Trying to understand how long 7 meters is can be hectic. Just try it now!
You can try converting them into other units, say feet or yards, but that won’t help either, as you’ll be just staring at an empty mathematical theory on the screen of your calculator.
That’s why the best way is to compare that length with objects. It’s a simple task that requires you to use your visual and practical skills, while a good memory will come in handy.
And in this article, we’ll explore 7 items you can use to compare with a length of 7 meters so you can gauge that distance even when you’re blindfolded!
Let’s dive in.
7 Common Items That are 7 Meters Long
These items are easy to find worldwide. You may not have seen all, but you will find familiar faces.
1. A Half Semi-trailer truck
Also called a semi-truck, a semi-trailer truck is a combination of a vehicle, where a tractor unit pulls a trailer through a fifth wheel. Companies use them to transport heavy cargo over long distances.
Semi-trailer trucks are the most popular globally, and almost everyone has seen them. If not, you can try relaxing around the nearest highway for your chance.
While the dimensions of semi-trailer trucks vary, they all range from 14.6-16 meters long.
That means imagining half of the vehicle gives you 7 meters or something close. Alternatively, you can use the width instead, which is standardized to 2.59 meters. With this option, you’ll have to visualize the trailers arranged end-to-end width-wise to realize a length of 7.7 meters which is still not far from the mark.
2. Three-and-a-half King-size Mattresses
Something that you can use to reference tricky lengths could be lying in your bedroom: your mattress.
Mattresses come in different sizes, but king-size mattresses usually have a standardized length of 2.032 meters, which is enough for couples to share a bed comfortably. You need to imagine three and a half arranged in a row length-wise to add up to 7.112 meters.
3. Half the Average City Bus
City buses are types of buses that offer transport services for short distances around the city. You must have seen or boarded one at least once, as they’re found almost everywhere, with those without cars preferring them due to their convenience – they’re characterized by the provision of service for the disabled, low maximum speeds, and low-ride platform.
The average city bus globally usually is 14 meters long. Therefore to estimate a length of 7 meters, you’ll need to imagine cutting the bus into two.
4. Half 24AWG High-Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet
The best-placed individuals to understand the 24AWG High-Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet are mostly the tech-savvy, who often use HDMI cables to send high-definition videos and audio via cables. If that sounds Greek to you, please bear with us.
Anyway, this particular cable is one of the most common in many homes because its long size brings convenience when connecting devices such as Playstation, Xbox, and digital TVs. It’s usually 13.76 meters, so if you’ve one, you can fold it into half to get something close to the 7-meter mark.
5. Eight Ice Hockey Sticks
Hockey is one of the most popular international sports, with more than one million registered players who play the sport regularly. To strike the ball, the players use curved sticks called hockey sticks.
You might have interacted with a hockey stick, as the game is popular in most high schools, either playing or carrying them after a match. Either way, hockey sticks come in different sizes, but the average for adults is 36.5 inches or 0.9 meters. That means you need to picture 8 in a row length-wise as they add up to 7.4 meters which is just slightly off our mark.
6. Nine Walking Strides
Interestingly, you can use your walking strides to estimate distances, so long as you’re healthy, not aged, and are average-sized, about 5 feet and 9 inches.
If you make the cut, you can easily calculate your walking strides.
Here’s how.
1. Place your feet together
2. Lift one, say the right foot, while leaving the left behind.
3. Lift the left foot and place it past the right one.
4. Measure the distance from the toe of your left foot, where you started to the toe of your right foot.
If you do it right, you’ll find your walking stride is 5 feet, like any other adult, according to the University of Iowa. Therefore, to understand how long 7 meters is, you need to make four and a half strides, which will add up to 6.9 meters.
Alternatively, you can use your walking steps to gauge the distance. In this case, make nine steps, as one is half a stride.
7. One-and-a-half Average-sized Saltwater Crocodiles
Saltwater crocodiles inhabit saltwater and wetland regions of Asia, Australia, and Micronesia.
The alligator-looking creatures are the largest living crocodile species, with most of them averaging 4.3 meters long. That means to get a view of how long 7 meters is, you’ve to imagine two in a row and then cut one in half.
However, using the beasts for referencing lengths is only possible through imagination (if you’ve seen them in nature documentaries) since they are deadly and are known to eat humans.
