DAILY NO. 5 · VERIFIED MEASUREMENTS
The September 26, 2026 puzzle ran from a mirrorless camera at 13 cm to the Sun at 1,392,700 km — 10 orders of magnitude apart, drawing on sports, space, animals, technology, insects & bugs. The pair furthest apart was round 2: the Sun is 401× as big as the Moon.
Puzzle #5 asked about a hockey stick, the Sun, an adult giraffe, a mirrorless camera and a giant centipede. Each answer below gives the measured size, the reference it stood beside and the source behind the number. Want the surprise first? Replay this puzzle — archived days never touch your streak.
Answer: Hockey Stick — 1.6 m. A hockey stick measures 1.6 m (height), which is about 1.1× smaller than the reference, a refrigerator at 1.8 m.
A stick is fitted to reach between the chin and the nose when the player is standing on skates.
How people guessed: across 8 runs the typical guess was 1.3 m — 19% too small.
Answer: The Sun — 1,392,700 km. The Sun measures 1,392,700 km (length / span), which is 401× as big as the reference, the Moon at 3,474.8 km.
The Sun is about 1.39 million kilometres in diameter.
How people guessed: across 8 runs the typical guess was 177,400.7 km — 87% too small. The most common miss is picturing the Sun far smaller than the Moon really allows.
Answer: Adult Giraffe — 5.2 m. An adult giraffe measures 5.2 m (height), which is 2.6× as big as the reference, a US interior door at 2 m.
Adult giraffes commonly stand between 4.5 and 5.5 metres tall.
How people guessed: across 8 runs the typical guess was 10.5 m — 103% too large. The most common miss is picturing an adult giraffe far bigger than a US interior door really allows.
Answer: Mirrorless Camera — 13 cm. A mirrorless camera measures 13 cm (length / span), which is 1.3× as big as the reference, a hamburger at 10 cm.
Dropping the mirror box let camera bodies shrink by about a third.
How people guessed: across 8 runs the typical guess was 14 cm — 8% too large.
Answer: Giant Centipede — 30 cm. A giant centipede measures 30 cm (length / span), which is 1.1× as big as the reference, an American football at 28 cm.
Scolopendra gigantea hunts bats in mid-air, plucking them from cave ceilings.
How people guessed: across 8 runs the typical guess was 42.4 cm — 41% too large. The most common miss is picturing a giant centipede far bigger than an American football really allows.
Sizes are measured along the axis named in each round and link to their published source. Explore the full library by category, or read how scoring works.