SortStack #2890 — 2034-05-08

By size · Order from shortest to longest.

1. A single E. coli bacterium 2 µm

   About 2 micrometres long, E. coli divides every 20 minutes, so one cell can become billions inside a single day.

2. A roasted coffee bean 8.5 mm

   A coffee 'bean' is actually the seed of a cherry-like fruit that grows on shrubs near the equator.

3. A credit card 8.6 cm

   Every card's dimensions follow a global standard so it fits machines from Tokyo to Toronto.

4. A new wooden pencil 18 cm

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

5. The Washington Monument 165 m

   Look closely and the stone changes shade partway up, marking where construction paused for over 20 years.

6. 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.

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