SortStack #419 — 2027-08-02
By size · Order from shortest to longest.
- A single poppy seed 1.3 mm
It takes roughly 3,000 poppy seeds to make a single gram, which is why they scatter so easily off a bagel.
- A small recreational sailboat 9.4 m
Modern sails work like vertical wings, generating lift that lets boats sail faster than the wind itself.
- The Empire State Building 443 m
It was built in just 410 days during the Great Depression, rising about a floor a day at peak speed.
- The Brooklyn Bridge (total length) 1.8 km
When it opened in 1883, a stampede fearing collapse killed twelve people; a circus later marched elephants across to prove its strength.
- Mount Fuji, Japan 3.8 km
Though it looks serene, Fuji is an active volcano that last erupted in 1707, dusting distant Tokyo with ash.
- The Strait of Gibraltar (narrowest width) 14.4 km
It is so narrow that on a clear day you can see Africa from Europe across the water.