "2018-08-31T01:10:41Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Bunker’s Hill. I grew up reading accounts of the various wars and always pictured Bunker’s Hill to be a huge place with a huge battle. It wasn’t, of course, but I was surprised that the hill was really small. > > Of course, I’m from Utah where we have mountains and not hills. I had a tour of the Gettysburg battlefield once. The guide said that one side’s troops were stationed along Cemetery Ridge, and the other side were on Seminary Ridge. I looked around and thought “what ridge?” I’ve seen speed bumps higher than those so-called “ridges”. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/79 "2018-08-31T02:27:09Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > What gets me about the Alamo is how you expect it to be out in the country. It’s actually right in [the middle of downtown San Antonio](https://i.imgur.com/G7RszHi.jpg), surrounded by office buildings that tower over it. Even back in 1836, it was a good-sized town. I had great fun pranking a native San Antonian by insisting the Alamo had been moved to downtown to attract more tourists, and that “they” planned to move it to the Riverwalk as soon as they could agree on a spot. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430/80 "2018-08-31T03:26:02Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Bunker’s Hill. I grew up reading accounts of the various wars and always pictured Bunker’s Hill to be a huge place with a huge battle. It wasn’t, of course, but I was surprised that the hill was really small. > > Of course, I’m from Utah where we have mountains and not hills. That’s because the battle was fought on Breeds’ Hill. Don’t bother asking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-much-smaller-than-you-always-thought/820430.md?page=5)