# What is the most abundant man made object in the world. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 5, 2002, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566 "2002-06-05T23:54:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Patricinus\_Scriblerus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@Patricinus\_Scriblerus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patricinus_Scriblerus)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2002, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/61 "2002-06-10T08:13:17Z")
How about Pennies. I have a jar full of them @ home. ---
**Author:** ![mfurrh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58f4c7/32.png) [@mfurrh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mfurrh)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/62 "2016-06-16T17:32:23Z")
Bristles, Like in toothbrushes, brooms, vacuums, scrub brushes, weather stripping. I like screws to. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/63 "2016-06-16T17:34:18Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Sperm. Winner! ---
**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:** [June 16, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/64 "2016-06-16T18:05:07Z")
Has to be the [transistor:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transistor) > [@Wikipedia](#): > > Although several companies each produce over a billion individually packaged (known as discrete) transistors every year, the vast majority of transistors are now produced in integrated circuits (often shortened to IC, microchips or simply chips), along with diodes, resistors, capacitors and other electronic components, to produce complete electronic circuits. A logic gate consists of up to about twenty transistors whereas an advanced microprocessor, as of 2009, can use as many as 3 billion transistors (MOSFETs). “About 60 million transistors were built in 2002… for [each] man, woman, and child on Earth.” 60M x 6B = 60 quadrillion transistors produced in 2002 alone. I’m sure the per-year production has gone up since then - and each year, as the newest devices get more complex and powerful, we end up with more and more transistors in service. I may own a house with thousands of nails in it, but altogether the electronics devices I own - car, phone, PC, TV, etc. - contain _trillions_ of transistors. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/65 "2016-06-16T18:28:56Z")
Would Gravel be man-made? It’s a naturally occurring substance but reshaped and sorted into useful “objects”, athough they are not used individually. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/66 "2016-06-16T18:47:33Z")
Carbon dioxide molecules. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/67 "2016-06-16T22:12:50Z")
I thought about it before I opened the thread and my answer was nails. But if you count every one of the millions of transistors in each chip, it’s gotta be transistors. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/68 "2016-06-17T00:43:10Z")
Digital photo pixels. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/69 "2016-06-17T00:43:37Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > Winner! …typo? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/70 "2016-06-17T02:04:02Z")
Inches of copper wire. Human cells? ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/71 "2016-06-17T02:07:18Z")
> [@Pablito](#): > > Automobile tires. Yes, there are more nails, but tires make up lots more bulk. > > Plastics? Say, the kind that they make playgrounds (and everything else) out of? This stuff takes forever to decompose, lots longer than bricks or nails, and has so many applications. Interesting thing about tires, do you know who the worlds largest tire manufacturer by quantity produced? Lego. ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/72 "2016-06-17T02:16:54Z")
skin cells? everyone sheds em constantly. How about shit? What you see lying around in the outdoors are cigarette butts, plastic water bottles, and shotgun shells. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/73 "2016-06-17T02:50:46Z")
Locally, I would say hippies, “travelers,” vagrants and bums. Here, I would say zombie threads. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/74 "2016-06-17T03:41:47Z")
> [@tourbot](#): > > I was thinking people. There are over 6 billion of them, all man (and woman) made. **But then I saw lieu’s answer, and that has to be it. Heck, I bet I’ve made more than 6 billion sperm all by myself.** (Just imagine if you add in the one’s I’ve had help with. ;)) Except OP stipulates that we shouldn’t count those that have been discarded. That cuts down the count quite a bit. But even so, lots and lots. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/75 "2016-06-17T03:56:30Z")
> [@Patricinus\_Scriblerus](#): > > How about Pennies. I have a jar full of them @ home. Having been primed by a few other posts, I read this as “penises”. Which would be… disturbing. ---
**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:** [June 17, 2016, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/76 "2016-06-17T04:06:58Z")
Grains of flour,salt or sugar. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/77 "2016-06-18T01:19:07Z")
Excuses. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/78 "2016-06-18T01:51:36Z")
[Sliders…?](http://www.whitecastle.com/promotions/fathers-day-offer-2016?utm_campaign=i-4%20nibblers%20are%20back&utm_medium=email&utm_source=i-4%206-17-2016%20fathers%20day%20special-deal&utm_content=cta%201%20get%20details) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566/79 "2016-06-18T03:51:48Z")
Chopsticks (to give a different cultural slant). Include all the disposable ones, and it must be a lot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-abundant-man-made-object-in-the-world/112566.md?page=3)