Estimating 80 feet is a challenging task. You may know it equals 24.38 meters or 26.66 yards, but that’s it.
The best way to gauge such a long length is to compare it with items equal to or about 80 feet. An effortless task, as you only need practical and visual skills and sometimes some simple math.
This post explores 8 objects you can use for reference anytime you want to understand how long is 80 feet. If you’re memorable enough, you can visualize that length even with your eyes closed!
Doubt it? Let’s read on.
8 Common Items That are Roughly 80 Feet Long
1. 8-storey Building
Storey buildings have taken over the world, and now you can find them in almost all cities and towns worldwide.
There’s no hard fast rule for house planners and architects to adhere to when constructing storey buildings, and you can find them in varying lengths. That said, under the current US and UK standards, a 8-storey apartment cannot go past the 80-foot mark in height.
Staying on storey buildings, you can reference a one-storey apartment as it’s usually about 10.83 feet tall, meaning you’ll have to imagine about ten of these buildings to understand how long 80 feet is.
Remember, that distance is from the road level up to the thickness of the roof slab.
2. A Quarter of the Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a figure of a goddess who holds a torch high above her right hand while her left hand holds a tabula. It’s located on Liberty island USA, and was a gift from the French people and is thus a universal symbol of democracy and freedom.
Housed in the country’s national museum, the statue attracts more than one million visitors yearly.
But how long is it? Well, it all depends on how you measure it. The entire statue, with the foundation and pedestal included, stands 305 feet tall. Hence, visualizing a quarter of it gives you 76.25 feet, roughly the distance we’re trying to measure.
3. Five Giraffes
Giraffes are large hoofed mammals that inhabit the semiarid savannas of Sub-Saharan Africa. They’re a must-see when you visit the region, particularly the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara National parks.
Giraffes are not only the largest ruminants but also the tallest of all terrestrial creatures on earth, and you can use them for referencing long distances.
According to PBS, a giraffe can be as tall as 19.35 feet, but the most you’ll see are about 16.4 feet. Therefore to understand how long 80 feet is, you need to imagine five giraffes standing on top of each other.
4. Red Pine Tree
Red pines are conifer trees characterized by their needle arrangement and bark. Native to North America, they’re the skyscrapers of trees, and people use them for construction and making utility poles.
A red pine can grow as tall as 146 feet when left alone, as it can live for more than 300 years. But plumbers have none of that, and they usually harvest them when they’re about 80 feet, especially for utility poles, as they are already mature. So whenever you visit a lumber mill and see some red pine trees lying there, you just found yourself something about 80 feet long.
5. Two-and-a-half Volleyball Net
Spanning the width of the court and held vertically by two poles, a volleyball net separates two teams equally in the game of volleyball, the world’s most widely played sport, according to the Olympic Program Commission.
Due to the game’s popularity, chances are high that you’ve interacted with it at least once, either playing or as a spectator.
The width of the volleyball net is probably the best for referencing 80-foot lengths because it’s officially 32 feet. So to achieve our mark, you’ll need to imagine two and half of them arranged end to end, or visualize three placed length-wise and imagine cutting one into half.
Alternatively, you can use the height of the volleyball net. According to Sports Imports, the standard men’s volleyball net is 7.9 feet tall, meaning you need to imagine ten put together to realize 79 feet, which is close to the distance of our interest.
6. Horse Trailers
Also known as a horse van, a horse trailer is used for ferrying horses for long distances.
There are different types of horse trailers depending on the size and design. That said, a standard horse van is usually 6 feet wide and 7 feet high, according to Horse Journals.
That allows you to reference a standard horse trailer in two ways: visualize 13 such trailers arranged in a row width-wise or imagine stacking 11 or 12. Either way, they won’t total 80 feet exactly, but they will be close.
7. Tennis Court
A tennis court is a battleground for tennis sport. It’s rectangular with a low net stretched across the middle. High chances are you’re familiar with a tennis court since the sport is popular worldwide, with about 87 million people playing it, including schools and official matches you often see on TV.
According to the tennis sports regulations imposed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), a tennis court must measure 23.77 meters long. Convert that figure to feet, and you get 78 feet, which is not far from our mark.
8. A Quarter Football Pitch
A football pitch is the battleground for football, often known as soccer in the USA.
Football pitches vary in size worldwide, with FIFA requiring its members to ensure their football grounds range between 90-120 meters. However, for international matches, the rules change to 100-110 meters.
But in most cases, the length of a football pitch is about 100 meters. For example, the England Premier League has standardized its football fields to 102 meters.
So to get an estimate of 80 feet in length using a football pitch as a reference, you visualize a quarter of the entire field. You can also imagine cutting it into two and then dividing one of the halves into two.
