Millions, billions, trillions – beyond a certain size, all numbers sound the same. SeeTheScale turns them into pictures you can imagine: How tall would the stack be? How much of the football field would be left? How long would you have to count?
Stack of paper: The small thing is one sheet of paper (0.1 mm). The big thing becomes a stack – growing past houses, towers, mountains and into space.
$100 bills: Amounts of money as real stacks of $100 bills, both amounts side by side.
Football field: The big thing is a whole football field, the small thing an area on it. For shares (e.g. “richest 1 %”) the field is split; each figure stands for 1 % of humanity.
Seconds: The small thing is one second. How long would you have to count to reach the big one?
Side by side: The things side by side, each with a bubble whose area matches the amount.
Every comparison lists its sources – below the graphic under “More about this comparison”. The title of every graphic also shows whether the figures are worldwide or for one country only:
All values are rounded. It's about orders of magnitude: whether a stack is 480 or 490 km tall doesn't change the message. Some figures are estimates with a wide range (e.g. stars in the universe or tax evasion) – then we name the range in the text and use a middle value. Comparisons always set like against like: wealth with wealth, income with income.
Found a mistake or have an idea for a comparison? Write to us: info@whichoneisreal.com
Under “Your own” you can enter any two numbers – e.g. your salary and a pro footballer's – and view and share them in every view.