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That bookmark about the guy who hand-counted every last grain of sand
I just found a bookmark I saved years ago linking to some math professor's personal page. He actually figured out the total number of grains of sand on Earth is roughly 7.5 quintillion. I always thought the "more stars than sand" saying was just a fun comparison, but he did the full calculation with average sand grain sizes and everything. Has anyone else found some weirdly specific factoid that completely changed how you see a common saying?
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anthony8834d ago
Respectfully, stars win hands down. The universe is just too big.
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hunt.jana4d ago
Oh wow, that's genuinely wild. I mean, 7.5 quintillion is such a specific number, right? It makes you wonder if whoever came up with "more stars than sand" actually checked or just assumed it was true because it sounds poetic. Okay but here's what I'm stuck on: did that professor account for every beach, desert, and riverbed on Earth, or just the sandy parts people normally think of? Because if he counted all the sand in the Sahara plus the stuff at the bottom of the ocean, that changes the whole comparison. I'd love to know if stars still win or if sand actually pulls ahead when you include all that hidden sand.
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