SortStack #1959 — 2031-10-20

By size · Order from shortest to longest.

1. A grain of table salt 0.5 mm

   Each crystal is a near-perfect cube because salt's atoms stack in a rigid cubic lattice.

2. A jelly bean 1.8 cm

   Making a single jelly bean takes up to two weeks, mostly to build and harden the layered candy shell.

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. The Gateway Arch, St. Louis 195 m

   Its elegant curve is a catenary, the exact shape a hanging chain makes, flipped upside down for strength.

5. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge (main span) 1.3 km

   Its towers are slightly farther apart at the top than the bottom because they must follow Earth's curvature.

6. New Zealand's South Island (length) 840 km

   It is home to fewer than two million people but more than ten times as many sheep.

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