SortStack #1728 — 2031-03-03

By size · Order from shortest to longest.

1. 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.

2. A new wooden pencil 18 cm

   A single pencil can draw a line roughly 56 kilometres long before the graphite runs out.

3. A cheetah (body length) 1.2 m

   A cheetah's spine works like a spring, flexing so much that its stride can cover seven metres at full sprint.

4. An average adult human 1.8 m

   Humans have grown roughly 10 centimetres taller on average over the past 150 years thanks to better nutrition.

5. Mont Blanc, the Alps 4.8 km

   Its summit is buried under permanent ice so thick that the official height changes slightly with the snow each year.

6. A marathon course 42.2 km

   The odd distance was fixed in 1908 so the London race could start at Windsor Castle and finish before the royal box.

← All puzzles · Play today’s SortStack